Le’Tre Darthard has made a name for himself as a sharpshooting wing with the Utah Valley University men’s basketball team. The junior is currently averaging 13.2 ppg this season, a career-high. With an immense amount of talent surrounding him, Darthard says that this year’s team can go far.
“I feel like this team can go far, I feel like we can win games in the [NCAA] Tournament,” said Darthdard. “Of course, we have to take care of the conference tournament but I feel like if we get to March we are going to shock a lot of people.”
This year’s squad features key additions: Aziz Bandaogo, Tahj Small, and Cam Alford. In addition to impactful new players, the Wolverines return stars including Trey Woodbury and Justin Harmon, making this team incredibly deep. Darthard says one key difference between this team from previous teams he has been on is the way they play on the defensive end.
“One big thing that has stood out this year is rim protection. Aziz Bandaogo, that man is crazy,” said Dathard. “Aziz impacts the game so well because he doesn’t really need the ball, he just wants to go in there and block shots. Aziz is a real big presence on this team and I feel like this year we’re playing well together and everyone is playing their part.”
The Wolverines are averaging 6.4 blocks per game this season, leading the NCAA in that category.
The Wolverines have some tough tests ahead of them as they conclude WAC play, including matchups against Southern Utah University, Seattle University, and Stephen F. Austin University. Darthard says as a team, the Wolverines approach every game with the same mindset.
“One thing we say all of the time is the next game is always the biggest game,” said Darthard. “We just focus on the next game, if we can just stick with that mindset and just focus on the game ahead, I feel like we’ll be good down the stretch.”
Before transferring to UVU, Darthard attended McCook Community College in Nebraska. There, he averaged 18.5 ppg, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game. Coming off of his freshman season, Darthard said he was heavily recruited and he ultimately elected to attend UVU, a decision he said was influenced by head coach Mark Madsen.
“I talked to a lot of schools. In community college, that was probably the most coaches I have ever talked to,” said Darthard. “Mark Madsen just stood out to me because of the person that he was.”
Darthard says he has enjoyed his time in Utah and that it is very different from his home state of Texas.
“It has been a good experience for sure. Coming from Texas, Utah is completely different. I always tell everybody I haven’t run into one bad person out here, everyone is really genuine. The teammates that I have encountered have been the same way. Great people, great guys, fun to work with.”
Be sure to tune in to UVUreview.com to stay up to date on Darthard and the men’s basketball team’s quest to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
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