You can't always get what you want, but we're all starting to wonder if BYU basketball will ever get what they need: a 7-foot starting center to pair with their otherwise loaded starting lineup. Fans were swarming at the prospects of adding UConn transfer Eric Reibe, a player that Kevin Young and company were an early favorite to sign before the rumors began to swirl in another direction.
After about a week of speculation, Reibe has committed exactly where his crystal ball projection told us he would. The sophomore will spend next season with Eric Musselman and the USC Trojans.
NEWS: UConn transfer center Eric Reibe has committed to USC, he told @On3.
— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) April 20, 2026
The 7-1 freshman is a former McDonald’s All-American.https://t.co/5mXdEHjXZ9 pic.twitter.com/GVVtq09tPl
Reibe was the 9th-rated center in the transfer portal, according to 247. A bulky, powerful big capable of setting cement screens and rolling for rim-rocking slams on one end and sending errant shot attempts into the fifth row at the other end. And for good measure, he is plenty comfortable stepping behind the three-point arc for a buttery southpaw jumper.
His loss is hard to take, but not because it was entirely unexpected.
BYU feels the sting of his rejection because of their current roster makeup, which consists of zero starting-caliber centers capable of inflicting their will in the physical and strenuous Big 12 Conference. With four roster spots left to fill, Kevin Young's depth chart is looking very thin past the 4 position.
With all due respect to Khadim Mboup, the team's x-factor and a defensive energizer in his role, the sophomore is still incredibly raw and thrives as a role player. Given the responsibility of the starting center of a championship-minded Big 12 program, Mboup isn't plan A.
The transfer portal closes soon. Very soon. The deadline of April 21st is less than a day away. And while that doesn't mean BYU has just one day to patch up any vacancies in their depth chart through the portal, it does mean that the pool of promising transfer options is likely set.
What you see it what you get with the current options.
Does this mean BYU basketball intends to build through international players, as they've proven willing to do in the last two seasons with players like Boskovic, Kostic, and Demin? Is Italian prospect Luigi Suigo Plan A to fill the empty space at the 5? We may not get those answers for a few more months.
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