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Few teams get gifts like Casey Oliverson.

Sky View already had good size this year — three players over 6-foot-6 — but then Oliverson arrived, a 6-8 junior who dominates around the basket and has Sky View looking like Class 4A contenders, as the Bobcats have opened this season 3-1.

At least some of the credit has to go to Oliverson, a Preston, Idaho, native who has committed to play at Utah State. The Aggies recruited Oliverson out of Ruston, La., where his family lived while his brother, Shawn, played at Louisiana Tech.

Utah State had always been Oliverson's dream, and when an offer came in, his family decided it was time to get back to where had been most comfortable.

"It's always felt like home," Oliverson said. "Even when I was in Louisiana, it never really felt like home. That's part of the reason we moved back here."

Two high school years in Cache Valley will also give Oliverson time to develop into something of a hometown hero, especially if he can help put Sky View, which last year reached the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2003, over the top.

"He just gives you that much more possibilities of being a competitive team," Sky View coach Kevin Andersen said. "We're glad to have him, we're glad to have his talent, and it's really making other kids work, too."

So far, Oliverson has done his part. He averages 19 points, is a force around the basket and has a reliable midrange jumper. For many members of the Sky View team, it's all too familiar.

In junior high, Oliverson and teammates from Preston would travel to Logan to play in rec leagues, where he competed against some of his current teammates.

"He was great," said Jason Oliverson, Casey's cousin and a junior point guard on the team. "He owned us."

Now, however, it's more like a partnership. Andersen said Oliverson is the kind of player that could push a good team over the top.

"Obviously, getting a player like that with his talent, it's going to make your team better," he said.

Sky View will provide a natural transition to Utah State — when Oliverson finally gets there.

While living in Preston, 27 miles north of Logan on U.S. 91, Oliverson first met Aggies coach Stew Morrill at a camp in the fourth grade and, until moving to Louisiana, went to as many games in the Spectrum as he could.

"What caught my eye then was probably all the fans," he said. "I just wanted to go play there in front of all them."

Fans will have to wait longer than Oliverson's two years of high school, though. He plans on serving an LDS Church mission.

After that, with the possibility of redshirting as a freshman at Utah State, he might not be a senior until the 2018-19 season.

The fact that his Aggies career is still so far away makes it easier for Oliverson to focus on Sky View, where he is so appreciated.

"We had size before Casey came," Andersen said, "and then you throw a fourth in there and we're pretty deep."

That's the gift of Casey Oliverson.

boram@sltrib.comTwitter: @boram —

A closer look

• Casey Oliverson played high school basketball in Louisiana for two years before his family moved to Logan this year.

• Oliverson becomes the fourth Bobcat who is at least 6-foot-6. Riley Jensen is 6-foot-9, Jordan Nielsen stands 6-foot-6 and Don Corbell is 6-foot-5.

• At 19.3 points per game, Oliverson is the fourth leading scorer in Class 4A.