Utah basketball - Tis the Season?

[UtahsMrSports]

WARNING: Extremely nerd-ish post. Reader discretion is advised.

This time of year, football is the name of the game. But over the last three years, this period has been monumental in the moving of Utah basketball back towards the promised land.

On Aug 26, 2011, as those final, long days before kickoff to football started (sidenote: is it just me, or do the weeks of fall camp seem to just crawl by, especially those last couple of days?) I sat in my office at work, reading about the football team when I noticed this: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsutahsports/52463721-59/loveridge-state-utah-jordan.html.csp.

I was shocked. And beyond excited. I was thinking back to that spring when Jeremiah Jensen did a feature on Loveridge as he was completing his junior year. He talked about how Utah State and BYU both really wanted him. I remember wishing Utah was in the mix. To see that he had committed really made my day. "Maybe this Krystkowiak guy is not so bad!"

Fast forward through that 2011-2012 season (I think we all likely just want to delete it from the archives........but alas!)

Then there was this article. http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsutahsports/54937979-59/wright-guard-utes-com.html.csp

That one came out of nowhere. But it was intriguing. Little did we know, this was the best Ute since Bogut was policing the lane.

In hindsight, isn't the recruitment of Wright pretty amazing? I mean, he had offers from other Pac-12 schools plus St. Marys/Gonzaga........and Utah was coming off a 6-25 season.

That brings me to one year ago today. At that time, I did not have a smartphone. I kept up to date on things by having all tweets from Tony Jones texted to my phone. I was in a meeting at work and left my phone at my desk. Once I got back, I had 16 new texts. I knew something big had gone down. I couldn't believe what I was reading as I scrolled through them all. Brekkott Chapman was a Ute. I wanted to start running around the building to shout it to the world!

For a big part of that summer, I had scoured the blogs daily for something, anything about Brekkott. We knew he liked Utah, but we didn't know how much. Here was a hometown kid, at that time a unanimous top 50 player in the country, and we had a chance. This could be the big, big break that we needed. Reports said he was down to Utah and UCLA. Basically, he wanted a UCLA offer and would take it if given (at least, sources said....). then suddenly BYU was back in the mix and our hearts dropped. Losing him to a fellow pac-12 team would have been a gut punch. Losing him to BYU would have been much worse.

But, he had made the call! A month later, after watching the football team take down the Aggies, Kyle Kuzma and Freaky Zeaky came on board. Reading through the discussion on this board after these signings was interesting. Ever the one to have some perspective, SoCalPat pointed out that we still didn't have a glass eating big man and that he would prefer one to Freaky Zeaky. Well, not only do we get to keep Wright, but we also got that guy in Chris Reyes earlier this spring. Reyes is a guy who has been in college ball for a couple of years but still has three years of eligibility.

So, to the two people who have made it this far and not dozed off to sleep, what will this late summer/early fall period bring for Utah this year? This summer has been less dramatic than last, but that doesnt mean we cant have a great recruiting year. Getting Makol Mawien would be nice. And if we have learned anything from Larry K and company; never count out a surprise!

[Applejack]

WARNING: Extremely nerd-ish post. Reader discretion is advised.



Who besides Malwien is in the picture right now? Someone posted yesterday about a top 20 player who has Utah in his top 10, but I'm not holding my breath just yet.

[UtahsMrSports]

Who besides Malwien is in the picture right now? Someone posted yesterday about a top 20 player who has Utah in his top 10, but I'm not holding my breath just yet.

http://lighttheu.com/utah-basketball/recruiting-targets/

I think Makol is it......right now. Tres Tinkle aint coming here, and like you said, Tyler Dorsey is a long shot.

I know I started a thread on this some time ago, but I think Makol and Togiai would fill us up for the time being. If that was our whole recruiting class, Id be happy. That is a decent class.

[FountainOfUte]

I think the Tinkle hiring to OSU (and its obvious ramifications) took a bit of the wind out of the sails of another potential clean sweep of our top targets. Still, if we can add Mawien to Togiai, like someone said above, that's not a bad haul.

If this year's team can make even a moderate national splash (like top 3 in the PAC-12, and maybe make it to the second weekend of the NCAAs) then watch out. Larry might be on the verge of achieving a crucial critical mass that pushes Utah into new golden era of Runnin' Ute hoops.

[Solon]

I think the Tinkle hiring to OSU (and its obvious ramifications) took a bit of the wind out of the sails of another potential clean sweep of our top targets. Still, if we can add Mawien to Togiai, like someone said above, that's not a bad haul.

If this year's team can make even a moderate national splash (like top 3 in the PAC-12, and maybe make it to the second weekend of the NCAAs) then watch out. Larry might be on the verge of achieving a crucial critical mass that pushes Utah into new golden era of Runnin' Ute hoops.

I want football to do well, but the conference is loaded right now, and it's an uphill battle. Very few schools are elite in both major men's sports.
I would love to see Utah become a "basketball school" once again. I think there's a real future in that kind of identity, in both conference & nationally.

[Applejack]

I want football to do well, but the conference is loaded right now, and it's an uphill battle. Very few schools are elite in both major men's sports.
I would love to see Utah become a "basketball school" once again. I think there's a real future in that kind of identity, in both conference & nationally.

This is an interesting idea about choosing between being a football/basketball school. Utah has a much greater basketball tradition than it does football, but I wonder if there are inherent advantages for the Utes in football that don't exist in basketball. By that I mean a natural recruiting base. For all of his genius, perhaps the greatest single thing that Ronny W. McBride showed the world is that Utah should never, ever have a below average defensive line. Because of the polynesian community in SLC, we should always have strong, fast guys on the D-line. That's not a small thing. I also think we should always have good linebackers for the same reason, but that theory doesn't seem to hold water.

Now, as for basketball, we have always won with non-Utahns/non-mormons. Keith Van Horn, Andre, Doleac, Bogut, Hanno, Delon, etc. Maybe that track record of recruiting great kids without a connection to the state will continue, but there is no reason to think that it will, necessarily.

Ultimately, I think Utah is a more natural football school, but it will take someone (hopefully Kyle) to figure out how to keep most of the local talent local.

[Solon]

This is an interesting idea about choosing between being a football/basketball school. Utah has a much greater basketball tradition than it does football, but I wonder if there are inherent advantages for the Utes in football that don't exist in basketball. By that I mean a natural recruiting base. For all of his genius, perhaps the greatest single thing that Ronny W. McBride showed the world is that Utah should never, ever have a below average defensive line. Because of the polynesian community in SLC, we should always have strong, fast guys on the D-line. That's not a small thing. I also think we should always have good linebackers for the same reason, but that theory doesn't seem to hold water.

Now, as for basketball, we have always won with non-Utahns/non-mormons. Keith Van Horn, Andre, Doleac, Bogut, Hanno, Delon, etc. Maybe that track record of recruiting great kids without a connection to the state will continue, but there is no reason to think that it will, necessarily.

Ultimately, I think Utah is a more natural football school, but it will take someone (hopefully Kyle) to figure out how to keep most of the local talent local.

I see this point, but I also think Utah has got to have as many b-ball courts per person as anywhere, since every corner church features at least a hoop. Football is just more popular right now nationally, but that's not a guarantee to last. A hundred years ago, the state was producing an inordinate share of world-class track stars (Alma Richards, Creed Haymond, Clint Larson). Who knows what kinds of changes concussion concerns & health-care/insurance/workers' comp costs (if college athletes unionize) will bring? I'm not exactly arguing for it, but a solid basketball season will do a lot to assuage any disappointments this fall. (For me, at least)

obviously, the ideal situation would be to excel in both, and the worst would be to suck at both. But, I would rather be unevenly elite, like a Kentucky, Duke, Kansas in hoops, or Penn State (historically), Florida State, Nebraska in football than .500 in both. Just my opinion, though.

[SoCalPat]

I see this point, but I also think Utah has got to have as many b-ball courts per person as anywhere, since every corner church features at least a hoop. Football is just more popular right now nationally, but that's not a guarantee to last. A hundred years ago, the state was producing an inordinate share of world-class track stars (Alma Richards, Creed Haymond, Clint Larson). Who knows what kinds of changes concussion concerns & health-care/insurance/workers' comp costs (if college athletes unionize) will bring? I'm not exactly arguing for it, but a solid basketball season will do a lot to assuage any disappointments this fall. (For me, at least)

obviously, the ideal situation would be to excel in both, and the worst would be to suck at both. But, I would rather be unevenly elite, like a Kentucky, Duke, Kansas in hoops, or Penn State (historically), Florida State, Nebraska in football than .500 in both. Just my opinion, though.

There ain't a single "playground" hoop in the state. At least in Indiana, they have Indianapolis and the state borders up against Chicago.

At the same time, our recruiting base in hoops isn't limited, but like football and the aforementioned D-line, there's a certain kind of player we should always have. Because so many of those gyms are indoors, we should always have above-average/great shooters who are passable ballhandlers. We should (and almost always do) have an exceptional percentage from the line. Those two factors alone can cover up for a perceived lack of "athleticism."

Another thing that helps Utah out is that we won't get a lot of one-and-done kids in hoops. They play for a year and then go to the NBA. In college football, it's guys like DeAndre Thomas that you have to endure for three years, and that kind of player we will never see at Utah.

In a perfect world, we're like LSU -- very dominant in one sport with generational greatness in another. Only thing is, at Utah, that dominant greatness will likely be in hoops, and it's quite possible we're several years away from our next generational greatness period in football. Additionally, much like Utah hoops was pretty lousy for the better part of a decade, go take a look at what LSU football was like in the decade prior to hiring Nick Saban.

http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ia/sec/louisiana_state/yearly_totals.php

[Solon]

There ain't a single "playground" hoop in the state. At least in Indiana, they have Indianapolis and the state borders up against Chicago.

At the same time, our recruiting base in hoops isn't limited, but like football and the aforementioned D-line, there's a certain kind of player we should always have. Because so many of those gyms are indoors, we should always have above-average/great shooters who are passable ballhandlers. We should (and almost always do) have an exceptional percentage from the line. Those two factors alone can cover up for a perceived lack of "athleticism."

I like how you phrased that - "very dominant in one sport with generational greatness in another." I can definitely be satisfied with that kind of athletic program (provided it keeps its nose clean with the NCAA, the kids go to class, etc.)

[Applejack]

I like how you phrased that - "very dominant in one sport with generational greatness in another." I can definitely be satisfied with that kind of athletic program (provided it keeps its nose clean with the NCAA, the kids go to class, etc.)

I just want to be competitive year in and year out. I hope Larry can get us there - he's done a great job to this point. But there are very few Pac quality ballers who have Utah as their first choice school. If BYU imploded and we could start getting the Utah county kids, it would be a different story.

In football, we're always going to have good interior defensive play. That's big. We still need to get sneaky good QBs, WRs, and DBs, but at least we have a base.

That said, I'm a Ute baskteball fan first. Majerus was my first true love, and you never forget your first love.

[LA Ute]

That said, I'm a Ute baskteball fan first. Majerus was my first true love, and you never forget your first love.

It is similar for the most Utah fans of long standing (i.e., who were fans prior to Urban Meyer's stint at the U. and especially those who were fans prior Ron McBride's era). The fans from the generations of the 60s and 70s (the 70s being my own formative Ute fan years) were hooked by basketball and Jack Gardner and Jerry Pimm's programs, with Pimm covering the early 80s too. (I know I am leaving out Vadal Peterson and his predecessors.) Then came Big Rick. Football was pretty much an afterthought until the 1990s and the advent of Ron the Great. Utah basketball has a great and long tradition and we simply must maintain that. In football, like SCP, I hope we are competitive and have occasionally stellar years.

[UtahsMrSports]

Ive read many articles talking about how utahs football talent has increased.Its not as readily acacknowledged how much the states hoops talent has improved. Granted, theres going to be BYU legacy kids. But there are slowly increasing numbers of in state pac 12 kids. Larry is wise to keep trying to bring them here.

[LA Ute]

From Phil Cullen this morning:


With summer school complete, our players havea few weeks off until the start of the fall semester later this month. The summer has been a good one for us as we had all of our incoming playershere on campus. Workouts have been great both in the weight room and onthe court. Many of our guys reached new personal bests in testing thissummer which shows their hard work and dedication.

Coach Krystkowiak was selected to coach the All Pac-12 team in China which willwe will be leaving for today and returning to campus on August 19th. Wehave three of our players on the roster, Brandon Taylor, Jordan Loveridge andJeremy Olsen that will be joining 10 other players from teams within the Pac-12Conference. Our trip will start in Shanghai where we will play three gamesversus local professional teams. From there, we will head to Beijing toenjoy some sightseeing opportunities. Along with our coaching staff andplayers, the University of Utah will also have a professor joining the AcademicDelegation that will help promote the University and the Pac-12 in China.

We are extremely grateful for the opportunity and hope to see a few Runnin Utesfans abroad. If you know of anyone who will be in the area while we arein China please let me know. Would love to connect with them.

Please follow us for updates on the trip through our Facebook, Twitter, andInstagram accounts.

[Diehard Ute]

[SIZE=2][FONT=&quot]From Phil Cullen this morning:



Larry tweeted about 20 minutes ago that the Utah party left the JMHC to meet up with everyone in San Fran for the 3 days of practice prior to heading for China