The Utah Basketball Rebuild Project Thread: 2013 and after

[SoCalPat]

It's unfair to expect Gabe Bealer to be another Delon, but he might add something important next season. A 6'5" guy who can shoot and score at the rim with either hand. Not the stat-stuffer that Delon is, but maybe a special player. He does have a season-ending knee injury to recover from, so we'll see.

I would not be surprised to see Bealer as our starting 2 next year, with I. Wright coming off the bench. Taylor's flexibility is key here.

A starting 5 of Taylor, Bealer, Loveridge, Chapman and Poeltl would be intriguing. Top reserves would be I. Wright, Reyes, Tucker, Ogbe and Olsen.

[concerned]

Mawien will get minutes too. He is tougher down low than anyone we have now.

[sancho]

Mawien will get minutes too. He is tougher down low than anyone we have now.

Yeah, I think he'll take Reyes' minutes. I think Kuzma gets minutes ahead of Ogbe too.

[SoCalPat]

Mawien will get minutes too. He is tougher down low than anyone we have now.

I thought of him (Kuzma as well). We'll need Mawien more than we'll need Kuzma, if this year's shortcomings are an indicator of what we need to improve on next year.

[sancho]

I thought of him (Kuzma as well). We'll need Mawien more than we'll need Kuzma, if this year's shortcomings are an indicator of what we need to improve on next year.

Yes, which is why I think Kuzma is more valuable than Ogbe. He doesn't shoot as well as Ogbe (not close), but there is more potential for him to be a rebounder.

[LA Ute]

Larry Krystkowiak dishes on a variety of topics after mostly sweet Runnin' Utes season (http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865626273/Larry-Krystkowiak-dishes-on-a-variety-of-topics-after-mostly-sweet-Runnin-Utes-season.html)

Tidbits:


“It feels very much like home,” he said. “There’s a lot that goes into getting a program going and it’s a lot of energy and time. So to go through that over the last four years and get settled in where I’ve got five happy kids and a happy wife — and we’re all healthy and everybody’s flourishing kind in their own little area — I’m in a situation, I think, that is one of the best basketball jobs in the country.”

The coach considers it a destination job. It’s not one where you seek other things, Krystkowiak explained, pointing out the great league the Utes are in and the people he works for.

“I don’t know what else a person would want to do,” he said. “So I feel really fortunate to be able to do what I’m doing and to do it with a real happy family.”


“I know all the guys on our staff are going to be quality head coaches at some point,” Krystkowiak said. “It’s just a matter of time. From top to bottom, there’s no doubt in my mind that they’ve all got what it takes and I’m there to support them however I can. I would never want to hold anyone back.”

Utah’s rise will likely produce opportunities down the road and lead to plenty of speculation for the staff.

“Hopefully it’s an indication that things are going well if your assistants are being talked about,” Krystkowiak said. “I can only hope that’s the case.”

[LA Ute]

From the Utah Athletic Department:

"The Utah men’s basketball team had the fourth-largest home attendance increase in the nation in 2014-15, improving its average by almost 2,000 fans a game to 12,101. The Runnin’ Utes ranked second in the Pac-12 Conference and in the top 30 in the nation in home attendance last season. Thanks to our amazing fans!"

[LA Ute]

I got a tour of the new basketball facility this morning. It was hard to take it all in, and the whole thing is almost overwhelming. Recruits will be impressed. It's a major step forward for the program.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

I got a tour of the new basketball facility this morning. It was hard to take it all in, and the whole thing is almost overwhelming. Recruits will be impressed. It's a major step forward for the program.

Break away rims?

[LA Ute]

Here is a shot of the facility from this morning. The structure on the left contains cooling towers that no longer function. The plan is to remove it for aesthetic purposes because right now it blocks the front entrance, which is very nice-looking. That'll take a year or so to get done.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/22/89d56b16d073c3afdd4ae5d61f4f4986.jpg

[mUUser]

cool building. cool dog.

[LA Ute]

cool building. cool dog.

I forgot the dog was in the photo. Here's another shot of her from this morning's walk:

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/22/421770ed70319219bf7e96ca2170181b.jpg


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[LA Ute]

Better shot of the puppy:

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/22/84aae6a13848ad9c3ed95f494eca12ac.jpg


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[#1 Utefan]

I got a tour of the new basketball facility this morning. It was hard to take it all in, and the whole thing is almost overwhelming. Recruits will be impressed. It's a major step forward for the program.

Do you know when or if they may be allowing proletariat season ticket holders tour the facility?

[LA Ute]

Do you know when or if they may be allowing proletariat season ticket holders tour the facility?

I don't know. I asked for one -- there may be tours for groups of Crimson Clubbers. Maybe the Crimson Club office can tell you.


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[LA Ute]

The building this morning:

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/01/12c54f1d5c9036c690fa0455b3d72e27.jpg


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[UtahsMrSports]

The building this morning:

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/01/12c54f1d5c9036c690fa0455b3d72e27.jpg


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Ill be up there late this afternoon. I can't wait to see how it looks in person. Last time I was up there was in late April and it was still covered by a lot of plastic.

[LA Ute]

This parking garage is just west of the basketball center. You can see the workmen installing the grass turf that will be on top of the building. It will be lighted and used for some sports practices -- not sure which -- and other activities.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/01/6b841b22565efe69087a23afec9a59ea.jpg

When I was a U student parking terraces were verboten. The plan was to make people take mass transit and to reduce on-campus parking steadily.


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[concerned]

This parking garage is just west of the basketball center. You can see the workmen installing the grass turf that will be on top of the building. It will be lighted and used for some sports practices -- not sure which -- and other activities.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/01/6b841b22565efe69087a23afec9a59ea.jpg

When I was a U student parking terraces were verboten. The plan was to make people take mass transit and to reduce on-campus parking steadily.


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Are you sort of bored, twiddling your thumbs, and running out of things to do between Monday and Thursday? Going to the Law School opening this am?

BTW, mass transit is still the plan overall.

One thing I really loved about the Oregon campus was how compact it is. No parking lots anywhere so far as I could tell, except the garage by the new bb arena.

[LA Ute]

I'll be at the law building event. Will look for you.

Thanks to the miracle of technology, I am getting a lot of work done while here too. It's amazing what one can accomplish when the phone isn't ringing constantly.

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[Diehard Ute]

This parking garage is just west of the basketball center. You can see the workmen installing the grass turf that will be on top of the building. It will be lighted and used for some sports practices -- not sure which -- and other activities.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/01/6b841b22565efe69087a23afec9a59ea.jpg

When I was a U student parking terraces were verboten. The plan was to make people take mass transit and to reduce on-campus parking steadily.


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When I worked there from '99 to '01 they wanted parking garages but the cost ($10,000 per parking spot) was too high and donors didn't want to fund parking spots.


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[Applejack]

When I was a U student parking terraces were verboten. The plan was to make people take mass transit and to reduce on-campus parking steadily.


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Leave it to a Californian to argue that there aren't enough places to park in Salt Lake :)

[UtahsMrSports]

When I worked there from '99 to '01 they wanted parking garages but the cost ($10,000 per parking spot) was too high and donors didn't want to fund parking spots.


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Maybe I have shared this on the board before, but when I was a student, there was a guy running for student government who got a lot of attention because he wanted to build a parking lot under President's circle..........yeah, most people gave that one a hard pass.....

[NorthwestUteFan]

What could possibly go wrong? It would only cost a few hundred million...

[UBlender]

Maybe I have shared this on the board before, but when I was a student, there was a guy running for student government who got a lot of attention because he wanted to build a parking lot under President's circle..........yeah, most people gave that one a hard pass.....

Was it a spoof campaign? When I was a student, the spoof campaigns were all the rage....of course most of those were run by my good friend, creator of the "Apathy Party."

[UtahsMrSports]

Was it a spoof campaign? When I was a student, the spoof campaigns were all the rage....of course most of those were run by my good friend, creator of the "Apathy Party."

No, in fact, this guy was probably the most sincere candidate I saw in my time up there. He seemed to genuinely want to make things better for students, he just wasn't all that bright. There was a spoof campaign that same year, it was the "Ninja Party" for people who either didn't care or were annoyed by all the posters. Ninja got my vote.

I actually felt bad for Mr Underground Parking Garage. I went to every single debate and no matter what else he said, the other candidates always jabbed him about that. He then backtracked and said he wanted to do a feasibility study for that.

[LA Ute]

Leave it to a Californian to argue that there aren't enough places to park in Salt Lake :)

Well, there aren't!!

[LA Ute]

The Center this morning.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/05/3297a9a256c7148ef4d4a38a3b255ba7.jpg

[LA Ute]

The view from the south.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/05/bad282e16b420f9d3392814cd5abf4e2.jpg


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[U-Ute]

The opening of the new practice facility will be live streamed at 11:30 MT today: http://pac-12.com/live/university-utah

[U-Ute]

sneak preview: https://twitter.com/utahathletics/status/649621280367357952

[Diehard Ute]

Just watched the grand opening ceremony.

Great remarks from everyone.

Larry mentioned that the one thing he truly remembers from Chris Hill when he was hired was Chris' insistence that he had to restore the program to the top. He said that was Chris one goal before he retires at some point.

Jon Huntsman was his usual self. Downplayed his role and importance. He truly is an amazing person.

Lynne Roberts passes the press conference eye test. Well spoken and engaging. She's a good counterpart to Larry.

Brandon Taylor spoke. Did a great job. Said his only fear with this new facility is they don't have to share a court anymore so Larry can have them practice whenever

All around a great little production.


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[Diehard Ute]

Oh I forgot. The men's head coaches office is named the "Arnie Ferrin Office"


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[concerned]

Do you suppose Vegas Ute is happy now? maybe

Mr. Crimson? highly unlikely.

[LA Ute]

I couldn't go because of a funeral I needed to attend so my son and daughter represented me. Here's a shot from this morning:

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/10/01/9ce3880c4bb05287319377011e2a5513.jpg


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[LA Ute]

A shot my daughter took of the team meeting room.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/10/01/3cca134c0a7667bffcea8d680a0ca479.jpg


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[Diehard Ute]

A few pics from the Athletic Dept

https://www.facebook.com/UtahMBasketball/posts/1090637477627863


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[LA Ute]

The entrance:

1624

[justaute]

Terrific photos, all. Now, all we need is more valued recruits. :)

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Terrific photos, all. Now, all we need is more valued recruits. :)

It's going to be awesome to finally be able to go head to head with programs like Oregon State.

[Old Standing ute]

The place really has the 'wow' factor they all talked about.

Most of the players were there: Ogbe looks bigger-- almost as big as Reyes. Bonam looks thinner than in some photos. Brekkot did not look much bigger--stronger, but hard to tell with him as he is very "reserved". Kuzma looker bigger--filled out. Jakob hard to tell as he was surrounded by reporters.

They just moved in today & practice starts tomorrow.

hard to believe a recruit would go elsewhere after seeing this place.

[Diehard Ute]

The place really has the 'wow' factor they all talked about.

Most of the players were there: Ogbe looks bigger-- almost as big as Reyes. Bonam looks thinner than in some photos. Brekkot did not look much bigger--stronger, but hard to tell with him as he is very "reserved". Kuzma looker bigger--filled out. Jakob hard to tell as he was surrounded by reporters.

They just moved in today & practice starts tomorrow.

hard to believe a recruit would go elsewhere after seeing this place.

Bonam has dropped 35 pounds since arriving at Utah


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[LA Ute]

Bonam has dropped 35 pounds since arriving at Utah


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Do you know if that was planned? I assume so. Was he a bit overweight when he came?


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[Diehard Ute]

Do you know if that was planned? I assume so. Was he a bit overweight when he came?


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From what little I've heard it was. He was listed at 190 coming out of HS (he's listed at 6'4") and was listed at 215 on Utah's roster.

Guessing he may have gotten even higher than the 215.

Utah's other guards are all 6'5 or 6'6" around 190.

I would also guess his weight training here is far superior to JC (the last I heard out dietitians and strength guys are doing some high tech stuff)



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[LA Ute]

Jason Washburn story about his success in Europe, from his local town newspaper:

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/story/sports/2016/04/23/bcs-washburn-leads-team-balkan-pro-hoop-title/83381250/


"It's men in shorts." -- Rick Majerus

[U-Ute]

Jason Washburn story about his success in Europe, from his local town newspaper:

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/story/sports/2016/04/23/bcs-washburn-leads-team-balkan-pro-hoop-title/83381250/


"It's men in shorts." -- Rick Majerus

He always seemed like a great kid. I'm happy to see him have continued success.

[LA Ute]

I guess this fits here.
(http://www.sltrib.com/sports/3821078-155/boys-basketball-ex-utes-star-michael-doleac)
Boys’ basketball: Ex-Utes star Michael Doleac named Park City High coach (http://www.sltrib.com/sports/3821078-155/boys-basketball-ex-utes-star-michael-doleac)

[LA Ute]

ESPN's Eamonn Brennan: Looking ahead: After Utah's rebirth, Larry Krystkowiak has more to replace than ever

His summation:


The best reason to be optimistic in all of this is, of course, Krystkowiak himself. Five seasons ago, he inherited a program transitioning to Pac-12 from the Mountain West, where it had, the previous season, finished 13-18 overall and 6-10 in league play. His first season on the job was that six-win disaster, in large part because his hollowed-out roster's best player (shouts to Jiggy Watkins) had to be kicked off the team three weeks into January. A few seasons later, Utah is not only relevant but led by a coach whose team-building chops can be trusted implicitly. He'll figure things out.

The need to compensate for losses such as Wright and Poeltl in back-to-back seasons is as good a sign as any of how far Utah has come. But if a step back felt plausible a year ago, it feels all but guaranteed now.

...which is is the same optimistic hope many of us harbor, including me.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/115299/looking-ahead-after-utahs-rebirth-larry-krystkowiak-has-more-to-replace-than-ever


"It's men in shorts." -- Rick Majerus

[LA Ute]

Fun photo.

1862

[concerned]

this is one terrible, no good home bb schedule

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cmx_bBfUMAEMsBr.jpg

[LA Ute]

this is one terrible, no good home bb schedule

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cmx_bBfUMAEMsBr.jpg

Wow. Butler is the only one that seems interesting to me. Is Larry trying to build confidence again?

[Scratch]

Wow. Butler is the only one that seems interesting to me. Is Larry trying to build confidence again?

I think this is about the fact that Colette and Barefield can't play during the non-con schedule. Keep it fairly easy while we're going at half strength.

[Two Utes]

this is one terrible, no good home bb schedule

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cmx_bBfUMAEMsBr.jpg

Tennessee plays in the Maui Classic (Oregon, North Caro, Georgetown, Wisc, UConn) North Carolina, Tenn Chatt (29 wins last year), Georgia Tech and Gonzaga.

Glad I'll actually be watching some Division 1 basketball this year in the preseason, unlike you guys.

[Two Utes]

I think this is about the fact that Colette and Barefield can't play during the non-con schedule. Keep it fairly easy while we're going at half strength.

And, no way Utah makes it to the NCAA tourney unless they finish top 3 in the league.

[concerned]

Tennessee plays in the Maui Classic (Oregon, North Caro, Georgetown, Wisc, UConn) North Carolina, Tenn Chatt (29 wins last year), Georgia Tech and Gonzaga.

Glad I'll actually be waching some Division 1 basketball this year in the preseason, unlike you guys.

Just remember that when you come crawling back next looking for a team to root for, we are not going to let you back in. You are dead to me, Fredo.

[SoCalPat]

This schedule -- especially on the home end -- is horseshit.

Northwest Nazarene and Concordia are non-D1s.

Coppin State and Prairie View are 300-plus RPIs. The rest, minus Butler (56) are 250-plus RPIs. Xavier is the only guaranteed matchup away from home that's worth anything.

Diamondhead is made up of Hawaii (80), Illinois State (113), SDSU (41), San Francisco (227), Southern Miss (314), Stephen F. Austin (66) and Tulsa (58). As the highest-seeded team, one would expect we're entitled to get the opponent of our choice. I hope to God it ain't Southern Miss.

That Diamondhead field is barely NIT-quality, which is fitting, because Larry scheduled as if that's where he thinks we're headed.

And the committee ain't gonna care that we didn't have Barefield or Colette in the non-con.

[concerned]

This schedule -- especially on the home end -- is horseshit.

Northwest Nazarene and Concordia are non-D1s.

Coppin State and Prairie View are 300-plus RPIs. The rest, minus Butler (56) are 250-plus RPIs. Xavier is the only guaranteed matchup away from home that's worth anything.

Diamondhead is made up of Hawaii (80), Illinois State (113), SDSU (41), San Francisco (227), Southern Miss (314), Stephen F. Austin (66) and Tulsa (58). As the highest-seeded team, one would expect we're entitled to get the opponent of our choice. I hope to God it ain't Southern Miss.

That Diamondhead field is barely NIT-quality, which is fitting, because Larry scheduled as if that's where he thinks we're headed.

And the committee ain't gonna care that we didn't have Barefield or Colette in the non-con.

It is as if it is 2012 all over again and we are starting from the bottom of a deep hole.

[LA Ute]

Can't wait to see how he explains this. Seems pretty much like an admission that we won't be good this year.

[311ute]

Only 10 D1 games?? WTF?

Also, what happened to Larry saying there would be two in-state opponents every year? I fully expected Weber to be on the schedule.


At the end of the day the only thing I really care about is making sure our RPI/SOS is in good position come Selection Sunday, and this schedule worries me. Like SoCalPat said, too many 250+ RPI games on there. I don't understand it. It's not 2013-14 bad, but it's not great. I had hoped we learned our lesson in 13-14, when we had a good enough team to be on the bubble, but our horrid OOC schedule didn't give us a chance.

[sancho]

too many 250+ RPI games on there. I don't understand it.

Yes, this system is so easy to game. Just don't schedule any 200+ teams, and the numbers tell the committee you are doing a good job. It's not like a 175 RPI it's actually a much tougher opponent, but it makes all the difference in the world to something as dumb as the RPI.

[311ute]

Yes, this system is so easy to game. Just don't schedule any 200+ teams, and the numbers tell the committee you are doing a good job. It's not like a 175 RPI it's actually a much tougher opponent, but it makes all the difference in the world to something as dumb as the RPI.


Exactly, which is why I don't understand this schedule. Pac-12 teams did such a good job gaming the system last year, I thought we had figured it out. I just don't get why we would handicap ourselves like this.

[concerned]

It is not handicapping ourselves if we are not going to be any good in the first place. I agree with LA Ute. This is tantamount to an admission that we are going to suck. I think it tells the players the same thing.

[Utebiquitous]

Your last sentence is brutal but probably true. Quite a message to send to the players. Quite a message to send to your fans as well. As a season ticket holder I've voted with my feet and walked away from next season. I'm not paying season ticket prices for ten good games (9 league home games plus Butler). Take away a couple played on Sunday that I miss for religious reasons and it's down to seven. I understand putting a few guarantees on the schedule around test weeks and perhaps the Christmas holiday but you've got to get the fans four to five pre-season home games worth attending. I'm not even saying marquee games but there ought to be four or five Butler's on this schedule. Obviously, a BYU home game would count and I'd count USU. Utah Valley might be there in a few years but not yet.

What an embarrassment.

[snafu]

I'm a little confused. Is this schedule really that different then most years? Last year we had SDSU and BYU at home. This year we have Butler and UVU. What's the big deal?

[mpfunk]

There is no excuse for this schedule.

[Utebiquitous]

Snafu,
Last year's home schedule was bad as well. The road schedule helped the team quite a bit. The Puerto Rico Tournament ended up being better than advertised by season's end, hence my not critiquing the Hawaii trip. The Duke win was huge for us and helped counter the Wichita State beatdown. I've liked the road schedule but I can't go to those games. Larry is not bringing enough good home games and as you say, it's not much different than most years. Although, only one good game - UVU is not a good game yet - is still 50% less than last year.

[SoCalPat]

Snafu,
Last year's home schedule was bad as well. The road schedule helped the team quite a bit. The Puerto Rico Tournament ended up being better than advertised by season's end, hence my not critiquing the Hawaii trip. The Duke win was huge for us and helped counter the Wichita State beatdown. I've liked the road schedule but I can't go to those games. Larry is not bringing enough good home games and as you say, it's not much different than most years. Although, only one good game - UVU is not a good game yet - is still 50% less than last year.

We had three home games last year vs. the RPI top 100 in the non-con. I will be shocked if we have more than one this year, in Butler.

There's also no comparison between Puerto Rico and Hawaii. We're the only P5 team playing in the tournament. Puerto Rico had five such teams. Hawaii features teams from the Big West and WCC. The worst league represented in Puerto Rico the MVC. Again, no comparison.

[Utebiquitous]

I just hope those teams end up being near the top of their conferences so we gain some respectability from the tournament. As you've indicated, it will be a long shot to gain anything from the tournament other than a suntan.

[SeattleUte]

Why isn't this Chris Hill's fault?

[LA Ute]

Why isn't this Chris Hill's fault?

As usual you raise a compelling issue. I think that Utah being ranked 10th in national athletic programs, even though 8 of the programs ranked above Utah enjoy budgets of over $100 million, was already the last straw. Now all these indispensable basketball players are leaving a program coached by LK, whom Hill hired. LK's coaching tenure has been a huge disappointment: unable to advance past the Sweet 16 in 2015 and stopped in the Round of 32 in 2015. It's now clear that Hill must be fired.

[Old Standing ute]

As usual you raise a compelling issue. I think that Utah being ranked 10th in national athletic programs, with 8 of the programs ranked above Utah enjoying budgets of over $100 million, was already the last straw. Now all these indispensable players are leaving a program coached by LK, whom Hill hired. LK's coaching tenure has been a huge disappointment: unable to advance past the Sweet 16 in 2015 and stopped in the Round of 32 in 2015. It's now clear that Hill must be fired..

LOL---very nice.

BB schedule looks like a Rick Majerus era schedule.

[Utebiquitous]

I'm not into pointing the finger at any one person. I do wonder whether or not Chris and Larry have ever had a conversation about a scheduling philosophy. Do we want to be known for playing one of the toughest schedules every year, somewhere in the middle or one of the poorest. To be in the middle of that spectrum (where I think we are most years) is not good enough to attract and keep fans dollars these days. At least not mine.

Scheduling must be a difficult thing for basketball teams - it certainly is tougher than football. A weak game in football is much more tolerable given what the Pac-12 gauntlet is annually.

[mpfunk]

.

LOL---very nice.

BB schedule looks like a Rick Majerus era schedule.
No it doesn't. Majerus didn't schedule tough, but he didn't schedule that weak.

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[SoCalPat]

No it doesn't. Majerus didn't schedule tough, but he didn't schedule that weak.

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We never played in an exempt tournament under Majerus that's as shitty as Diamondhead next season. Never.

[sancho]

We never played in an exempt tournament under Majerus that's as shitty as Diamondhead next season. Never.

How does the scheduling work for these tournaments? Did we know how bad it was when we signed up?

[Utebiquitous]

SoCal knows more about the preseason tournaments than I do. All I know is that the Diamondhead has become the least competitive for several years now.

[SeattleUte]

As usual you raise a compelling issue. I think that Utah being ranked 10th in national athletic programs, even though 8 of the programs ranked above Utah enjoy budgets of over $100 million, was already the last straw. Now all these indispensable basketball players are leaving a program coached by LK, whom Hill hired. LK's coaching tenure has been a huge disappointment: unable to advance past the Sweet 16 in 2015 and stopped in the Round of 32 in 2015. It's now clear that Hill must be fired.

LA, why mock? Isn't the AD primarily responsible for scheduling?

[LA Ute]

LA, why mock? Isn't the AD primarily responsible for scheduling?

For football, yes. The head BB coach schedules his own games.

[UtahsMrSports]

I wanted to compare this year's non con to teh 2013-2014 non con which has been much lampooned. So here it is......

http://utahutes.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball&schedule=112

First of all.............Geoducks! I will never forget the mighty Geoducks! (pronounced "gooey-ducks" for those who forgot)

Second, did we fall asleep at the wheel with Idaho State?

Anyway, I think we can (and will) get to the tournament this year but we gotta go better than 9-9 in conference. This schedule doesn't leave much room for error as far as tourney entrance goes. But in a "rebuilding" year with some major depth concerns until fall semester is over, I get it. I don't love it, and I still think we could have and should have done better, but I get it.

[LA Ute]

What Bill Riley thinks:

The State of Utah Basketball (http://espn700sports.com/utes/the-state-of-utah-basketball/)

[SoCalPat]

I wanted to compare this year's non con to teh 2013-2014 non con which has been much lampooned. So here it is......

http://utahutes.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball&schedule=112

First of all.............Geoducks! I will never forget the mighty Geoducks! (pronounced "gooey-ducks" for those who forgot)

Second, did we fall asleep at the wheel with Idaho State?

Anyway, I think we can (and will) get to the tournament this year but we gotta go better than 9-9 in conference. This schedule doesn't leave much room for error as far as tourney entrance goes. But in a "rebuilding" year with some major depth concerns until fall semester is over, I get it. I don't love it, and I still think we could have and should have done better, but I get it.

Much better than 9-9. In 2013-14, Arizona and UCLA went 1-2 in league, followed by a five-way tie for third at 10-8. Four of those teams made the tournament. The team that didn't -- Cal -- had the No. 36 SOS (to Utah's 88), and was 63rd in RPI to Utah's 82.

The 2013-14 team had 18 regular season D-1 wins, plus one in Vegas. So did that year's Cal team. I don't think one more win was what was lacking. Cal was a higher NIT seed (2, to Utah's 5). One more win wouldn't have guaranteed either team got in, but two likely would have. Let's say we need 21 D-1 wins. Utah gets there with an 8-2 non-con, an 11-7 mark in league play and two wins in Vegas.

[snafu]

What Bill Riley thinks:

The State of Utah Basketball (http://espn700sports.com/utes/the-state-of-utah-basketball/)



Interesting thoughts from Bill. He seems to disagree with the prevailing wisdom from this board that Kuzma can't play the 3. He has Kuzma starting at the 3 spot.

[UtahsMrSports]

http://espn700sports.com/interviews/larry-krystkowiak-utah-basketball-coach-7-12-16/

Good interview with Larry. Refers to the Brekkott transfer as "confusing". Actually some decent insight.

[LA Ute]

http://espn700sports.com/interviews/larry-krystkowiak-utah-basketball-coach-7-12-16/

Good interview with Larry. Refers to the Brekkott transfer as "confusing". Actually some decent insight.

Just listened to it. Highly recommended. His comments about the schedule are interesting and made me feel better.

[DrumNFeather]

Just listened to it. Highly recommended. His comments about the schedule are interesting and made me feel better.
Agree. Larry gets a bit indignant about things...but I like that about him.

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[LA Ute]

Agree. Larry gets a bit indignant about things...but I like that about him.

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So, how are you enjoying the mountain time zone?

[DrumNFeather]

So, how are you enjoying the mountain time zone?
It's an adjustment to be sure.

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[UtahsMrSports]

Just listened to it. Highly recommended. His comments about the schedule are interesting and made me feel better.

Also, ive been critical of bill for his wrubellian softballs in the past with larry. This interview was almost entirely "people are concerned, discuss!"

[UBlender]

http://espn700sports.com/interviews/larry-krystkowiak-utah-basketball-coach-7-12-16/

Good interview with Larry. Refers to the Brekkott transfer as "confusing". Actually some decent insight.

One of the highlights is Larry referring to Ogbe's injury as the "pubic bone".

Very interesting to basically hear him say that Isaiah Wright wanted to be guaranteed a starting spot, which Larry wouldn't do and that he was confused by Chapman's thinking.

It's too bad they forgot Mawien when discussing the transfers. It would have been interesting to hear Larry's comment. Having a local kid who is one the top recruits in the state that year come in, redshirt and then leave without playing isn't a good look. It looks like a pretty egregious miss on evaluation or something.

The part where they discussed Jakob 2.0 Jokl was very interesting. Larry has never seen him play?!?! The fact that they signed him under those circumstances doesn't inspire a lot of confidence. It makes it seem like they had a lot of transfers, missed on all the guys they wanted and then just took a flyer on a guy they know little about and will hope for the best.

Also in the Jokl part, Larry praised Jakob 2.0 for getting all of his paperwork done and turned in quickly to get admitted to the U. Maybe I'm reading too much into it but I felt like this was Larry's discreet way of telling us that Baruti did not do the same and that is why he didn't sign. It's a strange thing to talk about in an interview so I think there was a reason he brought it up.

#PubicBone

[DrumNFeather]

One of the highlights is Larry referring to Ogbe's injury as the "pubic bone".

Very interesting to basically hear him say that Isaiah Wright wanted to be guaranteed a starting spot, which Larry wouldn't do and that he was confused by Chapman's thinking.

It's too bad they forgot Mawien when discussing the transfers. It would have been interesting to hear Larry's comment. Having a local kid who is one the top recruits in the state that year come in, redshirt and then leave without playing isn't a good look. It looks like a pretty egregious miss on evaluation or something.

The part where they discussed Jakob 2.0 Jokl was very interesting. Larry has never seen him play?!?! The fact that they signed him under those circumstances doesn't inspire a lot of confidence. It makes it seem like they had a lot of transfers, missed on all the guys they wanted and then just took a flyer on a guy they know little about and will hope for the best.

Also in the Jokl part, Larry praised Jakob 2.0 for getting all of his paperwork done and turned in quickly to get admitted to the U. Maybe I'm reading too much into it but I felt like this was Larry's discreet way of telling us that Baruti did not do the same and that is why he didn't sign. It's a strange thing to talk about in an interview so I think there was a reason he brought it up.

#PubicBone

Yeah...Ogbe had to hear that and think: "Thanks for that, coach."

[sancho]

It's an adjustment to be sure.

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What? I missed it? I was planning on helping you move. Oh well, next time. Anytime you want to catch a game at Chez Sancho, let me know. I don't have HD, and I have 5 little kids, but other than that, the atmosphere is perfect.

[justaute]

Utah appears to have offered this guy. Patrick Savoy Jr.

https://twitter.com/PremierBall/status/752915184826540032

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKeTiBwla-I

[sancho]

Utah appears to have offered this guy. Patric Savoy Jr.

https://twitter.com/PremierBall/status/752915184826540032

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKeTiBwla-I

Savoy special!

[SoCalPat]

Utah appears to have offered this guy. Patrick Savoy Jr.

https://twitter.com/PremierBall/status/752915184826540032

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKeTiBwla-I

Son of a former UNLV player. Great percentage from 3. I think guys who prep in Vegas who don't go to Findlay can slide under the radar because so much attention is paid to those guys, and as a result, players who play at other schools are viewed as lesser products. That doesn't mean they still can't be good players for high major D-1 programs.

[Applejack]

Is that Steve's son? Interesting name, if so

[Diehard Ute]

Is that Steve's son? Interesting name, if so

Don't believe so based on his name, SCP's post and his statements in some articles that his dream is to follow in his dad's NBA footsteps.


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[SoCalPat]

Don't believe so based on his name, SCP's post and his statements in some articles that his dream is to follow in his dad's NBA footsteps.


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His dad's NBA footsteps consisted solely of being in the Miami Heat's training camp. His post-playing footsteps included being busted for a cocaine buy in Vegas about 3 years ago.

[Diehard Ute]

His dad's NBA footsteps consisted solely of being in the Miami Heat's training camp. His post-playing footsteps included being busted for a cocaine buy in Vegas about 3 years ago.

Better than my dads NBA footsteps.


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[justaute]

Two more offers have been made. Jordan Nwora and Jacob Epperson.

http://www.verbalcommits.com/schools/utah

[LA Ute]

Two more offers have been made. Jordan Nwora and Jacob Epperson.

http://www.verbalcommits.com/schools/utah

Both bigs. One of them an Aussie. Interesting.

[Rocker Ute]

Aussie bigs... Anyone have an idea of how involved/uninvolved Andrew Bogut is with the Utes? One thing I'd love to know in all programs is about former player involvement.


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[chrisrenrut]

Aussie bigs... Anyone have an idea of how involved/uninvolved Andrew Bogut is with the Utes? One thing I'd love to know in all programs is about former player involvement.


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I saw a picture tweeted from Australia of Bogut together with Bonham. Bonham is with the PAC 12 All Star team playing down there. I guess the point is that Bogut at least recognizes one of the current players from our team, so there is that.

[UtahsMrSports]

I saw a picture tweeted from Australia of Bogut together with Bonham. Bonham is with the PAC 12 All Star team playing down there. I guess the point is that Bogut at least recognizes one of the current players from our team, so there is that.

He seems to pay pretty close attention, as he will usually tweet out best wishes or congratulations to both the football and basketball teams when they are about to play in or just won a big game.

[LA Ute]

Which PAC-12 arenas are the most difficult to play in? ESPN has ranked them. Arizona is #1. We're #4:

http://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/254.png?w=110&h=110&transparent=true4. Utah Utes (http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/_/id/254/utah-utes): Jon M. Huntsman Center, opened in 1969
The downside of having a 15,000-seat gym is that you can pack in 13,000 people and still have a noticeable number of unoccupied seats. So it is at the Huntsman Center, which averaged 12,997 fans at home games in 2015-16 -- 24th-most in the country -- and still rarely boasted a sellout. Even so, the successes of sixth-year coach Larry Krystkowiak's tenure have done wonders for the atmosphere, and Utah fans require minimal encouragement in the first place.
Fun fact: Then known as the Special Events Center, it hosted the 1979 Final Four, the one where Larry Bird and Magic Johnson more or less changed the face of college basketball forever -- back when Final Fours were staged in actual basketball gyms.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/17192636/pac-12-venues-ranked-according-difficulty

[LA Ute]

This is just an interesting reminder of how far we have come in six years (and somewhat painful to watch).


http://youtu.be/gP0vRKVzCuk

[Moose]

This is just an interesting reminder of how far we have come in six years (and somewhat painful to watch).


http://youtu.be/gP0vRKVzCuk

Comrade Crimson would prefer believe that the basketball program was better during that period than it is now.

[NorthwestUteFan]

I watched the 1998 game vs UNC tonight. I loved those days. Love him or hate him, Rick Majerus was the smartest coach in the building wherever he went.

[Applejack]

This is just an interesting reminder of how far we have come in six years (and somewhat painful to watch).


http://youtu.be/gP0vRKVzCuk
GTFO with that stuff. What are you, a BYU troll now?

[SeattleUte]

GTFO with that stuff. What are you, a BYU troll now?

HIs ideological purity has always been suspect.

[LA Ute]

HIs ideological purity has always been suspect.

What? You're a closet Boylen fan? I am shocked. Shocked!

[UtahsMrSports]

Both Loveridge and Taylor signed with pro teams in Hungary this week.

Kim tillie had 6 points today against the US

[NorthwestUteFan]

Both Loveridge and Taylor signed with pro teams in Hungary this week.

Kim tillie had 6 points today against the US
Great news, all around.

[chrisrenrut]

Great news, all around.

Except for the French, if they are relying on players of Tillie's caliber.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Looks like Chris Jones is headed back to Utah. The Utah State program is a big pile of poo right now. http://m.cachevalleydaily.com/mobile/sports/article_b0954b86-632e-11e6-8b3e-8bf18fa2ba3a.html


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[UtahsMrSports]

I had to laugh as the pictures from fan fest got posted last night. I did not recognize more than half of the roster.

[UBlender]

I had to laugh as the pictures from fan fest got posted last night. I did not recognize more than half of the roster.

Yeah, I was there with my kids. I take my son to several basketball games each year and always try to help him get to know the team. This time it was like "that's Kuz, that's Lorenzo, that's Jayce and.....uh, I think that's Gabe Bealer but I'm not even sure...." A really nice player helped my son get the ball a few times so he could take some shots and I didn't even know his name to help my son thank him properly. I think it was either Coleman or Zamora. They did seem to be a nice group of guys who were enjoying themselves with the fans.

[U-Ute]

I had to laugh as the pictures from fan fest got posted last night. I did not recognize more than half of the roster.

Haha. Yeah. I joked about how many new guys there were and asked all the guys I didn't recognize what their names were. I also asked them all who would win a 3 point shooting contest. While Coleman and Seeley both said they would, all the walk ons and Kuzma said PVD, hands down.

Side note: when I first started asking, I made the mistake of asking who the best shooter was. They all said Jayce. That's when I realized my mistake since he's always shooting 3' from the rim. Still it is nice to hear that he is consistently making them.

[sancho]

Haha. Yeah. I joked about how many new guys there were and asked all the guys I didn't recognize what their names were. I also asked them all who would win a 3 point shooting contest. While Coleman and Seeley both said they would, all the walk ons and Kuzma said PVD, hands down.


No votes for Connor? I would like to see the 3 point contest.

[LA Ute]

Bossi's Best: Coaches who identify under-the-radar talent

https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/bossi-s-best-coaches-who-identify-under-the-radar-talent

LK makes the list, and is tops in the PAC-12. He's in pretty company nationally too. Read the whole thing!

[LA Ute]

Clips from Utah's upset of UCLA in the 1983 Round of 32. I remember that game well. Interesting how willowy (skinny) players were back then.

https://www.facebook.com/lowell.brown/posts/10210807625683170

[LA Ute]

Really enjoyable Keith Van Horn interview with Riley:

https://espn700sports.com/bill-riley-show/keith-van-horn-doesnt-follow-the-nba-but-makes-time-for-utah/

[DrumNFeather]

This sort of fits here...Mark Gottfried out at NC State. He was linked to the Utah job at one point, or at least some of our fans wanted him. Also has Heath Schoyer on his staff, former Wyoming coach and Jim Boylen adversary.

[LA Ute]

I believe Larry has earned our patience. He has lots more to prove but he's running the program intelligently within the structural constraints of the Utah job. The trajectory is excellent. If he sticks with it and maintains fan support he could be like Whittingham is in football. Deposit $.02.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

839998933871054848


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[sancho]

839998933871054848


Illinois, lsu, nc state, and Missouri are all hiring.

[Old Standing ute]

Best way to become a better coach in the eyes of fans & have them love you---be chased by other schools.

Larry K has a pretty good job here----good salary, strong backing from Hill & big donors, one of top buildings in the country, his family likes it here, & he is from the West.

not sure that Illinois is a move up or not.\, hope not.

[concerned]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C6vHp49UwAA_c1-.jpg







https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/774111179404812288/YQPb1HiU_bigger.jpgBen Anderson‏Verified account @BenKFAN (https://twitter.com/BenKFAN) 5m5 minutes ago (https://twitter.com/BenKFAN/status/840985279351611392)More



As of this morning, @DraftExpress (https://twitter.com/DraftExpress) has the Utes Kyle Kuzma back in the NBA draft.

[LA Ute]

Utah basketball: Looking forward, Larry Krystkowiak vows to focus more on building culture (http://www.sltrib.com/sports/5170811-155/utah-basketball-looking-forward-larry-krystkowiak)Interesting article based on a long interview. I'll sit back and read the withering responses. :snack:

[DrumNFeather]

Larry on with Bill Reilly today: https://espn700sports.com/interviews/larry-krystkowiak-utah-head-basketball-coach-4-13-17/

Focused a lot of his comments on the culture of the program and getting away from that. Said that after the season he sat down with the team and owned his role in the team's poor performance this year - and that some of the guys on the team did as well, and that they are now rejuvenated.

He (obviously) spoke very positively about Donnie Tillman and said that he hopes that they'll have some good recruiting news coming down the pike very soon. Also said he expects Kuzma to be back next year, but if he's not, he's got some guys at the 3-4 that are willing to wait and see what happens with Kuz. Talked about the transfers and that in some cases the players were removed from the program...which speaks to his comment in the Goon article on nuance with the transfers - which I do think is important to note.

He went on a relatively long rant about transfers and sort of where we are as a society...which lead to a comment about having lengthy meetings as a staff about player evaluation etc. Gives you some real insight, I think, into how Larry is wired.

[Solon]

Utah basketball: Looking forward, Larry Krystkowiak vows to focus more on building culture (http://www.sltrib.com/sports/5170811-155/utah-basketball-looking-forward-larry-krystkowiak)

Interesting article based on a long interview. I'll sit back and read the withering responses. :snack:

From the article:


In Krystkowiak's view, the lack of culture contributed to swings late in the season, [. . .]

It also gives context to why Devon Daniels and JoJo Zamora are on their way out after one season apiece. In particular, Daniels set an early tone as the future of the program, stepping straight into the starting lineup and exciting fans with his precocious athleticism. But Daniels ran afoul of the coaching staff along the way — an issue neither Daniels nor Krystkowiak wanted to discuss in detail — and was suspended for three games late in the season. Utah decided it would be better to make a break with the promising wing after the season ended.
"I made the determination, based on behavior and consistency and the way things weren't being accomplished and done, that there's probably going to be programs that make better sense for these guys," Krystkowiak said. "You gotta remember things, gotta be accountable for things and there's certain standards for how you treat people. It was a decision that I made."

Am I to understand that JoJo was a problem-child as well? Or is he leaving because he couldn't really play vs. Pac-12 competition?

Larry's use of the phrase "these guys" makes me wonder if JoJo had culture issues as well. (not that it matters all that much now, I guess)

[UtahsMrSports]

Larry on with Bill Reilly today: https://espn700sports.com/interviews/larry-krystkowiak-utah-head-basketball-coach-4-13-17/

Focused a lot of his comments on the culture of the program and getting away from that. Said that after the season he sat down with the team and owned his role in the team's poor performance this year - and that some of the guys on the team did as well, and that they are now rejuvenated.

He (obviously) spoke very positively about Donnie Tillman and said that he hopes that they'll have some good recruiting news coming down the pike very soon. Also said he expects Kuzma to be back next year, but if he's not, he's got some guys at the 3-4 that are willing to wait and see what happens with Kuz. Talked about the transfers and that in some cases the players were removed from the program...which speaks to his comment in the Goon article on nuance with the transfers - which I do think is important to note.

He went on a relatively long rant about transfers and sort of where we are as a society...which lead to a comment about having lengthy meetings as a staff about player evaluation etc. Gives you some real insight, I think, into how Larry is wired.

That was a really cool interview. Doesn't sound like he is working the transfer market very hard. I really like Larry.

[Old Standing ute]

Have to like the guy---he is no BS.

Sounds like Zamora was a problem too---not just Daniels.

[DrumNFeather]

Have to like the guy---he is no BS.

Sounds like Zamora was a problem too---not just Daniels.
He did lose some minutes in the middle part of the season, so it makes sense.

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[Diehard Ute]

Have to like the guy---he is no BS.

Sounds like Zamora was a problem too---not just Daniels.

Larry made that clear in his interview with Bill.

He said he wanted to make it clear he'd asked them (Zamora and Daniels) to leave, that neither transfer was voluntary. He also made it clear it wasn't a one time issue, and that he had spent too much time on plays and not enough time on culture


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[Dwight Schr-Ute]

That was an assuring interview. Sounds like there could/should be some more good news around the corner with expected immediate dividends.


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[sancho]

That was an assuring interview.

I should probably listen. I haven't been feeling overly optimistic about basketball lately.

[justaute]

That was an assuring interview. Sounds like there could/should be some more good news around the corner with expected immediate dividends.


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Yup...it did sound optimistic. We'll see. Let the results speak.

[DrumNFeather]

I should probably listen. I haven't been feeling overly optimistic about basketball lately.


Yup...it did sound optimistic. We'll see. Let the results speak.

For me the most assuring thing about the interview was his ability to dissect the season and see where he personally could improve as a coach. I got tired of the tough guy routine in his media interviews during the season. One thing I've always respected about Kyle is that he puts a lot of the blame on the coaches. I feel like this interview started to veer Larry in that direction, and made him the leader of the program we all think (hope) he is.

[justaute]

For me the most assuring thing about the interview was his ability to dissect the season and see where he personally could improve as a coach. I got tired of the tough guy routine in his media interviews during the season. One thing I've always respected about Kyle is that he puts a lot of the blame on the coaches. I feel like this interview started to veer Larry in that direction, and made him the leader of the program we all think (hope) he is.

Agreed. That said, I did not agree with LK's emphasis on the fact that "he" asked the players to leave. I think I would have phrased it differently and focused more on the culture. Just let it go.

[DrumNFeather]

Agreed. That said, I did not agree with LK's emphasis on the fact that "he" asked the players to leave. I think I could have phased it differently and focus more on the culture. Just let it go.

Yeah - that had to be in response to some of the pressure he's getting from somewhere stating "look at all these numbers of transfers." For him to clarify that several times and note that there is nuance to each of these transfers, to me, was a signal that he's at least been asked about it from the guy at the top.

[DrumNFeather]

We don't have a 2017-18 thread yet, but Bealer officially got his extra year.

[justaute]

Good. Now we just need a good transfer or two for 2017.

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[DrumNFeather]

Another interview with Bill Reilly today: https://espn700sports.com/interviews/larry-krystkowiak-utah-mens-basketball-coach-5-17-17/

Some highlights - with two scholarships left, they've got some guys they are talking to, but he is not going to panic and pick guys up...it's got to be the right guy.

With Kuz leaving, he is expecting (hoping? wishing? praying?) Rawson to have a big Senior season. He also said he expects Chris Seely to contribute, though he's not a great student, so Larry is working with him as well to mature. He was also positive about Donnie Tillman, and the other freshman we just signed from Vegas.

Said that Barefield is trying to get all the guys back early to work together.

The foreign trip is to Barcelona Spain and Paris France. He's excited about the bonding and Xs and Os getting started early. On a scale of 1-10, the competition they should be playing there is around an 8 (or that is what they requested).

Talked about Kuz leaving and that he felt it was better for Kyle to come back to school, but obviously he has a biased opinion there, and he felt like his voice wasn't totally heard by Kyle. But he also said that Kyle is in a great position because he got his degree. Now that he's in the draft he's hopeful that he represents the program well.

[U-Ute]

Since Bealer was stuck in a boot and couldn't get away, I asked him which of the young guys I'll be looking at next March to be stepping up next year.

He said Tillman and PoPoola have been doing really well. Especially "Pup".




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[LA Ute]

Interesting piece by Kenneth Ogbe, with some details of his story that were previously unknown, to me, at least.

http://gouvu.com/news/2017/10/23/mens-basketball-i-m-not-scared.aspx

[Diehard Ute]

Interesting piece by Kenneth Ogbe, with some details of his story that were previously unknown, to me, at least.

http://gouvu.com/news/2017/10/23/mens-basketball-i-m-not-scared.aspx

It certainly doesn’t make Utah out to be the bad guy like many of the previous stories did.




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[UTEopia]

Interesting piece by Kenneth Ogbe, with some details of his story that were previously unknown, to me, at least.

http://gouvu.com/news/2017/10/23/mens-basketball-i-m-not-scared.aspx

Great story. I completely understand why the U told him what they did and why he decided to transfer. It was the right move all around.

[LA Ute]

Kragthorpe: Utes' Larry Krystkowiak is looking like the Pac-12's Coach of the Year

https://www.sltrib.com/sports/2018/02/16/kragthorpe-utes-larry-krystkowiak-is-looking-like-the-pac-12s-coach-of-the-year/

[UTEopia]

I seem to recall that there were a number of us who lamented only getting Bibbins instead of some higher profile grad transfers. Where would this team be without Bibbins. Also, Gabe Bealer. He has come in when called upon and usually hit big shots. Is a good guy and doesn't create drama.

[LA Ute]

I seem to recall that there were a number of us who lamented only getting Bibbins instead of some higher profile grad transfers. Where would this team be without Bibbins. Also, Gabe Bealer. He has come in when called upon and usually hit big shots. Is a good guy and doesn't create drama.

My faith in Larry‘s ability to evaluate talent and coach kids up has been strengthened this season, what with Bibbins, Rawson, and Bealer. Even van Dyke has stepped up and played an important role several times.

[Utebiquitous]

Can I be both thrilled and irritated at the same time when it comes to Bibbins? I think Seattle said a while back that it's too bad Bibbins - a fifth-year transfer - is the best player on a team this many years into Larry's tenure. Forgive me if I'm putting words in your mouth Seattle but I feel that way too. It bothers me; but what an addition! He is a terrific player. His leadership may be the most important "skill" that he brings.

Speaking of Seattle, I was much closer to his view of the team than anyone else as the season began. I suppose they could crater these last three games but I'll be very surprised and even angry if that happens. My expectations are that they win the last three or go 2-1. I did not have those expectations as league play began.

I still have some issues with Larry but I admit I live in the past, expecting Majerus-like game-planning and defense. Those are two areas that the staff and players have done much better this season. It does irk me that our opponents' best player(s) still usually play very well against us.

Anyway, I'm going to enjoy having the opportunity to play for second or third as we move into the final two weeks of league play.

[Applejack]

Speaking of Seattle, I was much closer to his view of the team than anyone else as the season began. I suppose they could crater these last three games but I'll be very surprised and even angry if that happens. My expectations are that they win the last three or go 2-1. I did not have those expectations as league play began.


I think asking for 3-0 to end the year is overly optimistic. It is possible, but unlikely.

[sancho]

I think asking for 3-0 to end the year is overly optimistic. It is possible, but unlikely.

Especially when each of the three opponents trounced us in the first meeting. Still, it's fun to have a chance at the dance.

Like all of modern basketball, it will come down to outside shooting.

[concerned]

Especially when each of the three opponents trounced us in the first meeting. Still, it's fun to have a chance at the dance.

Like all of modern basketball, it will come down to outside shooting.

Although, everyone of those opponents is terrific at home and more or less horrible on the road.

Beating UCLA is the key. If we win that, USC on the back end at altitude with short rest and without Boatright should have better odds. A week to prepare for Colorado should be enough. Knock on wood.

And I just noticed that the USC game is at 12:30. That will hurt the crowd, but is an awfully short turn around for a team still on Pacific time.

If we dont have barefield or jayce, everything changes. [/QUOTE]

[UtahsMrSports]

I took a look at Lunardi's projections this morning. As of right now, he has the Pac-12 at two bids with 4 teams among the 8 that just missed the cut. Included in those 4 are us, and our two opponents this week. Tremendous opportunity to move up, but we will be getting their best shot. And, like you guys said, they both beat us up pretty good earlier this year.

[SoCalPat]

Kragthorpe: Utes' Larry Krystkowiak is looking like the Pac-12's Coach of the Year

https://www.sltrib.com/sports/2018/02/16/kragthorpe-utes-larry-krystkowiak-is-looking-like-the-pac-12s-coach-of-the-year/

Kurt follows me on Twitter, and this is the second time in two weeks he's taken a significant talking point of mine and put it in his column. I should be on his payroll.

[SoCalPat]

I think asking for 3-0 to end the year is overly optimistic. It is possible, but unlikely.

Stop worrying. We got this ...

[sancho]

Kurt follows me on Twitter, and this is the second time in two weeks he's taken a significant talking point of mine and put it in his column. I should be on his payroll.

To be fair, that one was low hanging fruit.

[LA Ute]

Lest we forget how things were just one year prior to joining the PAC-12:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP0vRKVzCuk

[Scorcho]

based on expectations I give Utah a B+ on the year, but can we all agree this was Larry's last mulligan. No more:

- revolving door for talented players

- OOC schedules that hurt rather than help with March Madness

- losing to a lower seed in Vegas

I love Larry, but his warts aren't moving the program forward

[DrumNFeather]

We have enough talent coming back that we shouldn't have the "we're too young" excuse, even with the influx of young talent coming in. I would imagine that in addition to the guys we've got coming in, that Larry would seek out another grad transfer as well and let a guy like Caldwell walk. Now, I do believe that you need to let guys in your program develop, and perhaps he just needs time, I don't think I'd give up on anyone besides him or Jokl at this point.

With a core of Barefield, Johnson, Tillman, Seeley coming back and other guys having been in the program for a year, this needs to be a deeper rotation next year, particularly early on.

As for the schedule, I think we're really close to having a balanced schedule. It doesn't need a total overhaul, just 3-4 of the games need to be an improvement over what we've had the last few years. I'm working on charting all of the schedules of the teams in our league this year and seeing where we fell short that others did not. Again, I don't think it is a huge leap we're talking about.

[concerned]

based on expectations I give Utah a B+ on the year, but can we all agree this was Larry's last mulligan. No more:

- revolving door for talented players

- OOC schedules that hurt rather than help with March Madness

- losing to a lower seed in Vegas

I love Larry, but his warts aren't moving the program forward

Agreed. I dont see how next year is better, unless certain players improve dramatically and unexpectedly. Our highly rated talent will be very young. Without Collette, we will have to establish inside scoring from someone, or we will be relegated to launching 3's. I dont see how Jayce is going to become that person over a summer. Maybe Tillman, possibly Seeley (has he shown any low post moves other than a dunk?), but that is asking a lot. We have to improve rebounding, and losing Collette (despite what I said) and Rawson wont help. That has to come from Tillman and Seeley for the most part. I question whether either Barefield or Jones can run the offense as well as Bibbins did this year. And once again, we likely wont have a go-to scorer we can rely on when we need to. Maybe one of the newcomers will surprise ala Donovan Mitchell. One or more may have to. Asking a lot of an 18 or 19 year old.

[sancho]

based on expectations I give Utah a B+ on the year, but can we all agree this was Larry's last mulligan. No more:

- revolving door for talented players

- OOC schedules that hurt rather than help with March Madness

- losing to a lower seed in Vegas

I love Larry, but his warts aren't moving the program forward

We're in a tough spot. We really need to return to the tournament, but all our hope next season is riding on unknown freshmen.

We aren't a tournament worthy team this season. Ever since it became clear that ASU isn't good, we've been hanging our hat on our win over Missouri. Our RPI was enough to keep us on the bubble despite a complete lack of quality wins. So, in that sense, our OCC schedule helped with March Madness. Or, to put it another way, our OCC schedule kept us in the game. It set us up to where all we would need to do is beat Arizona or USC to get in.

We did lose to a lower seed in Vegas, but only 1 game separated Utah and Oregon in the final conference standings.

[Scorcho]

We did lose to a lower seed in Vegas, but only 1 game separated Utah and Oregon in the final conference standings.

2nd year in a row Utah was able to grab a 1st round bye in Vegas, but lost to a higher seed

Last year #5 Cal played the night before and beat us.

[sancho]

Asking a lot of an 18 or 19 year old.

Asking a lot of an 18 year old, but we have 6 of them coming in, and we only need 1 of them to be amazing. We need two more to be serviceable. This is how college basketball works now, right?

Guards: Barefield, Jones, PVD, Doutrive, Gaskin, Popoola
Forwards: Seeley, Tillman, Battin, Allen, Caldwell
Centers: Johnson, Thione

None of the returning players will ever be a post presence for us. For post play, 100% of the hope in in Battin. For interior defense, on the other hand, we have plenty to feel optimistic over.

For the rebounding, Jayce is already a strong rebounder. I think we can place hope in Seeley and Tillman, too. They've shown flashes with rebounding. Then there's Battin and Thione. Doutrive is a tall guard, and Gaskin is an athletic 6'3". I think rebounding will be better next season.

We'll certainly miss having a PG like Bibbins. We know Barefield can't do that, so the hope is riding on Jones.

That's two big parts of the game - post play and PG - where all of our eggs are in one unknown basket. That's kinda scary.

[Rocker Ute]

Asking a lot of an 18 year old, but we have 6 of them coming in, and we only need 1 of them to be amazing. We need two more to be serviceable. This is how college basketball works now, right?

Guards: Barefield, Jones, PVD, Doutrive, Gaskin, Popoola
Forwards: Seeley, Tillman, Battin, Allen, Caldwell
Centers: Johnson, Thione

None of the returning players will ever be a post presence for us. For post play, 100% of the hope in in Battin. For interior defense, on the other hand, we have plenty to feel optimistic over.

For the rebounding, Jayce is already a strong rebounder. I think we can place hope in Seeley and Tillman, too. They've shown flashes with rebounding. Then there's Battin and Thione. Doutrive is a tall guard, and Gaskin is an athletic 6'3". I think rebounding will be better next season.

We'll certainly miss having a PG like Bibbins. We know Barefield can't do that, so the hope is riding on Jones.

That's two big parts of the game - post play and PG - where all of our eggs are in one unknown basket. That's kinda scary.

I'm of the opinion that Jayce Johnson is going to surprise some people next year.

[sancho]

2nd year in a row Utah was able to grab a 1st round bye in Vegas, but lost to a higher seed

Last year #5 Cal played the night before and beat us.

Sure, but again, neither of the games were upsets. A 3/6 games seems like a big seeding difference, but Oregon and Utah were even in the conference. The 4/5 game last season...ditto. Not that I'm happy to lose, but on your ultimatum to Larry list, that one is small compared to the revolving door issue. The fact that we have repeatedly had to cobble teams together last minute through transfers and late pick-ups is far more concerning that the scheduling issue or the fact that we've lost a couple of close 50/50 games in Vegas.

[concerned]

I'm of the opinion that Jayce Johnson is going to surprise some people next year.

I will be one of them, that is for sure. I hope you are right. Larry needs to pull a Washburn with him.

[sancho]

I'm of the opinion that Jayce Johnson is going to surprise some people next year.

Jayce is great. He's another Dalin Bachynski for us. He plays good defense and rebounds. He works hard, so I wouldn't be surprised to see his FT% get up into the high 60's, even with the awful form. But I would be very surprised to see him turn into a strong low post presence on offense.

[DrumNFeather]

We're in a tough spot. We really need to return to the tournament, but all our hope next season is riding on unknown freshmen.

We aren't a tournament worthy team this season. Ever since it became clear that ASU isn't good, we've been hanging our hat on our win over Missouri. Our RPI was enough to keep us on the bubble despite a complete lack of quality wins. So, in that sense, our OCC schedule helped with March Madness. Or, to put it another way, our OCC schedule kept us in the game. It set us up to where all we would need to do is beat Arizona or USC to get in.

We did lose to a lower seed in Vegas, but only 1 game separated Utah and Oregon in the final conference standings.

Yeah - I wouldn't paint ourselves into a corner of "Larry needs to get back to the big dance next year or else!" Truth is, he probably isn't going anywhere. I get the arguments about his salary. Fine. But as has been pointed out here, we need some guys to make big leaps and we need the young guys to come in ready to play. Given Larry's hesitancy to play young guys meaningful minutes (outside of Tillman), it will be interesting to see what he does with his rotation.

As for our OOC, the road losses to Butler and BYU are both fine, I guess. BYU didn't really become a quality loss until they beat St. Mary's in the WCC tourney, vaulting their RPI up quite a bit and making that technically a Q1 loss. And, let's be honest, that was a loss 18 months or whatever in the making. Ole Miss (136) and Utah St. (158) as neutral site wins gave us next to nothing in the quadrant formula (Q3). UNLV (122) as a neutral site loss falls into the Q3 category as well. As you point out, Missouri is our best win OOC and because it was a home game, and they fall just outside the RPI top 30, it's a Q2 win. The rest of our OOC schedule just doesn't give us very much in terms of the quadrants. Larry seems to rely on the strength of the league, which experts pretty universally said this year was down...so you can't rely on the league for all of your quality wins or losses. Now, you also can't project that Ole Miss is going to be 50+ RPI spots worse than last year, or that BYU would have a relatively down year, or that Xavier would cancel on you, taking away a sure fire Q1 game at home, etc. So some of that is out of their hands, but still, you've just simply got to close the gap on those other OOC games.

[Rocker Ute]

Jayce is great. He's another Dalin Bachynski for us. He plays good defense and rebounds. He works hard, so I wouldn't be surprised to see his FT% get up into the high 60's, even with the awful form. But I would be very surprised to see him turn into a strong low post presence on offense.

This year has been hard for me to watch a lot of basketball games so the improvement I’m seeing with him may seem a little more stark than if I’d watched like I normally do. I’ll just say that Jayce has gone from a guy that I questioned if he was really a D1 player to a pretty solid presence out there. He still does a lot of stupid stuff, but nothing I see that isn’t correctable (except his FT shooting form) and given his improvement trajectory I think it’ll happen.

I’d like to say I’ll happily admit I’m wrong, but I won’t be happy about it - for him or me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LA Ute]

based on expectations I give Utah a B+ on the year, but can we all agree this was Larry's last mulligan. No more:

- revolving door for talented players

- OOC schedules that hurt rather than help with March Madness

- losing to a lower seed in Vegas

I love Larry, but his warts aren't moving the program forward

I too am a big Larry fan but you make some good points.

[SoCalPat]

I had a much longer post typed up, but it repeated a lot of things people have already said. I will say this: Larry is 3-26 against Arizona and Oregon. That's not the stuff of coaches who get paid $3.3M per year.

[Scorcho]

I had a much longer post typed up, but it repeated a lot of things people have already said. I will say this: Larry is 3-26 against Arizona and Oregon. That's not the stuff of coaches who get paid $3.3M per year.

considering that Utah basketball was crawling out of the grave for the first 2-3 years of Larry's tenure not sure I would count those. Same with those who say he's only made the tourney 2 out of 7 years

[concerned]

considering that Utah basketball was crawling out of the grave for the first 2-3 years of Larry's tenure not sure I would count those. Same with those who say he's only made the tourney 2 out of 7 years

Agreed. The relevant stats began when Delon arrived.

[Scorcho]

Agreed. The relevant stats began when Delon arrived.

also I think his bout with cancer set the program back in 2016, he didn't recruit or coach very well which is understandable. And reports were that he was sicker than he ever let on

[Diehard Ute]

also I think his bout with cancer set the program back in 2016, he didn't recruit or coach very well which is understandable. And reports were that he was sicker than he ever let on

My wife had a benign tumor on her thyroid and had to have most of it removed a few years ago.

It took a huge toll on her, it was almost 2 years before she was saying she felt ok....to this day she still says she lacks the energy she had before the removal.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[justaute]

I like Jayce, but don't think he has the same athleticism as Bachynski. He just isn't coordinated and fluid -- Bachynski wasn't fluid either, but I thought he was more coordinated and had more athleticism, and stronger. I think Jayce is an ok back-up. He's just not what I'd expect from a 4* recruit.



This year has been hard for me to watch a lot of basketball games so the improvement I’m seeing with him may seem a little more stark than if I’d watched like I normally do. I’ll just say that Jayce has gone from a guy that I questioned if he was really a D1 player to a pretty solid presence out there. He still does a lot of stupid stuff, but nothing I see that isn’t correctable (except his FT shooting form) and given his improvement trajectory I think it’ll happen.

I’d like to say I’ll happily admit I’m wrong, but I won’t be happy about it - for him or me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SoCalPat]

considering that Utah basketball was crawling out of the grave for the first 2-3 years of Larry's tenure not sure I would count those. Same with those who say he's only made the tourney 2 out of 7 years

You really wanna do that? That would take half of Larry's wins away against Oregon, as we beat a ranked Ducks team in Year 2. It would actually make his win percentage worse.

[sancho]

just not what I'd expect from a 4* recruit.

Recruits are lottery tickets. The 4* recruits have better odds of paying off than the 3*'s do, but the odds are low on all of them. That's why Duke, UNC, and Kentucky stockpile. They grab 6 four-star recruits knowing that, on average, only 2 of them will end up good.

Jayce can be a fine starter for us - but only if we have interior offense coming from someone else. He just isn't going to reliably fill that role.

[UtahsMrSports]

I like Jayce, but don't think he has the same athleticism as Bachynski. He just isn't coordinated and fluid -- Bachynski wasn't fluid either, but I thought he was more coordinated and had more athleticism, and stronger. I think Jayce is an ok back-up. He's just not what I'd expect from a 4* recruit.

For all that Jayce does that frustrates us, when he is able to stay in the game, he rebounds at an almost elite clip (like almost top 10 nationally).

[SoCalPat]

Recruits are lottery tickets. The 4* recruits have better odds of paying off than the 3*'s do, but the odds are low on all of them. That's why Duke, UNC, and Kentucky stockpile. They grab 6 four-star recruits knowing that, on average, only 2 of them will end up good.

Jayce can be a fine starter for us - but only if we have interior offense coming from someone else. He just isn't going to reliably fill that role.

In full agreement. His elevator just doesn't move fast enough for him to be a threat offensively, but since rebounding strength largely comes below the rim, there's no reason he can't contribute significantly in this regard, and he already does.

[USS Utah]

Wait, didn't he win P-12 CoY for getting his team to overachieve?

Losing stinks, but let's try not to get carried away.

[USS Utah]

Utah was picked to finish seventh in the Pac-12 preseason poll after losing four of its top six scorers, including Kyle Kuzma, now with the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers. Krystkowiak molded the Utes into a potential NCAA Tournament team, leading them to 19 wins and the No. 3 seed in this week's Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas.

https://www.sltrib.com/sports/utah-utes/2018/03/06/larry-krystkowiak-named-pac-12-coach-of-the-year-by-media/

[SeattleUte]

You really wanna do that? That would take half of Larry's wins away against Oregon, as we beat a ranked Ducks team in Year 2. It would actually make his win percentage worse.

I agree. What he did in the first two years is nothing but to the good for him. However, the fact that he started wiht such a weak hand doesn’t mean anything now. We expected more than we had with Boylen.

[Scorcho]

I agree. What he did in the first two years is nothing but to the good for him. However, the fact that he started wiht such a weak hand doesn’t mean anything now. We expected more than we had with Boylen.

Considering that Larry is also somewhat handicapped (at least against AZ & USC) at recruiting, I think he's done about as well as anyone could have asked. He took transfers from Long Beach St., Utah State and SLCC and finished 3rd in the conference. That's remarkable.

[SeattleUte]

Considering that Larry is also somewhat handicapped (at least against AZ & USC) at recruiting, I think he's done about as well as anyone could have asked. He took transfers from Long Beach St., Utah State and SLCC and finished 3rd in the conference. That's remarkable.

I agree he had an impressive record with this church ball team. My objection is that he has a church ball team. He doesn’t seem to have a continuous program right now. He needs to rely less on transfers and more on recruits who come as freshmen. The top two ranked teams in the country don’t have ones and dones, so it’s possible to compete with the Arizonas by recruiting guys who stay four years. Oregon is an example. We’ve had rental teams. Lots of fifth year players, JUCOS and other transfers. Also, there are some tendencies that are a problem, like his almost complete inability to beat Altman or Arizona, the NCAA tournament drought, and the way his teams just treat the NIT like a vacation.

We’re Utah, and there are a lot of explanations available for these problems. What we need is a coach who figures out how to work around the challenges or even turn them to his advantage. There are other coaches who can get us to the glass ceiling and leave us blaming the glass ceiling for the lack of exceptional seasons. We need one who breaks through, like has happened at Virginia and Villanova.

[LA Ute]

I agree. What he did in the first two years is nothing but to the good for him. However, the fact that he started wiht such a weak hand doesn’t mean anything now. We expected more than we had with Boylen.

I suspect that just about everyone here, except perhaps you, would agree that the program we have now is several light years ahead of the program Boylen was running.

[SeattleUte]

I suspect that just about everyone here, except perhaps you, would agree that the program we have now is several light years ahead of the program Boylen was running.

I agree. You misunderstood my comment. So he got us out of the pit that Boylen put us in. He doesn’t get a medal for that. That’s my point. That was the least we were entitled to expect. Giving him slack because he did that is like saying I don’t beat my wife so I’m a good husband.

[SoCalPat]

Considering that Larry is also somewhat handicapped (at least against AZ & USC) at recruiting, I think he's done about as well as anyone could have asked. He took transfers from Long Beach St., Utah State and SLCC and finished 3rd in the conference. That's remarkable.

Larry is the second-highest paid coach in the league. Tommy Connor is the highest-paid assistant in the league. If they're having to rely on transfers from the aforementioned schools, they're not earning their paycheck as it pertains to recruiting. They've got this year's class to bail them out. There are no more mulligans after this.

[LA Ute]

I agree. You misunderstood my comment. So he got us out of the pit that Boylen put us in. He doesn’t get a medal for that. That’s my point. That was the least we were entitled to expect. Giving him slack because he did that is like saying I don’t beat my wife so I’m a good husband.

Straw man. No one's saying he gets a medal for that. And, if you think all he's done is get us "out of the pit" I'm afraid you're still in a tiny minority. He's not perfect and (fortunately for him personally) he's not Majerus. But he runs a clean, principled, competitive program and I hope he continues on his generally upward arc.

[LA Ute]

Larry is the second-highest paid coach in the league. Tommy Connor is the highest-paid assistant in the league. If they're having to rely on transfers from the aforementioned schools, they're not earning their paycheck as it pertains to recruiting. They've got this year's class to bail them out. There are no more mulligans after this.

I agree. The revolving door and the recruiting misses need to stop. I do think other schools' corruption has been a factor in recruiting, however.

[Old Standing ute]

Recruiting (and playing) against AZ must be like:

being a trial attorney; if AZ was the other lawyer they would pay off 2 of the 8 jurors. you need an (or is it a), unanimous jury to win---not impossible, but would never happen.
or if you were making a sales pitch to a company & AZ would pay off 2 of the members of the Board---you might still have the winning pitch-, but would never happen.

[Scorcho]

What should the expectations be for Utah basketball regarding making the NCAA Tournament? I think many Utah fans have an inflated view of Utah basketball and its history.

I took a look at the last 30 years of Utah men’s hoops. The last 30 years obviously include some spectacular years and several forgettable ones. Over that span, Utah has made the tournament 15 times and missed it 15 times. Majerus had a stretch during this time where he made the tournament 9 out of 10 years. Post Majerus Utah only went 2 out of 10.


I think most people would consider both of those periods outliers. Going to the tournament 90% of the time seems unreasonable as does 20%. IMO Utah is not a 90% tournament type team a.k.a Arizona/Gonzaga. It was with Majerus, but I believe Big Rick was a once in a generation type coach. Utah is also not Washington St/Arizona St where making the tourney is a rare occurrence (ASU has only made the tourney 6 times in the last 30 years).

Additionally, Jack Gardner had 6 appearances in 18 years (granted the tournament was much tougher to get in in those days) and in 10 years Pimm took Utah to 5 NCAA Tournaments.

I think it’s reasonable for Utah hoops to make the tournament between 40-60% of the time. In Majerus’ early years at Utah he only went twice in his first 5 years. Krystko has fallen short of that but considering his illness, a new league and having to play Christ to Utah basketball's Lazarus I still feel optimistic about the future of Ute hoops.

[sancho]

I think it’s reasonable for Utah hoops to make the tournament between 40-60% of the time.

What teams make the tournament 40-60% of the time? You either make it almost every year, or you rarely make it at all. I just don't think 50% is a stable equilibrium. You will eventually tilt one way or the other.

One thing that's clear - the Pac-12 is down. That's an opportunity for someone to move up into the "almost every year" status. Might as well be Utah. We have UCLA and Arizona as every year programs. We have Oregon getting close to that status. A high major conference of 12 teams can support another "every year" program, and USC, Utah, UW, and ASU are the leading candidates.

[UBlender]

What should the expectations be for Utah basketball regarding making the NCAA Tournament? I think many Utah fans have an inflated view of Utah basketball and its history.

I took a look at the last 30 years of Utah men’s hoops. The last 30 years obviously include some spectacular years and several forgettable ones. Over that span, Utah has made the tournament 15 times and missed it 15 times. Majerus had a stretch during this time where he made the tournament 9 out of 10 years. Post Majerus Utah only went 2 out of 10.


I think most people would consider both of those periods outliers. Going to the tournament 90% of the time seems unreasonable as does 20%. IMO Utah is not a 90% tournament type team a.k.a Arizona/Gonzaga. It was with Majerus, but I believe Big Rick was a once in a generation type coach. Utah is also not Washington St/Arizona St where making the tourney is a rare occurrence (ASU has only made the tourney 6 times in the last 30 years).

Additionally, Jack Gardner had 6 appearances in 18 years (granted the tournament was much tougher to get in in those days) and in 10 years Pimm took Utah to 5 NCAA Tournaments.

I think it’s reasonable for Utah hoops to make the tournament between 40-60% of the time. In Majerus’ early years at Utah he only went twice in his first 5 years. Krystko has fallen short of that but considering his illness, a new league and having to play Christ to Utah basketball's Lazarus I still feel optimistic about the future of Ute hoops.

I don't know how much history can be relied upon given how much things have changed with the move to the PAC 12. In good years, the power conferences can get 5-8 teams into the NCAA. The PAC 12 has not been at that level and needs to get back there, but if it does then Utah should be in that group more often than not. That is basically requiring them to finish in the top half of the conference (something they've done every year since Larry's third year which was the first time he had something resembling a PAC 12 roster) and have a respectable out of conference schedule (something that has NOT happened often enough under Larry, but it should be the easier part of the equation to solve).

So I would say my expectation is for Utah to be an NCAA tournament team somewhere north of 50% of the time. I've seen some say 75% or 80% and I'm not quite that bullish yet, at least not until I see the PAC 12 re-establish itself and rebuild its reputation. I'd go with 66% as a solid goal, let's get there two out of every three years. I think Utah has the program in place to do this now and just needs to get the schedule to match. (I guess you could argue that it's not a strong enough goal because with better OOC scheduling it is not out of the question that Utah could be riding a streak of four or even five consecutive tournament appearances).

[SoCalPat]

What teams make the tournament 40-60% of the time? You either make it almost every year, or you rarely make it at all. I just don't think 50% is a stable equilibrium. You will eventually tilt one way or the other.

One thing that's clear - the Pac-12 is down. That's an opportunity for someone to move up into the "almost every year" status. Might as well be Utah. We have UCLA and Arizona as every year programs. We have Oregon getting close to that status. A high major conference of 12 teams can support another "every year" program, and USC, Utah, UW, and ASU are the leading candidates.

There are a ton of respectable, but not great, programs that make the tournament about 1 every 2-3 years. Look at the company we share here ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Division_I_Men%27s_Basketball_Tournament_bids _by_school

[SoCalPat]

I don't know how much history can be relied upon given how much things have changed with the move to the PAC 12. In good years, the power conferences can get 5-8 teams into the NCAA. The PAC 12 has not been at that level and needs to get back there, but if it does then Utah should be in that group more often than not. That is basically requiring them to finish in the top half of the conference (something they've done every year since Larry's third year which was the first time he had something resembling a PAC 12 roster) and have a respectable out of conference schedule (something that has NOT happened often enough under Larry, but it should be the easier part of the equation to solve).

So I would say my expectation is for Utah to be an NCAA tournament team somewhere north of 50% of the time. I've seen some say 75% or 80% and I'm not quite that bullish yet, at least not until I see the PAC 12 re-establish itself and rebuild its reputation. I'd go with 66% as a solid goal, let's get there two out of every three years. I think Utah has the program in place to do this now and just needs to get the schedule to match. (I guess you could argue that it's not a strong enough goal because with better OOC scheduling it is not out of the question that Utah could be riding a streak of four or even five consecutive tournament appearances).

The presence of NBA talent on a Utah team, I'd guess, is in direct correlation with NCAA success. When we have gobs of it, we're a threat nationally. When we don't, we rarely are. I'm open to correction here, but I believe our 2009 team is the only NCAA team we've fielded in the modern era (perhaps ever) that didn't have a future NBA player on it. Conversely, what Utah team had a first-round pick the ensuing year that didn't play in the tournament? I can think of at least one -- last year's team with Kuzma.

Not making the Dance this year would've been much easier to take had we made it last year -- and we should've, given the presence of an NBA player on our team.

[sancho]

There are a ton of respectable, but not great, programs that make the tournament about 1 every 2-3 years. Look at the company we share here ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Division_I_Men%27s_Basketball_Tournament_bids _by_school

I think we're talking about different things. I agree that, if you look at long term averages, you can find schools at just about any percentage. I think a 50% rate makes sense if you are talking about periods of greatness mixed with long droughts. That's how it has worked for Utah.

I don't think it's common for schools to get a 50% in rate by going hit-miss-hit-miss-hit-miss....

[snafu]

One concern I have with this staff is that they appear to be ignoring talent right from our own backyard. Maybe ignoring is not the right word but I see local kids like Yoeli Childs, McEwen, Jake Lindsay going elsewhere with seemingly little interest from Utah. Was Collette even on our radar coming out of high school?

[UBlender]

One concern I have with this staff is that they appear to be ignoring talent right from our own backyard. Maybe ignoring is not the right word but I see local kids like Yoeli Childs, McEwen, Jake Lindsay going elsewhere with seemingly little interest from Utah. Was Collette even on our radar coming out of high school?

I can't disagree with your overall point, but I'll just say that they did not ignore Jake Lindsay. From what I understand he was a top priority but he ultimately chose his dad's alma mater over the local school. (Let's hope Nico Mannion has a similar thought process!).

I always wanted Utah to offer McEwen but that was the same cycle they were trying to get Frank Jackson. Utah chased Jackson (and Markannan, Tillie, etc) to the bitter end and failed to do an adequate job of securing backup options such as McEwen and Childs. During that time I tweeted that Utah should offer McEwen as an alternative to Jackson, who was a longshot the second Duke offered. McEwen "liked" that tweet, which I took to mean that he wanted a Utah offer and would have likely committed.

I'm not sure how big of a miss Collette was. On the one hand, we saw him become a solid post scorer in the PAC 12. On the other hand he was pretty one dimensional and struggled with longer, more athletic bigs that were more common in the PAC 12. I feel like he's guy who maximized his talent, but I can see why Utah would have initially taken a pass on him.

[UtahsMrSports]

I can't disagree with your overall point, but I'll just say that they did not ignore Jake Lindsay. From what I understand he was a top priority but he ultimately chose his dad's alma mater over the local school. (Let's hope Nico Mannion has a similar thought process!).

I always wanted Utah to offer McEwen but that was the same cycle they were trying to get Frank Jackson. Utah chased Jackson (and Markannan, Tillie, etc) to the bitter end and failed to do an adequate job of securing backup options such as McEwen and Childs. During that time I tweeted that Utah should offer McEwen as an alternative to Jackson, who was a longshot the second Duke offered. McEwen "liked" that tweet, which I took to mean that he wanted a Utah offer and would have likely committed.

I'm not sure how big of a miss Collette was. On the one hand, we saw him become a solid post scorer in the PAC 12. On the other hand he was pretty one dimensional and struggled with longer, more athletic bigs that were more common in the PAC 12. I feel like he's guy who maximized his talent, but I can see why Utah would have initially taken a pass on him.

Collette was also finishing up his senior year at Murray when Larry got the job. It was too late even if we were interested.

[Mormon Red Death]

One concern I have with this staff is that they appear to be ignoring talent right from our own backyard. Maybe ignoring is not the right word but I see local kids like Yoeli Childs, McEwen, Jake Lindsay going elsewhere with seemingly little interest from Utah. Was Collette even on our radar coming out of high school?We just started 3 guys from utah

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[Two Utes]

I agree he had an impressive record with this church ball team. My objection is that he has a church ball team. He doesn’t seem to have a continuous program right now. He needs to rely less on transfers and more on recruits who come as freshmen. The top two ranked teams in the country don’t have ones and dones, so it’s possible to compete with the Arizonas by recruiting guys who stay four years. Oregon is an example. We’ve had rental teams. Lots of fifth year players, JUCOS and other transfers. Also, there are some tendencies that are a problem, like his almost complete inability to beat Altman or Arizona, the NCAA tournament drought, and the way his teams just treat the NIT like a vacation.

We’re Utah, and there are a lot of explanations available for these problems. What we need is a coach who figures out how to work around the challenges or even turn them to his advantage. There are other coaches who can get us to the glass ceiling and leave us blaming the glass ceiling for the lack of exceptional seasons. We need one who breaks through, like has happened at Virginia and Villanova.


You aren't paying attention to college basketball. Kids aren't staying. And, if the NCAA actually changes the rule about having to sit out a year, more kids will transfer. Oregon has a bunch of transfer, graduate transfer, JC guys. That's basketball today. You have to figure out how to make it work.

Ironically, we have no problem with Whit's success in the PAC 12, but many here (like you) criticize K for similar success.

My biggest problem with this program right now is their scheduling. It's influenced too much by the Stew Morrill/Rick Majerus approach. Those days are gone. Upgrade the godammned preseason schedule now.

[Two Utes]

We just started 3 guys from utah

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk


We missed big-time on Yeoli Childs. He's the difference this year between us going to the NCAAs vs the NIT. He' would be a terrific segue way from the seniors to the new class we are getting next year.Moreover, local kids are more likely to stay more years. Bad, bad miss on that one.

[justaute]

Not only Childs, but also am wondering what happened with Mawien.

Not sure how good Mawien or the type of student/person he is, even though he seemed to have played well as of late for Kansas State. Assuming he wasn't a problem off the court, why would the staff keep a player like Jokl and not being patient and developing Mawien? Not that it matters now, but just curious.


We missed big-time on Yeoli Childs. He's the difference this year between us going to the NCAAs vs the NIT. He' would be a terrific segue way from the seniors to the new class we are getting next year.Moreover, local kids are more likely to stay more years. Bad, bad miss on that one.

[LA Ute]

My biggest problem with this program right now is their scheduling. It's influenced too much by the Stew Morrill/Rick Majerus approach. Those days are gone. Upgrade the ********* preseason schedule now.

Dead on. From what LK is saying lately it sounds like he gets that. I think the focus on "Quadrant 1" is stupid, but it's what the selection committee is doing now. Look at ASU. You win a couple of big games in the per-season and go 8-10 in your conference, and you're still in the Dance. What happened to the "body of work" concept?

[FountainOfUte]

What should the expectations be for Utah basketball regarding making the NCAA Tournament?

I think of it in five-year cycles, or two cycles in a decade if you prefer.
1 year in five: no NIT/NCAA tourney; it's a drastic rebuild
1 year in five: NIT
3 years in five: NCAA tourney
Of those three years in the NCAA tourney, at least one of them is a Sweet 16 or deeper run.

So in a decade, we go Dancing 60% of the time, and we get two Sweet 16s per decade. With our history, our current support, facilities, P5 affiliation, etc., I don't see why this isn't pretty reasonable.

[UtahsMrSports]

Not only Childs, but also am wondering what happened with Mawien.

Not sure how good Mawien or the type of student/person he is, even though he seemed to have played well as of late for Kansas State. Assuming he wasn't a problem off the court, why would the staff keep a player like Jokl and not being patient and developing Mawien? Not that it matters now, but just curious.

Mawien had issues here that extended beyond the court.

[justaute]

Well, if that's the case, then understandable.


Mawien had issues here that extended beyond the court.

[DrumNFeather]

Dead on. From what LK is saying lately it sounds like he gets that. I think the focus on "Quadrant 1" is stupid, but it's what the selection committee is doing now. Look at ASU. You win a couple of big games in the per-season and go 8-10 in your conference, and you're still in the Dance. What happened to the "body of work" concept?

Ultimately, I think Q1 is something you hope for, but don't necessarily schedule for. Take Arizona...they went 3-3 against Q1 teams during this year, but only had 2 Q1 opportunities in the non-conference (Texas A&M, Purdue) and they went 1-1. However, they had 4 Q2 opportunities in the non-conference (Went 3-1), and played 2 of those games on the road @UNLV and @New Mexico. They played Alabama at home, and NC State at a neutral site. They also played UCONN at home, which ended up being a Q3 game, but in most years probably isn't. So, in the non-conference, you have 7 of your 12 games as Q1/Q2 opportunities, and then 3 Q4, and 3 that ended up being Q3 (one was a loss to SMU). By the time you get to the league schedule, you've already played some challenging games and you are ready for what the league throws at you...and while it may have been down, it still is not easy to go on the road and win.

Ultimately, Arizona finished with 17 Q1/Q2 opportunities, and won 11 of those games. They also picked up two more Q1 wins in Vegas over UCLA and USC.

By comparison, Utah played 2 Q1 games in the non-conference (Butler, BYU), and went 0-2, and played 1 Q2 game in the non-conference and won...so that's 3 opportunities, verses Arizona's 7. Granted, nobody expected UNLV/Ole Miss to be as bad as they were, but again, and I've been beating this drum for a while now...if you know you can play another game and you get 2 in Vegas, then you move heaven and earth to do so. Period. If EWU is a road game, that's a Q2 win.

Looking at next year, as I did in the other thread...we have 4 neutral site games scheduled, with the potential to get at least one Q1/Q2 win if things fall right for us. BYU will almost certainly be a Q2 game, unless they fall apart, and Missouri will also be a Q1/Q2 game. So right there you've got the potential for 4 games, if things fall your way. I would like to see at least one more true road game, if not two, and see if you can't get some decent home and homes to round out your schedule. The new format will make it so that it behooves both P5 and Mid Major teams to travel more. If you are Utah, you just have to identify what those low-risk/high reward games are, and take care of business in your Q3/Q4 games, unlike Stanford did. If Stanford just wins their Q3/Q4 games with everyone else they have on the schedule, I think they are safely in the tournament.

[Scorcho]

Ultimately, I think Q1 is something you hope for, but don't necessarily schedule for. Take Arizona...they went 3-3 against Q1 teams during this year, but only had 2 Q1 opportunities in the non-conference (Texas A&M, Purdue) and they went 1-1. However, they had 4 Q2 opportunities in the non-conference (Went 3-1), and played 2 of those games on the road @UNLV and @New Mexico. They played Alabama at home, and NC State at a neutral site. They also played UCONN at home, which ended up being a Q3 game, but in most years probably isn't. So, in the non-conference, you have 7 of your 12 games as Q1/Q2 opportunities, and then 3 Q4, and 3 that ended up being Q3 (one was a loss to SMU). By the time you get to the league schedule, you've already played some challenging games and you are ready for what the league throws at you...and while it may have been down, it still is not easy to go on the road and win.

Ultimately, Arizona finished with 17 Q1/Q2 opportunities, and won 11 of those games. They also picked up two more Q1 wins in Vegas over UCLA and USC.

By comparison, Utah played 2 Q1 games in the non-conference (Butler, BYU), and went 0-2, and played 1 Q2 game in the non-conference and won...so that's 3 opportunities, verses Arizona's 7. Granted, nobody expected UNLV/Ole Miss to be as bad as they were, but again, and I've been beating this drum for a while now...if you know you can play another game and you get 2 in Vegas, then you move heaven and earth to do so. Period. If EWU is a road game, that's a Q2 win.

Looking at next year, as I did in the other thread...we have 4 neutral site games scheduled, with the potential to get at least one Q1/Q2 win if things fall right for us. BYU will almost certainly be a Q2 game, unless they fall apart, and Missouri will also be a Q1/Q2 game. So right there you've got the potential for 4 games, if things fall your way. I would like to see at least one more true road game, if not two, and see if you can't get some decent home and homes to round out your schedule. The new format will make it so that it behooves both P5 and Mid Major teams to travel more. If you are Utah, you just have to identify what those low-risk/high reward games are, and take care of business in your Q3/Q4 games, unlike Stanford did. If Stanford just wins their Q3/Q4 games with everyone else they have on the schedule, I think they are safely in the tournament.

Krystko mentioned in an interview yesterday that they assumed Ole Miss was going to be a Q1 win based on Ole Miss's pre-season hype but that didn't work out

[DrumNFeather]

Krystko mentioned in an interview yesterday that they assumed Ole Miss was going to be a Q1 win based on Ole Miss's pre-season hype but that didn't work out

Right, and there's only so much you can do there. Frankly, UNLV looked like world beaters when they took us apart, and took Arizona to overtime. So some of it is just hoping that the teams you play deliver the right results (as Larry also said yesterday). BYU didn't become a Q1 loss until they beat St. Mary's in the WCC tournament. So, even when people were evaluating our resume they were knocking that as a bad loss.

[LA Ute]

Here’s a link to LK’s interview on the Bill Riley Show on March 12. Pretty interesting.

http://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/14269761/larry_krystkowiak_3_12_18.mp3

You need the Spreaker app to listen via this link.

[SeattleUte]

You aren't paying attention to college basketball. Kids aren't staying. And, if the NCAA actually changes the rule about having to sit out a year, more kids will transfer. Oregon has a bunch of transfer, graduate transfer, JC guys. That's basketball today. You have to figure out how to make it work.

Ironically, we have no problem with Whit's success in the PAC 12, but many here (like you) criticize K for similar success.

My biggest problem with this program right now is their scheduling. It's influenced too much by the Stew Morrill/Rick Majerus approach. Those days are gone. Upgrade the godammned preseason schedule now.

Why is the pre-season schedule a problem? It’s obvious that you get more brownie points toward an NCAA bid LOSING to a good team than beating a patsy. This is both a value judgment and a practical decision. The selection committee doesn’t want November and December to be just boring. Programs need to schedule as many competitive games as they can, because, as we’ve seen, some power teams will turn out to be bad teams. If you just schedule as many good teams as possible, you don’t need to make the excuses that we heard from Krystkowiak this year.

As for Krystkowiak vs. Whit, there’s a chasm between those two. I could write a book on this, but here are a few.

We can have an honest disagreement about Whit’s system, but at least he has one. We know his recruiting and player development systems, his recruiting priorities that are situational as well as philosophical. We know his preferred game plans. We know his patterns, etc.

Football Utah has few if any good players transfer. The players seem to like the staff, though the practices are known to be tough.

Whit’s teams are defense first, which is what Utah needs to be to excel—in football or basketball—history has shown.

Whit has shown no inability to be competitive with any team in the league. Utah was the first team to beat every opponent after the PAC 12 was formed. The football Utes can beat anyone on a given night in any year.

The football Utes play hard every game. The basketball Utes have (I hope until now) just treated the NIT as a scrimmage. It’s been embarrassing, and reflects poor character.

Whit is not a bad game coach. Krystkowiak is a terrible bench coach. We lose more than our share of close games, and in stupid, bizarre ways.

Whit has given us that season for the ages that we all crave. 2008 arguably was the greatest season of any Utah sports team.

[snafu]

As for Krystkowiak vs. Whit, there’s a chasm between those two. I could write a book on this, but here are a few. .


Last I checked, Whit didn't have to build a program from scratch. Larry did.

[SeattleUte]

Last I checked, Whit didn't have to build a program from scratch. Larry did.

Jesus, are you his wife? Is that your best argumen on his behalf? You are leading with your chin there. He’s been at Utah for seven years, an eternity for basketball. In that time he’s worked through rosters like shit th rough a goose.

[Utebiquitous]

Rebuilding a basketball team with the tradition Utah has behind it, the university's resources and the Pac-12 as a league is not difficult. I think Larry's a good coach but let's not go crazy. I would argue Whittingham's transition to competing in the Pac-12 consistently is more difficult just based on the number of players and the importance of depth.

[UtahsMrSports]

Jesus, are you his wife? Is that your best argumen on his behalf? You are leading with your chin there. He’s been at Utah for seven years, an eternity for basketball. In that time he’s worked through rosters like shit th rough a goose.

Not counting his first year, Larry's roster has been at or below national average for transfers every year minus one (admittedly that one year hurt) but you're pushing a false narrative.

[Scorcho]

Whit is not a bad game coach. Krystkowiak is a terrible bench coach. We lose more than our share of close games, and in stupid, bizarre ways.


Did you just insinuate that Whitt doesn't lose close games?

1. 2018 - USC 28 Utah 27 - Utah was up 21-7 at halftime
2. 2018 - UW 33 Utah 30 - Huskies score 10 points in less than 2 minutes to win
3. 2017 - Cal 28 Utah 23 - 1st and goal from the 1 yard line to end the game
4. 2017 - UW 31- Utah 24 - teams tied in the 4th Quarter
5. 2017 - Oregon 30 - Utah 28 Carrington's catch in the end zone to win it, unfortunately that's when Carrington played for the Ducks

if you're writing a book, it would be reduced from 200 pages to 3 after the fact checkers get done with it. ;)

IMO - there are just too many Utah fans that measure Utah basketball to the Majerus era. In the latest AP top 100 hoops programs since 1949 Utah was ranked #39 just behind Tennessee and just ahead of Minnesota.

https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2017-03-29/ap-releases-top-100-college-basketball-programs-based-poll

I get the criticism of Krystko, he has his warts. Based on his recent interview it sounds like scheduling up in OOC is no longer an option but a must. Utah does have too many players transfer out, some of that is out of his control (see Chapman, Maiwen, Daniels) but if you consider the 2 years it took him to resurrect Utah basketball, a year dealing with throat cancer, recruiting in an unfair environment, I think he's done a good not great job. I think he deserves 2 more years to get Utah back to the NCAA's

[sancho]

Utah fans - maybe all fans - have selective memory issues when it comes to late game heroics/mistakes.

All teams lose close games, and all losses involve mistakes. Did anyone else see Houston's star guard throw the ball away last week in the championship game against cincy?

[snafu]

Your disdain for Krystko is warping your brain, SeattleUte. I'm convinced people like you would find a way to bitch and moan about him even if he guided us to a final four.

[concerned]

The Trib just asked the appropriate question. For C Hill, the answer is yes.

https://www.sltrib.com/sports/utah-utes/2018/03/17/utahs-larry-krystkowiak-is-one-of-the-10-highest-paid-college-basketball-coaches-in-america-is-he-worth-it/

[LA Ute]

I think LK is a solid coach who does things the right way. He has the potential to become a great one. He does have flaws. I don't understand why SU is so down on him. Should LK be fired, SU? With whom would we replace him who would want to coach at Utah?

Jerry Pimm is the coach you know most about, SU. Here's Pimm's record in his first seven seasons:



1974-1975
Utah
17-9
7-5
4th



1975-1976
Utah
19-8
9-5
T-2nd



1976-1977
Utah
22-7
11-3
1st
NCAA Sweet 16


1977-1978
Utah
23-6
12-2
2nd
NCAA Sweet 16


1978-1979
Utah
20-10
9-3
2nd
NCAA 1st Round


1979-1980
Utah
18-10
10-4
T-2nd



1980-1981
Utah
25-5
13-3
T-1st
NCAA Sweet 16



Just for perspective, the NCAA tournament didn't expand to 64 teams until 1985, IIRC, so a Sweet 16 run prior to that meant you won your first-round game. Still, Pimm's teams made the tournament 4 out of his first 7 seasons, and that's better than LK has done. Abd Pimm placed first or second in his conference 6 of his 7 seasons. (Won it once, tied for first another time.) But Pimm took over a program that had been run by Jack Gardner, who had been to the Final Four twice in the 12 years before Pimm took over; and then Bill Foster, who moved on to Duke after 3 seasons. Pimm took over a program that had just gone 22-8 and taken 2nd in the NIT. And he coached in the WAC.

So it's still hard to know where to place LK in the pantheon of Utah coaches. I don't think any other Utah coach in the modern had to take over a dumpster fire like the one LK faced. He does need to keep improving steadily.

[sancho]

Pimm? You may as well be comparing Walter Johnson to Randy Johnson.

[LA Ute]

Pimm? You may as well be comparing Walter Johnson to Randy Johnson.

Who else is a decent comparison? SU was talking about Utah's tradition. I just chose someone who is part of that tradition and coached for a decent time period in the modern era (and whom SU knew well.) Majerus is not a fair comparison.

[SeattleUte]

No. I don’t want Krystkowiak to be fired. He doesn’t deserve that. I just don’t think we need him more than he needs us, as has been the case with other Utah coaches. If he leaves, fine. I’ll hope that Hill gets as lucky as he’s been sometimes in the past when he spun that coaching hire roulette wheel. I think that college basketball especially is mostly about the coach. Krystkowiak hasn’t shown me that he has what it takes to make us special again. I want the Utes to be special. I especially feel that way about basketball. I’m not interested in Snafu’s Kissingeresque rationalization about how we are what we are and need to be content with being second tier. I am a lot more philosophical in that regard about football, as I think football is more daunting as to program building, and Utah’s potential downside is steeper and deeper. Spectator sports are about escapism and identity—like religion without the bad stuff. There’s no reason not to hope for celestial glory. We’ve tasted it before, three times, in fact.

[LA Ute]

I’ll hope that Hill gets as lucky as he’s been sometimes in the past when he spun that coaching hire roulette wheel.

If exhibiting graceless malice were a sport, you'd be a gold medalist.

[Scratch]

Pimm? You may as well be comparing Walter Johnson to Randy Johnson.

You have to go with The Big Train. It's not even close.

[SeattleUte]

If exhibiting graceless malice were a sport, you'd be a gold medalist.

I think you meant graceful. That sentence has metaphor, allusion, imagery. It is poetry.

[LA Ute]

I think you meant graceful. That sentence has metaphor, allusion, imagery. It is poetry.

No, I meant graceless. “Petty” might have been better. Then again, if you were simply trolling, “juvenile” is the word.

[SeattleUte]

LA, Are you really saying that hiring coaches is anything other than a crapshoot if you can’t just go hire an established Urban Meyer?

[LA Ute]

LA, Are you really saying that hiring coaches is anything other than a crapshoot if you can’t just go hire an established Urban Meyer?

What on earth makes you think I’m saying that?

[SeattleUte]

What on earth makes you think I’m saying that?

Uh, because you got your back up when I likened hiring a coach to spinning a roulette wheel.

[LA Ute]

Uh, because you got your back up when I likened hiring a coach to spinning a roulette wheel.

Oh, yes, that’s what people (including me) found eyeroll-inducing about your post. Absolutely.

[UTEopia]

So now that the season is officially over, we can start looking forward to 18-19. First, I really enjoyed this team. They performed much better than I anticipated. I really love Bibbins. Too bad we only had him for one year. Looking at next years returners and what players need to do:

SR. Barefield: Really came on shooting the ball at the end of the year. He needs to be able to do things without the ball and become a better distributor.
SR. PVD: Find his shooting. He will be who he is, but if he could shoot 40% from three he could be a help off the bench.
JR. Jayce: Get stronger physically. I thought Jayce made great strides this year and if he does again, I could see him being a 10/10 guy.
JR. Caldwell: Caldwell gave us some good minutes in some games, but also made a number of errors that resulted in him going back to the bench. I think he can be a 10-12 minute a game guy if he becomes more consistent on offense.
So. Seeley: Needs to get stronger and develop a 12-15 foot jump shot.
So. Tillman: Do what Loveridge did after freshman year and work on becoming a threat from 3 point range.
So. Pop: It was hard for me to tell whether he can play at this level from the amount of time he played.
Fr. Doutrive: Who knows.

I don't expect Jokl to be back and would not be surprised to see Pop and/or Seeley go somewhere else if they don't see themselves in the future plans. From everything I have seen, it appears that all of the newcomers have the ability to step in and contribute. It should be a fun year.

[LA Ute]

Next season:

Returning:

1) Johnson. Good rebounder, alright defender. His hook shot is improving. The great hope: that he can give us 30 minutes of high energy defense and rebounding.

2) Barefield. The great hope: consistency!

3) Tillman. Undersized, but unafraid. Can rebound and score in the post. The great hope: improved outside shooting.

4) PVD. Has improved defensively and plays with energy. The great hope: his 3 point shooting finally comes around.

5) Seeley. Seems to have a lot of tools but little skill or intensity. The great hope: he turns into a shot blocking, rebounding, high energy lob monster off the bench.

6) Caldwell. I just don't think he'll get time. The great hope: he'll get time if his shot improves drastically.

7) Popoola. The great hope: some progress that would indicate he'll be useful in 2020 and 2021. He's on the PVD timeline.

Incoming:

1) Jones. Presumably, our starting PG.

2) Gaskin. Athletic SG.

3) Battin. Presumably, the starting PF. We need post scoring, and rebounding is always nice.

4) Allen. SF. I know nothingg about him.

5) Doutrive. SG.


6) Thioune. C. Hoping for defense, including shot blocking.

So, there's the 13. I think to be a tournament team, we need 2-3 of the "great hopes" in returning players to materialize, and we need 2-3 of the new players to really have it. That's certainly possible, but it rests on a lot of unknowns.

Nice breakdown. I think Allen is someone we can be a little excited about (but then, we were excited about Jayce -- the transition to the D1/PAC-12 level can be hard).


Timmy Allen, one of the Top 200 recruits nationally in next year’s incoming class, announced that he has committed to play for the University of Utah.

Allen, a 6-foot-5 wing player out of Red Mountain High School in Mesa, Ariz., posted Monday night on Twitter: “Happy to announce I have committed to the University of Utah.”

ESPN.com and Scout.com rank Allen a four-star recruit, while 247Sports labels him a three-star recruit and the top player in Arizona.
https://www.sltrib.com/sports/utah-utes/2017/09/19/highly-touted-wing-timmy-allen-commits-to-utah-basketball/

[LA Ute]

Thanks. We should probably move this into the rebuild thread.

Done.

[Utah]

Great breakdown. We will be young, but talented. That's a great first step.

Here is another question: I know that Larry likes to schedule down to add up the wins. The football mentality. The bad thing is, unlike football, in basketball you actually need to schedule up to go dancing. BUT, we aren't dancing anyways.

So, what exactly is the point of scheduling down? Especially when you have your "core" group of guys for the next 2-3 years? I'd think that we'd want to significantly increase the OOC scheduling and see what happens. If we lose 5 OOC games, well, even if we finish third or fourth in the PAC-12, we weren't going dancing anyways.

But if we win those games, we make the tournament and set ourselves up very nicely for the next 2-3+ years.

So, why schedule down? What good does it do, other than have us miss the tournament...again.

[LA Ute]

Great breakdown. We will be young, but talented. That's a great first step.

Here is another question: I know that Larry likes to schedule down to add up the wins. The football mentality. The bad thing is, unlike football, in basketball you actually need to schedule up to go dancing. BUT, we aren't dancing anyways.

So, what exactly is the point of scheduling down? Especially when you have your "core" group of guys for the next 2-3 years? I'd think that we'd want to significantly increase the OOC scheduling and see what happens. If we lose 5 OOC games, well, even if we finish third or fourth in the PAC-12, we weren't going dancing anyways.

But if we win those games, we make the tournament and set ourselves up very nicely for the next 2-3+ years.

So, why schedule down? What good does it do, other than have us miss the tournament...again.

I'd be kind of surprised if LK schedules down in the future.

[Ma'ake]

So now that the season is officially over, we can start looking forward to 18-19. First, I really enjoyed this team. They performed much better than I anticipated. I really love Bibbins. Too bad we only had him for one year. Looking at next years returners and what players need to do:

SR. Barefield: Really came on shooting the ball at the end of the year. He needs to be able to do things without the ball and become a better distributor.
SR. PVD: Find his shooting. He will be who he is, but if he could shoot 40% from three he could be a help off the bench.
JR. Jayce: Get stronger physically. I thought Jayce made great strides this year and if he does again, I could see him being a 10/10 guy.
JR. Caldwell: Caldwell gave us some good minutes in some games, but also made a number of errors that resulted in him going back to the bench. I think he can be a 10-12 minute a game guy if he becomes more consistent on offense.
So. Seeley: Needs to get stronger and develop a 12-15 foot jump shot.
So. Tillman: Do what Loveridge did after freshman year and work on becoming a threat from 3 point range.
So. Pop: It was hard for me to tell whether he can play at this level from the amount of time he played.
Fr. Doutrive: Who knows.

I don't expect Jokl to be back and would not be surprised to see Pop and/or Seeley go somewhere else if they don't see themselves in the future plans. From everything I have seen, it appears that all of the newcomers have the ability to step in and contribute. It should be a fun year.

Everything I hear is that LK is feeding these guys tons of NBA level complexity and schemes, from broadcasters, to Kuzma to Dwayne Casey of the Raptors raving about Delon and Poeltl being so well prepared, etc.

Some guys are going to struggle with that amount of preparation and complexity, some guys aren't ready to be in the rotation at any given time, etc. This year's team had guys on the bench engaged, ready when their number was called. It was nice to see. Hopefully Caldwell works into a more prominent role, same for Seeley. The biggest X factor for me for next year is Doutrive. Has the body, has been in the system, seems to pay attention during timeouts, has the strong endorsement of a scout who was watching the younger Ball brothers and said Doutrive was the best player on the court (in that game, at least), etc.

It will be fun to watch.

[U-Ute]

On PVD: He hasn't found his shot in 3 years, it would seem unlikely he'd figure it out now. Especially since he is not a particularly good FT shooter. You can tell a ton about a player's shot potential at the FT line. There's something about his shot that bugs me. It is too herky-jerky. My hopes are not up on this.

[Mormon Red Death]

We will probably end up with a 8-9 man rotation.

Starting: Barefield, Johnson, Jones, Battin, Tillman

Not in the rotation: Popoola, Caldwell

That leaves Allen, Doutrive, Gaskin, Thioune, PVD, and Seeley fighting for the remaining 3-4 spots.Pvd will Start and play in similar situations like Gabe bealer this year.

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[LA Ute]

Gach is official now:

https://twitter.com/TutBoth/status/1002649095415173120

[U-Ute]

I’m seriously surprised we landed Gach. I figured he was going to end up at SDSU.

Have we finally broken the Boylen Jinx? Did him getting to the NBA Finals free is in some metaphysical way?


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[Diehard Ute]

I’m seriously surprised we landed Gach. I figured he was going to end up at SDSU.

Have we finally broken the Boylen Jinx? Did him getting to the NBA Finals free is in some metaphysical way?


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Well he hasn’t been there in 3 years so I’m not sure what took so long


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[Old Standing ute]

Timmy Allen was a 4*—best player in AZ. He will get a ton of minutes & may start by year end.

Also add in transfer from ISU—back up at 5.

[UTEopia]

There seems to be a lot of angst among Ute basketball fans about LK and the current state of the program. I am certainly disappointed in where things are today, but I am curious as to the causes for the level of dissatisfaction currently being expressed. From my reading, it appears that the following are the things people are most complaining about: 1. LK's salary - Utes should get more bang for their buck. 2. Transfers of players - Devon Daniels, JoJo Zamora, Makol Mawein, Wright, the skinny kid from Fresno - and whether this means that LK cannot coach certain kids. 3. Not recruiting Joeli Childs. What else

[chrisrenrut]

There seems to be a lot of angst among Ute basketball fans about LK and the current state of the program. I am certainly disappointed in where things are today, but I am curious as to the causes for the level of dissatisfaction currently being expressed. From my reading, it appears that the following are the things people are most complaining about: 1. LK's salary - Utes should get more bang for their buck. 2. Transfers of players - Devon Daniels, JoJo Zamora, Makol Mawein, Wright, the skinny kid from Fresno - and whether this means that LK cannot coach certain kids. 3. Not recruiting Joeli Childs. What else

Style and quality of play. For instance:

https://twitter.com/100thingsutah/status/1079247641949593600?s=21

[UtahsMrSports]

There seems to be a lot of angst among Ute basketball fans about LK and the current state of the program. I am certainly disappointed in where things are today, but I am curious as to the causes for the level of dissatisfaction currently being expressed. From my reading, it appears that the following are the things people are most complaining about: 1. LK's salary - Utes should get more bang for their buck. 2. Transfers of players - Devon Daniels, JoJo Zamora, Makol Mawein, Wright, the skinny kid from Fresno - and whether this means that LK cannot coach certain kids. 3. Not recruiting Joeli Childs. What else

Evaluating those critiques: number 1 is absolutely fair. Number 2 is highly overblown. Sure, some have been a bummer but far and away transfers in have been much better than transfers out. If MM was still here, folks would feel the same about him as they do about jj. Number 3 is an obvious take in hindsight. Contrary to what Seattle ute believes in his heart, no one was upset when he went to BYU. Hes a late bloomer. It happens. Frustrating but it happens.