Waiting for Cindy Crawford or the Utah vs Ball State game thread

[U-Ute]

Ball State Cardinals
Conference: Mid-American conference, West division
Overall record: 0-0
Conference record: 0-0
Date: Wednesday, November 14 8pm MT
Location: John M Huntsman Center
TV: PAC-12

Roster (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/baa/roster/)
Schedule (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/baa/schedule/)

It looks like this is Ball State's first game of the year, so not much to go on. The only news of note is that their Junior guard Jeremiah Davis will be out with a foot injury (http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ball-states-davis-8-10-021659468--ncaab.html).

[Applejack]

RIP, Big Rick.

http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/pics32/800/EY/EYNRCOXZWWVXAHC.20121202203530.jpg

[U-Ute]

I wonder if it would be too much if they had a moment before the game for Rick.

[utefan]

I wonder if it would be too much if they had a moment before the game for Rick.
It would probably be in poor taste if they didn't have a moment before the game.

[U-Ute]

It would probably be in poor taste if they didn't have a moment before the game.

I'm glad I'm not the only one thinking this way.

[FountainOfUte]

I wonder if it would be too much if they had a moment before the game for Rick.

Another one? Let the guy rest in peace already. We've retired his sweater. We gave him a memorial after his passing. I don't mean to sound calloused, but I don't think we need to wax sentimental about the guy at every turn. If they want to name the court after him or the practice facility someday, fine. But I see no reason to pull out the Kleenex box on Ricks' behalf just for this game.

[SoCalPat]

Another one? Let the guy rest in peace already. We've retired his sweater. We gave him a memorial after his passing. I don't mean to sound calloused, but I don't think we need to wax sentimental about the guy at every turn. If they want to name the court after him or the practice facility someday, fine. But I see no reason to pull out the Kleenex box on Ricks' behalf just for this game.

In full agreement. Rick is part of our history, not our present. Rick's death was two years ago. And we hired Rick away from Ball State. Totally unnecessary to do anything pre-game.

If we're gonna do anything to commemorate our past, I hope we've got something planned for the 20th anniversary of our first WAC Tournament championship team.

[LA Ute]

Phil Cullen's email today:

***

"Ball State comes in with a completely different look than when we played them a year ago. They have seven new players on their active roster and will be led by 68 5th year Senior Matt Kameniecki who is coming off a medical red shirt last season. Franko House is a returning 66 undersized four man but at 245 lbs is a physical player. The Ball State freshman class was praised by many due to the addition of two Indiana High School all Stars Jeremie Tyler and Sean Sellers who both play small guard positions.

"Ball State is coached by second year coach James Whitford who worked under Sean Miller at Xavier and also at Arizona. He is regarded as an up and coming coach and uses a similar system to what he learned at Arizona.

"Going into this game we are preparing for the unknown. With teams playing so few games to scout we have been focusing on how we can improve as individuals and as a team. Like anything through experience and repetition we find ourselves becoming more in sync with one another. Practices have been intense as our depth this year has been upgraded and when you are getting pushed in practice everyday you hope that it will only make you stronger for the games.

"Delon Wright continues to lead our team at the point and we have returner Jordan Loveridge also playing a significant role. We have several new faces that you will have to get to know as well. Chris Reyes, Jakob Poeltl, Brekkott Chapman are all new additions to our front court joining Jeremy Olsen and Dallin Bachynski. Kyle Kuzma and Isaiah Wright join Brandon Taylor, Kenneth Ogbe and Dakarai Tucker as well.

"We look forward to seeing you guys on Friday and couldnt be happier with the turnout for the exhibition game last week."

[LA Ute]

I have tickets for two excellent seats at the Ball State game. Free to a real Ute fan. Who wants them?

[Mormon Red Death]

I have tickets for two excellent seats at the Ball State game. Free to a real Ute fan. Who wants them?

I do for my brother in law (Utahby5)

[LA Ute]

I do for my brother in law (Utahby5)

Deal.

[Mormon Red Death]

Deal.

Can you email them?

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[UtahsMrSports]

Hallelujah! It is game day!

In case you haven't heard, Pac-12 network is offering the game for free tonight on their website, so you can check that out.

Ill say the same thing about this game that I said about the exhibition last week.......no injuries. win comfortably, give everyone a chance to get some minutes, and no injuries!

[LA Ute]

Um, this Poeltl kid looks awfully good.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Um, this Poeltl kid looks awfully good.

That was a nice looking dunk. Good way to start your Utah chapter.

[LA Ute]

Like, "wow" good. Recognizing that the competition is not top-flight.

[LA Ute]

Has a big frame too. Will benefit a lot from weight training.

[Mormon Red Death]

Interesting lineup right now.


I wright
Taylor
Ogbe
Poetl
Reyes

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[LA Ute]

I'm beginning to feel the stirrings of Ute basketball excitement witin me. I remember that feeling! Last felt about 10 years ago. But this time we're in the PAC-12. This is a different feeling. I like it.

[LA Ute]

Jakob does need to spend some time in the gym after practice, shooting free throws.

[Diehard Ute]

Jakob does need to spend some time in the gym after practice, shooting free throws.

He shot them pretty well at the exhibition. Guessing it's a first game nerves thing

[LA Ute]

He shot them pretty well at the exhibition. Guessing it's a first game nerves thing

Yeah, it's really too early to worry about that.

[LA Ute]

Lots of mental errors, not surprising for a first game.

[Mormon Red Death]

Not one outside shot for delon yet.

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[Mormon Red Death]

Is dakari hurt? He's in street clothes

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[justaute]

Ball State has a couple of players with very nice potential. I know many Utes fans like Taylor -- I still don't like his game. Just not smart-ball. I know he's the best 3-pt shooter on the team.

[LA Ute]

This is a bit ugly right now. But thank heavens for Taylor's ability to shoot FTs.

[justaute]

Our upper-class players just seem so unsettled and make less-than-ideal decisions. Ball State has guys who can ball, especially given how young and undersized they are.


This is a bit ugly right now. But thank heavens for Taylor's ability to shoot FTs.

[DrumNFeather]

This is a bit ugly right now. But thank heavens for Taylor's ability to shoot FTs.
Ball St. is scrappy. Probably not the worst thing for the Utes to have to scrap and fight a little.

As an aside, I took my daughter to the George Mason vs. Cornell game. Talk about bad basketball...

[LA Ute]

Gotta love how Poeltl runs the floor. He's gonna be fun to watch.

[LA Ute]

Anybody else lose the Internet feed?

[Mormon Red Death]

Anybody else lose the Internet feed?

You lost it as the Utes starteed to blow then out

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[DrumNFeather]

You lost it as the Utes starteed to blow then out

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Nice to see this be a blowout with a big run to finish the game.

[justaute]

Absolutely. Nice to see several outside shots go in -- thanks to the defense and plays of D Wright.


Nice to see this be a blowout with a big run to finish the game.

[justaute]

That Sellers kid, a freshman, on Ball State was quite impressive. The Tyler kid was good, as well.

[OrangeUte]

This was a good game. I ffwd throigh a bit of the first half after I got home from a wedding reception. Poetl is good. Very good. I'm excited to see how we develop once these players get some camaraderie and trust built up and can start anticipating one another's tendencies in the flow of the game. That will come with time.

[LA Ute]

We're undefeated!!!

[Scratch]

We're undefeated!!!

Interesting that for all our depth only one guy off the bench actually did much of anything. Well, Bach contributed a bit, too.

[SeattleUte]

Interesting that for all our depth only one guy off the bench actually did much of anything. Well, Bach contributed a bit, too.

Somebody here said that Kuzma would beat out Loveridge and be the man on this team. I got so sick of hearing abou Kuzma. Who was he who said this?

[LA Ute]

Interesting that for all our depth only one guy off the bench actually did much of anything. Well, Bach contributed a bit, too.

Lots of young promising talent, but they're young. Lots of upside, however. With some luck and hard work they'll improve throughout the season. The most pleasant surprise was Poeltl. He'll be a lot of fun to watch.

[Scratch]

Somebody here said that Kuzma would beat out Loveridge and be the man on this team. I got so sick of hearing abou Kuzma. Who was he who said this?

Kuzma oozes potential. You can see it; it would not shock me if he eventually has a better career as a Ute than Loveridge. But Loveridge is chronically underappreciated. It's a huge stretch to expect anyone short of an absolutely elite freshman to unseat someone who averaged 15 and 7 in the P12.

[SeattleUte]

Here's my point. If somebody really likes a player or has inside informaton and this leads him to believe this kid can help the program, I'm interested to hear about it. What I don't like is when shills come to these sites and advocate for a player, a coach, whatever, and it's not about the Utes but about this poster's relationship with whomever. I hate it when parents come and talk about their kids on the Utes. It's really declasse and not a service to the kid. I got hyper sensitive to this when Boylen and his assistants planted a bunch of shills on Utefans.net who they had bought with free beer and pizza and access. They even kept posting the same stuff, same syntax, etc., like it was a script (I'm sure it was). It seemed like Boylen thought that this was how he'd keep his job rather than just winning. I'm not saying that whoever it was that kept blathering about Kuzma was a shill. I'm just sentitive and hyperalert to this kind of manipulation.

[Scratch]

Same with Brandon Taylor. The guy will always be an imperfect player as a result of his size, but it's going to take a lot to unseat him (and it's not going to be by a guy who has yet to figure out that you can't overdribble against D1 competition, although again I think I Wright is going to be special in time).

[SeattleUte]

Same with Brandon Taylor. The guy will always be an imperfect player as a result of his size, but it's going to take a lot to unseat him (and it's not going to be by a guy who has yet to figure out that you can't overdribble against D1 competition, although again I think I Wright is going to be special in time).

I love Brandon Taylor, ever since I saw him dismantle a very talented Washington team up here two years ago. You could see in his face that he was special (I was right behind the bench), and the players all admired him. He was 18 then. He's my favorite Ute right now. I wish Brandon Taylor had caught that putative TD past at the end of the first quarter last Saturday. He'd have finshed the job.

[LA Ute]

I love Brandon Taylor, ever since I saw him dismantle a very talented Washington team up here two years ago. You could see in his face that he was special (I was right behind the bench), and the players all admired him. He was 18 then. He's my favorite Ute right now. I wish Brandon Taylor had caught that putative TD past at the end of the first quarter last Saturday. He'd have finshed the job.

I loved watching him at the line tonight when his team needed the points, and knowing he'd make the FTs. Young guys like I. Wright, Chapman and Kuzma will learn a lot from him. Tough little point guard. There will be times when he needs to come out to deal with a height advantage, but I'll bet he starts at PG all season.

[LA Ute]

Minutes tonight:

Poeltl 25
Bachynski 11
Olsen 4

The shape of things to come.

[Scratch]

Minutes tonight:

Poeltl 25
Bachynski 11
Olsen 4

The shape of things to come.

Additionally, only one guy logged more than 30 minutes tonight-Brandon Taylor.

[SeattleUte]

Additionally, only one guy logged more than 30 minutes tonight-Brandon Taylor.

There's always a guy like Brandon Taylor on any great Ute basketball team. Wat Misaka, Tyrone Medley, Jeff Jonas, Jimmie Soto, Drew Hansen, Brandon Taylor. It's a long and glorious tradition of underdog gritty guys who make everyone better, inlcuding the coach.

[LA Ute]

Poeltl with a double-double: 18 points, 10 rebounds.

Taylor the leading scorer with 19.

[Mormon Red Death]

Interesting that for all our depth only one guy off the bench actually did much of anything. Well, Bach contributed a bit, too.

When we needed to stop sellers we put kuzma on him and effectively shut him down. Kuzma is a great addition.

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[UtahsMrSports]

-Delon darn near had a 5x5..... he is terrific.

-Loveridge mixed between 3 and 4 and looked good to me. I expect he will see time at both spots.

-Our defense needs work. But the out of position mistakes that killed us last night should disappear with time.

-Ball St is better than i thought theyd be. In fact, if their seaspn last year was similar to our 11-12 year, this year they might compare to our 12-13 year. Sellers is good. I dont think theyre going to any postseason, but theyre scrappy.

-Two years ago, I wright, chapman, and kuzma all likely start/play big minutes. Theyjust gotta be patient, their time will come.

Looking forward to tuesday!

[Rocker Ute]

Keep in mind, this is the 4th year of seeing a Kodiak coached team at Utah (and a couple to draw on at Montana) - his teams gel and improve throughout the season. I fully expect this team to be on a tear as we get closer to Tourney time. I'm also not a guy who is setting the Sweet 16 as a minimum expectation either.

[sancho]

Is it too early to declare Poeltl the greatest Austrian basketball player of all time? If so, who does he need to unseat for the title?

So, we had 6 players get over 20 mintues (Wright, Loveridge, Poeltl, Taylor, Ogbe, and Reyes). We had 3 more with close to 10 minutes (Bach, Kuzma, and Chapman). That's a 9 man rotation with 3 more on the bench who we can feel good about if we need them (Olsen, Wright Jr, and Tucker).

When Delon launched a 3 last week against Pacific, it was clear that the outside shot is still not there. No surprise. It's not like a switch that can be turned on/off. Even without a shot, though, he's an amazing player.

[Old Standing ute]

When we needed to stop sellers we put kuzma on him and effectively shut him down. Kuzma is a great addition.

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It was actually Ogbe who shut down Sellers---he was denying him the ball. Kuzma did play him for several minutes later, but the majority was Ogbe. He also sealed it with the those back to back 3's. He might be our wing D-stopper.

Loveridge is a great scorer, but needs to defend better on the wing. He was the one on Sellers when he went off. As a 3 he needs to fight through screens whereas at the 4 he was on the screener. Much harder to fight through--be constantly moving. They moved him to the 4 at certain points in the 2nd half, with Taylor, Delon & Ogbe also in the game. Hope they can avoid that.

Kuzma will be a really good player--they just need to figure out his position. His rebounding in the first half was above the rim. Plus he can handle the ball. His shot is still a work in progress. He needs to be really set to hit it--can not be moving.
Taylor is really tough. He got knocked down repeatedly---they did not look like flops. But you can see how mad he gets & then comes right back at them. He is the emotional leader of the team.
Bachynski still drives me crazy. He has so much physical talent, but he is just not a basketball player. Not ready for some passes & needs to dunk it, not try something fancy. (He did finally do that in the last minute--just enough to cause unrealized hope). Plus he still brings the ball down to his waist too often.

You can tell how agile Poeltl is when he gets back on defense. he can actually back-pedal the length of the court with ease. Most bigs turn & run. In doing so he can see what is happening so he is ready. He shoots FT much better in practice. He has decent range to the FT line---he admitted he was nervous so missing early.

What was Sellers from Ball St as a recruit---2 **? He looked like CJ Wilcox last night--wish we had him.

[U-Ute]

Wow. I didn't see this coming.

I am having a hard time tempering my expectations now. It is hard after one game, especially when that game is against a team that isn't obviously bad, to not get jacked for his team. Ball State was better than I expected. They played physical defense and have some fantastic shooters. That will win them a lot of games. So I have two one gallon jugs of Sweet 16 Juice, one in each hand, and I am climbing into the drivers seat of this bandwagon.

What was interesting to me was how many players saw the floor for Utah. I counted 11, and they weren't playing during garbage time. They were playing when the game was still in doubt. Plus Tucker was injured. So that means we can expect to see 10-12 guys play every night. I think that depth helped us last night as Ball State was short handed and made mental mistakes down the stretch that the Utes capitalized on.

We know who DWright, Taylor, JLove, Bachynski, and Olsen are. They all looked about as expected.

Free throw shooting aside, Poeltl is all that he was rumored to be. He has a good stroke at the FT line, so he will be fine there. He just needs confidence in it. He has the hands of Doleac, the swagger and footwork of Bogut, and is more athletic than either. He will be really fun to watch as this season goes on.

Ogbe impressed me. His ball handling and defense have both definitely improved. He can be much more than a spot player this year.

The length and athletecism of Kuzma is eye popping. Why Sparty passed on him is a mystery. He didn't look completely lost and competed on the defensive end.

It was hard to get much of a read on Chapman. He has athletecism and length as well.

Reyes is still a bit of an enigma to me. I like his toughness and tenacity but it will be interesting to see how his game translates when we start playing the taller, longer teams. SDSU will give us some indication.

At a high level, I think the team lacked focus for the first half of the game. Offensively they looked rusty. It took Taylor and DWright putting the defensive effort in to spark the team down the stretch. We saw what happened when this team woke up.

I am with Seattle on Taylor. I am a huge fan. It really appears that this team relies on him and DWright for leadership. Both of them seem to have it in spades.

I cannot remember any other season where I was this excited about a team so early. I don't see any real weaknesses. We have size, length, athleticism, leadership, and depth. Rebounding is still an area to watch. I think Ball State got a few too many offensive boards for my taste, but a lot were long caroms from all of the deep shots they were taking. Poeltl and Reyes seem to bring some rebounding that was missing last year, so hopefully that will get shored up. Plus we haven't really seen what Chapman and Kuzma can do yet.

As Rocker pointed out, one thing about Krystkoviak teams is that they do improve as the season goes on. Given where we are starting from this year, it makes me very stoked for this season.

[Mormon Red Death]

Is dakari hurt? He was in street clothes last night. Btw

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[LA Ute]

Is dakari hurt? He was in street clothes last night. Btw

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LK said it was a weird spasm (or something like that) in his shoulder blade and that he's responded well to treatment. I think he said Dakari would play against SDSU.