First Pac-12 homestand: USC & UCLA

[Applejack]

OK, the preseason is a distant memory - beating up on Wichita, BYU, UNLV, and North Dakota while falling to Kansas and SDSU on the road.

Tonight we begin our quest for the Pac-12 crown (that's right Arizona). Our Top Ten Utes start off with 8-4 USC. They had some bad losses early in the year (Portland St, Akron) but have picked it up with some decent road wins recently (New Mexico, Boston College). The only tournament-level team that they've faced thus far is Penn St, who they lost to by 2 on the road. This game is not a walk in the park.

The best thing about this weekend's games? Applejack will be in the house for both!

[sancho]

Applejack will be in the house for both!

See you there! (tonight, anyway)

[UtahsMrSports]

Two pretty good opponents, but we should sweep these folks from southern california. Ill be watching to see how Jordan Loveridge does in his return. He is 68 points away from the 1000 point club.

[LA Ute]

I'll be heading home to L.A. today, but other board members will be in my seats for both games, representing.

[#1 Utefan]

I'll be heading home to L.A. today, but other board members will be in my seats for both games, representing.


Why didn't you plan it to stick around for the SC game? Is the traffic from Vegas to So Cal awful on Saturdaya as well?

[U-Ute]

Yes we are Dish. Thanks for noticing.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/01/02/b0954c1c8d3905e8bbc99dd638999c4e.jpg

[311ute]

I'm a bit surprised by how big the line is for tonight (Utes -17.5).

This is not a walk in the park, but I hope/expect the Utes to take care of business without making us sweat too much. I'll take the Utes 77-62.

Things to watch:

Does Loveridge start? How many minutes will he get, and how will he look?
Can Chapman continue his stellar play? Can he stay out of foul trouble enough to get 20+ minutes?
Can the MUSS please get a few signs/chants directed toward Julian Jacobs?
What will the crowd be like? Am I too optimistic in hoping for 13-14k to show up tonight?

[DrumNFeather]

Do you think we see Larry tighten the rotation a bit here for conference play? If so, who are the odd men out? I suspect we'll see very little of Olsen unless Bach and Poetel are both in foul trouble.

[LA Ute]

Why didn't you plan it to stick around for the SC game? Is the traffic from Vegas to So Cal awful on Saturdaya as well?

Got some things to do on the way home and I need to be back by Saturday night. Been gone since Dec. 21. Not thrilled about it but that's life.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sancho]

Do you think we see Larry tighten the rotation a bit here for conference play?

I hope not. I like our 10 man rotation.

[DrumNFeather]

I hope not. I like our 10 man rotation.

The only guys who I could see him limiting would maybe be Isaiah Wright and Kuzma, but at the same time, I'd love for our freshmen to have enough experience to not get rattled come tourney time.

[U-Ute]

Things to watch:

Does Loveridge start? How many minutes will he get, and how will he look?


He looked good against Carroll College. I expect to see a lot of him.


What will the crowd be like? Am I too optimistic in hoping for 13-14k to show up tonight?

I hope it will be a good crowd. Last holiday game that isn't on a Sunday. The last chance for mom to kick dad and the kids out of the house and regroup before school starts.

[chrisrenrut]

I'm a bit surprised by how big the line is for tonight (Utes -17.5).

This is not a walk in the park, but I hope/expect the Utes to take care of business without making us sweat too much. I'll take the Utes 77-62.

Things to watch:

Does Loveridge start? How many minutes will he get, and how will he look?
Can Chapman continue his stellar play? Can he stay out of foul trouble enough to get 20+ minutes?
Can the MUSS please get a few signs/chants directed toward Julian Jacobs?
What will the crowd be like? Am I too optimistic in hoping for 13-14k to show up tonight?

Last year the MUSS was in the head of USC players. They were pretty close to over the line against one player in particular. I don't remember specifics, I just remember the generalities. We were sitting a couple of sections away and were a little embarassed by some of the things they were saying.

[sancho]

The only guys who I could see him limiting would maybe be Isaiah Wright and Kuzma, but at the same time, I'd love for our freshmen to have enough experience to not get rattled come tourney time.

I think we will have a 9 man rotation most of the season with Wright Jr, Kuzma, and Olsen on the bench. But all three will get some minutes when the circumstances call for it.

[Old Standing ute]

I think we will have a 9 man rotation most of the season with Wright Jr, Kuzma, and Olsen on the bench. But all three will get some minutes when the circumstances call for it.

In Carroll post-game Larry K talked about using Loveridge at the 4 with 3 shooters. IMO no reason to go that way:
rather see Brekkot & Loveridge at 3 & 4 with Jakob, Delon & (Tucker/Taylor/Ogbe)--whoever has hot hand. That would be a scoring group.

[U-Ute]

The U posted this on Instagram:


Don't forget to be in your seats by 7:50 for the last of the JHC renovations

Any ideas on what it is?

[U-Ute]

Per Kyle Goon:


@kylegoon: Utah reveals a pregame on-court projection about the program's history, All-Americans, NBAers, etc. Actually a pretty neat effect. #Utes

I like this projection things. That's cool.

[U-Ute]

Utes rolling. Played 9 guys so far at the under 8 timeout in the first. Chapman playing well.

[Mormon Red Death]

How many missed two free throws will we have this year? Two so far this game alone

[U-Ute]

How many missed two free throws will we have this year? Two so far this game alone

Too many. They will cost us a close game.

[SoCalPat]

I'm a bit surprised by how big the line is for tonight (Utes -17.5).

Vegas knows we're good and we've been monsters against the spread under Larry. Even in our 5-win season, we were close to .500 ATS. Utah has been a cash machine for bettors for the better part of three years now.

[UtahsMrSports]

Great to get this win! Have we ever been 1-0 in conference play? At this time, i like the nine man rotation. Still some things to clean up, but that was much better than i anticipated, bring on the bruins! Looking to go 4-0 versus theSo Cal schools in the major sports!

[OrangeUte]

Great game that was never in doubt.
Is ucla much of a test this year? Doesn't look like it from their schedule. We should be their 5th loss in a row.

They lost ever single big game they have played.

[justaute]

The Great- we won the game easily.

The Good- there are so many areas in which we can improve

The Bad- free throws; we'll need them.

[Old Standing ute]

Great game that was never in doubt.
Is ucla much of a test this year? Doesn't look like it from their schedule. We should be their 5th loss in a row.

They lost ever single big game they have played.

They only have about 8-9 players on the team--so no depth & 2nd game at altitude could get ugly for them.

USC: what was Julien Jacobs thinking tonight---study hard & transfer here, should be in his head--playing in front of a full house instead of 5,000 bored SC "fans". He is a good player.
SC's "system" of run & gun is lacking. And their shoes were not good.

[SeattleUte]

Too many. They will cost us a close game.

We can shoot 50% from the line as long as we shoot 58% from 3.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Too many. They will cost us a close game.

2015 strategy: no close games.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Here's video of the pre-game presentation that they started tonight. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152984320450960

[Diehard Ute]

Straight YouTube version of the video http://youtu.be/59i9ScXHuSo

I loved it.

Guess the idea came from the Cavs. Said we may be the first college team with the system. We spent about 200K. Cavs spent far more.

[U-Ute]

We can shoot 50% from the line as long as we shoot 58% from 3.

Haha. True. I would take that trade.

[U-Ute]

Straight YouTube version of the video http://youtu.be/59i9ScXHuSo

I loved it.

Guess the idea came from the Cavs. Said we may be the first college team with the system. We spent about 200K. Cavs spent far more.

I am looking forward to seeing it live tomorrow! Looks nice! Plus, Alan Parsons (RIP Eric Wolfson)

[#1 Utefan]

They only have about 8-9 players on the team--so no depth & 2nd game at altitude could get ugly for them.

USC: what was Julien Jacobs thinking tonight---study hard & transfer here, should be in his head--playing in front of a full house instead of 5,000 bored SC "fans". He is a good player.
SC's "system" of run & gun is lacking. And their shoes were not good.


You have to think Jacobs in the back of his head is kicking himself for shunning Utah and going to SC. At the time, Utah was down but two years later how things have changed.

Fans at SC could care less about their bball program and Enfield doesn't look like he has a system built for success. He has some athletes but they don't play defense and lack discipline. Kind of reminds me of Dave Rose's system without the shooters.

[Applejack]

Usc is in for a long year. They have no offensive identity other than "drive to the basket." Our shot blockers made their life really difficult. They threw up some really bad shots because of our length. Jacobs is their best player-it wwould-be nice to have him.

There was a really nice crowd there ast night. That's the most full I've seen the hunty for a non marquee game in a long time.

Delon is a man among boys out there. He was on cruise control for most of the game. Loveridge looked good too - nice to have more shooters.

I understand that Reyes is here for rebounding, but he has been lapped by brekkott. Reyes gets blocked on half his shots. Brekkott is the real deal.

Great inbounds plays last night! I like to see Larry fixing that aspect of our game. We got some great looks on 3s on those. Set plays out of timeouts, on the other hand, still need some work.

I think Jakob may have hit the freshman wall. He is still a defensive terror , but on offense teams are just making him fight thru physical defenders. He hasn't figured that out yet. Maybe we get him for another year.

[DrumNFeather]

Apparently the fans booed Hill at halftime and some folks are up in arms about it.

[U-Ute]

Usc is in for a long year. They have no offensive identity other than "drive to the basket." Our shot blockers made their life really difficult. They threw up some really bad shots because of our length. Jacobs is their best player-it wwould-be nice to have him.

There was a really nice crowd there ast night. That's the most full I've seen the hunty for a non marquee game in a long time.

Delon is a man among boys out there. He was on cruise control for most of the game. Loveridge looked good too - nice to have more shooters.

I understand that Reyes is here for rebounding, but he has been lapped by brekkott. Reyes gets blocked on half his shots. Brekkott is the real deal.

Great inbounds plays last night! I like to see Larry fixing that aspect of our game. We got some great looks on 3s on those. Set plays out of timeouts, on the other hand, still need some work.

I think Jakob may have hit the freshman wall. He is still a defensive terror , but on offense teams are just making him fight thru physical defenders. He hasn't figured that out yet. Maybe we get him for another year.

You and I are on the same page on all these points. The only thing I will add is I love Reyes on the boards. He is so active. Brekkot is definitely a better shooter (his touch is ridiculous) however that thumb injury is affecting Reyes offensively so it will be interesting to see how he is if/when he recovers. It will be a nice addition if he can develop a mid-range game post-injury.

What to watch: Brekkot is an underrated passer. He has had 2 gems to Bachynski.

Delon is playing a completely different game than anyone else on the floor. He almost looks bored at times. He is fun to watch when he decides it is time to get the Utes back on track.

Lastly it appears JLove hasn't suffered from his time off. If anything, he looks fresh and hungry.

[chrisrenrut]

Apparently the fans booed Hill at halftime and some folks are up in arms about it.


Yes, at first I couldn't understand why everyone was booing a Poli-Sci professor and his 5 generations of family on the court. Then I realized it was for Chris Hill. It seems stupid to me, no one knows what is really going on, we are coming off 9-4 football season where we will end up in the top 20, and basketball is ranked in the top 10 for the first time in 15 years. What a shitty time to be a Ute, fire Chris Hill!

i wonder if you ran Whittingham out on the court, would he get some boos as well?

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

i wonder if you ran Whittingham out on the court, would he get some boos as well?

It seems like he sure gets plenty when we run him out on the field.

[Old Standing ute]

Yes, at first I couldn't understand why everyone was booing a Poli-Sci professor and his 5 generations of family on the court. Then I realized it was for Chris Hill. It seems stupid to me, no one knows what is really going on, we are coming off 9-4 football season where we will end up in the top 20, and basketball is ranked in the top 10 for the first time in 15 years. What a shitty time to be a Ute, fire Chris Hill!

i wonder if you ran Whittingham out on the court, would he get some boos as well?,

Agree. Whatever Hill did, he did it thinking it was the best for the athletic program.
And we are now up to speed in the Pac-12 on most levels, with less than a full $ share for the first years.

[SeattleUte]

Yes, at first I couldn't understand why everyone was booing a Poli-Sci professor and his 5 generations of family on the court. Then I realized it was for Chris Hill. It seems stupid to me, no one knows what is really going on, we are coming off 9-4 football season where we will end up in the top 20, and basketball is ranked in the top 10 for the first time in 15 years. What a shitty time to be a Ute, fire Chris Hill!

i wonder if you ran Whittingham out on the court, would he get some boos as well?

Maybe the Whittinghams were booing. He must have a big LDS family.

[SeattleUte]

,

Agree. Whatever Hill did, he did it thinking it was the best for the athletic program.
And we are now up to speed in the Pac-12 on most levels, with less than a full $ share for the first years.

The coaches did this 1000x more than Hill did.

[DrumNFeather]

It makes sense to me that the fans would side with Whit over Hill, but I am reminded of the professional sports labor strikes where people are reminded that millionaires are fighting with billionaires. In this instance, you've got the 55th highest paid AD squaring off against the 42nd highest paid coach (source: USA Today). Both of them are doing just fine! :)

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Virginia and Iowa State both in close games. Looking forward to climbing that ranking ladder.

[LA Ute]

The coaches did this 1000x more than Hill did.

The president of the U.S. gets the blame and the credit when the economy or a war goes well or badly, not the secretary of the treasury or the secretary of defense. It's not the same, but similar. There's plenty of credit to go around. Whit's successes have been great. So have LK's. But Hill hired both of them, approves their budgets, contract revisions, etc.

[LA Ute]

Yes, at first I couldn't understand why everyone was booing a Poli-Sci professor and his 5 generations of family on the court. Then I realized it was for Chris Hill. It seems stupid to me, no one knows what is really going on, we are coming off 9-4 football season where we will end up in the top 20, and basketball is ranked in the top 10 for the first time in 15 years. What a shitty time to be a Ute, fire Chris Hill!

i wonder if you ran Whittingham out on the court, would he get some boos as well?

Booing either Hill or Whitt right now is idiotic, since the booing has to be based almost 100% on rumors and, as you say, has to ignore the very successful state of our major programs.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Virginia and Iowa State both in close games. Looking forward to climbing that ranking ladder.

Meh. Virginia is going to pull this out over Miami in double overtime., despite Miami being up three with 19 seconds left and the ball in the first overtime.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Villanova (#6) and Iowa State (#9) both lose today to I ranked teams. Hopefully our Utes can keep it up against UCLA tomorrow and make the single digits.

[SeattleUte]

The president of the U.S. gets the blame and the credit when the economy or a war goes well or badly, not the secretary of the treasury or the secretary of defense. It's not the same, but similar. There's plenty of credit to go around. Whit's successes have been great. So have LK's. But Hill hired both of them, approves their budgets, contract revisions, etc.

I didn't say he didn't do anything. The pathetic examples you give -- "Hill hired both of them, approves their budgets, contract revisions, etc." -- make my point. I don't need to spell out a comparison between that and what the coaches do.

Your analogy is weak. Coaches directly bring about success that generates excitement for the athletic department in a way that nobody can affect the economy. The fact is it's the coaches who who make a difference in a unique way and they work work a lot harder than the AD.

[NorthwestUteFan]

In this instance, you've got the 55th highest paid AD squaring off against the 42nd highest paid coach (source: USA Today). Both of them are doing just fine! :)

Chris Hill is definitely a 1%-er. And yet the person who seems to be complaining about the money (as leaked through family sources) makes as much in approximately 5 weeks as Hill makes annually.

Coaches are very valuable to a program. Kyle Whittingham is probably a better coach than some who make more money than he does. And don't mention the inconvenient fact that Mark Helfrich makes less than half as much (and most of his assistants make quite a bit less than their peers at Utah).

Unless Kyle has serious offers to go elsewhere for more money, he probably makes about what the market will bear right now.

[#1 Utefan]

Chris Hill is definitely a 1%-er. And yet the person who seems to be complaining about the money (as leaked through family sources) makes as much in approximately 5 weeks as Hill makes annually.

Coaches are very valuable to a program. Kyle Whittingham is probably a better coach than some who make more money than he does. And don't mention the inconvenient fact that Mark Helfrich makes less than half as much (and most of his assistants make quite a bit less than their peers at Utah).

Unless Kyle has serious offers to go elsewhere for more money, he probably makes about what the market will bear right now.


Hill makes over 700k annually while Kyle's salary from the state is listed at 1.9 million (I think he makes over 2 mil with incentives from other areas).

While you are correct Kyle makes a lot more and is the state's top paid employee, you were obviously exaggerating the disparity in incomes between the two. CH isn't exactly slumming it.

[Applejack]

There was booing. It was quick, but widespread. I thought it was pretty pathetic. I think a lot of our fans have gotten uppity. I'm not sure the combined state of our programs has ever been better other than the urban/Bogut era. I can't fathom booing anyone involved with either the football or basketball teams right now.

[NorthwestUteFan]

The number I saw was that CHill makes $450k and Whitt makes $2.4M. It must have been old contract numbers for Hill. My calculation is still off with those numbers, as Whitt would make that amount in <10 weeks.

In actuality Whitt makes CHill's salary in 15 weeks, and the remaining 37 weeks worth of salary are gravy...

My point about Whitt's market value remains.

[sancho]

There was booing. It was quick, but widespread. I thought it was pretty pathetic. I think a lot of our fans have gotten uppity. I'm not sure the combined state of our programs has ever been better other than the urban/Bogut era. I can't fathom booing anyone involved with either the football or basketball teams right now.

I was booing the booers. Counterproductive in hindsight.

[sancho]

The number I saw was that CHill makes $450k and Whitt makes $2.4M. It must have been old contract numbers for Hill. My calculation is still off with those numbers, as Whitt would make that amount in <10 weeks.

In actuality Whitt makes CHill's salary in 15 weeks, and the remaining 37 weeks worth of salary are gravy...

My point about Whitt's market value remains.

Once you get into 6 figures, it all sounds like monopoly money to me.

[NorthwestUteFan]

Once you get into 6 figures, it all sounds like monopoly money to me.

Roger. And I think we should blame SeattleUte for this threadjack. And perhaps we should blame Team Whitt for leaking the distracting contract negotiation info, which takes away from fans celebrating what is shaping up to be a monster Basketball season.

Bring on the Bruins. They look to be down at the moment. Will the team make a statement with an epic beatdown today? Will enough fans sneak out of an intolerably boring priesthood lesson about Ezra Taft Benson (and the righteousness of choosing the R party in the voting booth..) to fill the lower level of the Huntsman Center?

I hope enough people show up to make the players feel appreciated. This team deserves to have an intense and rowdy crowd backing them up.

Go Utes.

[mUUser]

......And don't mention the inconvenient fact that Mark Helfrich makes less than half as much (and most of his assistants make quite a bit less than their peers at Utah).

Unless Kyle has serious offers to go elsewhere for more money, he probably makes about what the market will bear right now.

Unless USA Today's 2014 figures are wildly inaccurate......

KW = $2.2mm base; MH = $2.0mm base
KW = $740 bonus potential; MH = $1.135mm bonus potential
KW = $2.24mm staff pay; MH = $3.28mm staff pay

http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/

[Applejack]

I'll be there! I'm loving the chance to take in some games at the hunty. You utahns are spoiled rotten.

[Old Standing ute]

I'll be there! I'm loving the chance to take in some games at the hunty. You utahns are spoiled rotten.

Love that Utes ae favored by 11 over UCLA.
Never could have dreamed this 2 years ago!

[DrumNFeather]

Once you get into 6 figures, it all sounds like monopoly money to me.
No kidding. They both are in LA Ute territory...:cool:

[SeattleUte]

Love that Utes ae favored by 11 over UCLA.
Never could have dreamed this 2 years ago!

UCLA is a dangerous team, like UNLV. We'd give our pinkies for their recruits and Alford isn't an idiot. We could lose this game.

[LA Ute]

No kidding. They both are in LA Ute territory...:cool:

You mean Southern California?

[NorthwestUteFan]

Unless USA Today's 2014 figures are wildly inaccurate......

KW = $2.2mm base; MH = $2.0mm base
KW = $740 bonus potential; MH = $1.135mm bonus potential
KW = $2.24mm staff pay; MH = $3.28mm staff pay

http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/

Jeez. That will teach me to quote from memory a website I looked at a week ago. Sorry about that.

[U-Ute]

Incredible energy in the building.

UCLA is taking bad shots and dropping 4 back on defense.

[U-Ute]

The Muss chanting "Daddy's Boy!" at Alford after he knocked the ball out of bounds.

:rofl:

[U-Ute]

UCLA only plays 1-1 ball.

[LA Ute]

We just might be very, very good.

[LA Ute]

Is Alford's job going to be in jeopardy?

[sancho]

We just might be very, very good.

It's so much more fun to be on the giving end of blowouts. The St Mary's debacle seems like a lifetime ago.

[concerned]

Is ogbe injured? Did they say anything on tv?

[sancho]

Is ogbe injured? Did they say anything on tv?

Groin injury - day to day.

[SeattleUte]

We just might be very, very good.

I've never seen a Utah team with so many good players. We had two double figures scorers (just barely, 11 and 10 points) and our rotation is enormous. It's impossible to "call off the dogs" when we get a big lead. This team would never get gassed like our 98 team did in the title game.

[Coastal Ute]

I've never seen a Utah team with so many good players. We had two double figures scorers (just barely, 11 and 10 points) and our rotation is enormous. It's impossible to "call off the dogs" when we get a big lead. This team would never get gassed like our 98 team did in the title game.

My thoughts exactly. I watched the P12 Network replay of the '98 Elite 8 game against Arizona and was reminded of how many bench warmers we had. Those days appear to be over.

I think Chapman finds his way into the starting rotation by the end of the season. Kid is going to be a star.

[SeattleUte]

Is Alford's job going to be in jeopardy?

There is something wrong with this UCLA team.

Alford shouldn't be coaching his son. He's in that talent range where it's especially problematic, and he likes to shoot.

[UtahsMrSports]

Cant wait for wednesday. Bring on the buffs!

[LA Ute]

Nice writeup from Goon:

http://www.sltrib.com/sports/2018523-155/utah-basketball-utes-trounce-ucla-71-39

For most of the second half the Utes almost seemed to toy with UCLA. But it was deadly purposeful toying.

[U-Ute]

Utah is good, and UCLA is bad. Bad and coming off a tough game @CU. This road trip is going to be the most difficult in the P12.

Arizona, Utah, Gonzaga are the best in the west right now. Maybe Alford can pull the Bruins together by the end of the season, but it seems unlikely.

Still unsure about Cal and UW. That big kid for UW is a beast inside and they have the hyphen guards that are pretty good too. Utah has better quality depth for sure though.

[Old Standing ute]

Nice writeup from Goon:

http://www.sltrib.com/sports/2018523-155/utah-basketball-utes-trounce-ucla-71-39

For most of the second half the Utes almost seemed to toy with UCLA. But it was deadly purposeful toying.

That was not a fair fight.
Loved the Muss chant --"just like football".

Chapman is really good--but Reyes sets a toughness tone right out of the shoot. He cleans up a lot of misses.
Then of course there is Delon---he plays at a whole different speed.

Going to move up from 10---

[LA Ute]

Official stats:

http://www.utahutes.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/2014-2015/ucla14.html

Nine players with 10 minutes or more of playing time is very impressive, because IIRC they were rotating that many even before the game was so far out of hand.

[LA Ute]

Larry post-game:

"You're never as good as you think you are and you're never as bad as you think you are. For us, I think it's important to stay consistent in our effort. Avoid the high and lows and just kind of stay thew course. We still have a lot of work and things to improve on. So we can enjoy it and it's a hungry and humble situation. I think that's an Under Armor term that I picked up. Just remain humble and hungry through the whole process and hopefully some good things will happen."

Entire interview:

http://espn700sports.com/espn700-interviews/larry-krystkowiak-postgame-utah-vs-ucla-1-4-15/

[sancho]

Still unsure about Cal and UW.

Cal just became the first Pac-12 team to lose a conference game at home. Wazzu.

[Irving Washington]

Attended my first game today. I like the new atmosphere. There's a more intimate feel.
The game was a lot of fun, but it wasn't much of a contest. Imagine that against UCLA. They weren't very good. I kind of felt sorry for Alford's kid. He shouldn't be playing more than a supporting role. They just don't have the horses. Looney looked gassed with about 8:00 left in the first half.

Delong is so much fun to watch. He's such a smart player.

[LA Ute]

The game was a lot of fun, but it wasn't much of a contest. Imagine that against UCLA. They weren't very good. I kind of felt sorry for Alford's kid. He shouldn't be playing more than a supporting role. They just don't have the horses. Looney looked gassed with about 8:00 left in the first half.

I haven't followed UCLA this season, so I am a bit puzzled. This is, after all, UCLA we are talking about. How does a program like that not have the horses? (Not a question to you, Irving. Semi-rhetorical.)

[Irving Washington]

We know they lost some players before the season began. Alford should not be their leading scorer ( I think he went 0-9 against the Buffs. Looney, their biggest fresh recruit, didn't look that good. Like I said, he looked like he was sucking for air midway through the first half. No one else looked all that impressive.

On the other hand, maybe I'm not giving us enough credit for making them look that way. I'd hate to go against Delon. I also think Poetel and Batshit gave them problems inside on defense. The refs were not calling much.

[Applejack]

Alford is in trouble. That was a bad ucla team and they don't play with purpose on either end. I was shocked that they ran the offense thru Alford-that #4 senior pg was soooo much better. I think the Westwood natives are going to get restless.

I am full on in love with brekkott. The kid is going to be great. I also really liked Isaiah Wright today; he has a ways to go, but he's already our best freshman non-Austrian defender.

Lastly , I like that krysko starts Reyes, even though brekkott is clearly the better player. I like that we set the tone on defense and bring a guy like brekkott off the bench. It's a great way to punch the other team in the mouth right off the tip.

[Old Standing ute]

I haven't followed UCLA this season, so I am a bit puzzled. This is, after all, UCLA we are talking about. How does a program like that not have the horses? (Not a question to you, Irving. Semi-rhetorical.)

They had a foreign kid who could not qualify & a grad student transfer from Colo St. who also was not eligible.

Plus Welsh a big guy--who played today is allegedly a 4* recruit--but he looked like a stiff.

[LA Ute]

Alford is in trouble. That was a bad ucla team and they don't play with purpose on either end. I was shocked that they ran the offense thru Alford-that #4 senior pg was soooo much better. I think the Westwood natives are going to get restless.

I am full on in love with brekkott. The kid is going to be great. I also really liked Isaiah Wright today; he has a ways to go, but he's already our best freshman non-Austrian defender.

Lastly , I like that krysko starts Reyes, even though brekkott is clearly the better player. I like that we set the tone on defense and bring a guy like brekkott off the bench. It's a great way to punch the other team in the mouth right off the tip.

Brekott reminds me (dare I say it?) of Van Horn as a freshman. He's more catlike, in the Vranes mold.


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[SeattleUte]

I haven't followed UCLA this season, so I am a bit puzzled. This is, after all, UCLA we are talking about. How does a program like that not have the horses? (Not a question to you, Irving. Semi-rhetorical.)

The problem isn't that that they lack horses. On the contrary, in a way. Last year UCLA signed 3 ESPN 100s; Kevin Looney was a five star and rated the number 12 recruit in the country. It's like that every season with them. But Alford is failing the same way his prdecessor failed. And here we see the wonder and mystery of college basketball. It's the quitessential team sport. For sucess, every player has to buy into a system and thoroughly subordinate his own ego and interests to the team. This is a lot more important than having a bunch of potential NBA stars. Look who won the NCAA title last season; a team with no diaper dandies.

The diaper dandies are poison. John Thompson III had his one final four season and won two consecutive Big East regular season titles and in addition a Big East tournament title the first of those two years, with no diaper dandies. Then he started signing the diaper dandies and he's done nothing but struggle and usually fail. It's the same at UNLV, North Carolina, Texas, Florida (the last 7 years), Washington, etc.

For these kids it's all me me me, my stats, the Draft. The genius of John Calipari is that he's the only coach I've seen who can manage and get the most for the team out of these children with egos and senses of entitlement the size of barnyards. Duke doesn't recruit quite like Kentucky, nor does Louisville, probably deliberately (but look how far Jabari Parker got Duke; he was a curse). Roy Williams just lets them run up and down the court and play a street game. He's been able to amass enough talent to win a couple of titles. But it seems the worst thing a coach can do is try to get these man children to play a motion offense, defense, etc. That's what Ben Howland did horribly wrong. Then you have the continuous disruption of one and done.

We're getting kids at the right level, who are coachable and know they need the program and the coach and will stay through their fourth season. And Delon Wright is a miracle, an absolute dreamboat of a college basketball player.

[UtahsMrSports]

The problem isn't that that they lack horses. On the contrary, in a way. Last year UCLA signed 3 ESPN 100s; Kevin Looney was a five star and rated the number 12 recruit in the country. It's like that every season with them. But Alford is failing the same way his prdecessor failed. And here we see the wonder and mystery of college basketball. It's the quitessential team sport. For sucess, every player has to buy into a system and thoroughly subordinate his own ego and interests to the team. This is a lot more important than having a bunch of potential NBA stars. Look who won the NCAA title last season; a team with no diaper dandies.

The diaper dandies are poison. John Thompson III had his one final four season and won two consecutive Big East regular season titles and in addition a Big East tournament title the first of those two years, with no diaper dandies. Then he started signing the diaper dandies and he's done nothing but struggle and usually fail. It's the same at UNLV, North Carolina, Texas, Florida (the last 7 years), Washington, etc.

For these kids it's all me me me, my stats, the Draft. The genius of John Calipari is that he's the only coach I've seen who can manage and get the most for the team out of these children with egos and senses of entitlement the size of barnyards. Duke doesn't recruit quite like Kentucky, nor does Louisville, probably deliberately (but look how far Jabari Parker got Duke; he was a curse). Roy Williams just lets them run up and down the court and play a street game. He's been able to amass enough talent to win a couple of titles. But it seems the worst thing a coach can do is try to get these man children to play a motion offense, defense, etc. That's what Ben Howland did horribly wrong. Then you have the continuous disruption of one and done.

We're getting kids at the right level, who are coachable and know they need the program and the coach and will stay through their fourth season. And Delon Wright is a miracle, an absolute dreamboat of a college basketball player.

Absolutely, 100% agree.

[LA Ute]

The problem isn't that that they lack horses. On the contrary, in a way. Last year UCLA signed 3 ESPN 100s; Kevin Looney was a five star and rated the number 12 recruit in the country. It's like that every season with them. But Alford is failing the same way his prdecessor failed. And here we see the wonder and mystery of college basketball. It's the quitessential team sport. For sucess, every player has to buy into a system and thoroughly subordinate his own ego and interests to the team. This is a lot more important than having a bunch of potential NBA stars. Look who won the NCAA title last season; a team with no diaper dandies.

The diaper dandies are poison. John Thompson III had his one final four season and won two consecutive Big East regular season titles and in addition a Big East tournament title the first of those two years, with no diaper dandies. Then he started signing the diaper dandies and he's done nothing but struggle and usually fail. It's the same at UNLV, North Carolina, Texas, Florida (the last 7 years), Washington, etc.

For these kids it's all me me me, my stats, the Draft. The genius of John Calipari is that he's the only coach I've seen who can manage and get the most for the team out of these children with egos and senses of entitlement the size of barnyards. Duke doesn't recruit quite like Kentucky, nor does Louisville, probably deliberately (but look how far Jabari Parker got Duke; he was a curse). Roy Williams just lets them run up and down the court and play a street game. He's been able to amass enough talent to win a couple of titles. But it seems the worst thing a coach can do is try to get these man children to play a motion offense, defense, etc. That's what Ben Howland did horribly wrong. Then you have the continuous disruption of one and done.

We're getting kids at the right level, who are coachable and know they need the program and the coach and will stay through their fourth season. And Delon Wright is a miracle, an absolute dreamboat of a college basketball player.

Agreed. In short, LK's "no turds" rule pays off.

[LA Ute]

This is a scarily positive SI article about the Utes' prospects after today's win over UCLA:

http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2015/01/04/utah-ucla-larry-krystkowiak-delon-wright

Excerpt:


But Krystkowiak's team is built for March. Teams that thrive in the NCAA tournament have multiple scoring threats, create high-percentage shots and play sound, collective defense. Utah has a scary mix of all three. Could this edition of the Utes replicate the success that former head coach Rick Majerus had en route to the 1998 Final Four? Perhaps Utah could do something that its late-90s counterparts couldn’t do: win the school’s second national title.

[UBlender]

Brekott reminds me (dare I say it?) of Van Horn as a freshman. He's more catlike, in the Vranes mold.


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If we're going to tempt fate and make crazy comparisons I'm going to say that Chapman reminds me a little of a young Alex Jensen. I don't think Chap is the defender that Al was, but he has that same knack that Alex had for just being in the right place for rebounding and loose balls. He scores a lot without ever having a play designed for him just because of that sixth sense where he knows where he needs to be in order for the ball to find him for an easy shot. He also reminds me of Alex in that he is not physically imposing yet never appears over-matched or intimated by bigger, more mature players. Chapman lacks Al's "unselfish to a fault" gene, which is kind of nice.

[LA Ute]

If we're going to tempt fate and make crazy comparisons I'm going to say that Chapman reminds me a little of a young Alex Jensen. I don't think Chap is the defender that Al was, but he has that same knack that Alex had for just being in the right place for rebounding and loose balls. He scores a lot without ever having a play designed for him just because of that sixth sense where he knows where he needs to be in order for the ball to find him for an easy shot. He also reminds me of Alex in that he is not physically imposing yet never appears over-matched or intimated by bigger, more mature players. Chapman lacks Al's "unselfish to a fault" gene, which is kind of nice.

Maybe that's a better comparison. I just think he's going to be really good in his own way. By the time he's done Chapman will remind us of Chapman.

[concerned]

Chapman is much better offensively than Alex J., and perhaps not as tenacious defensively (yet, anyway). I expect he will be the leading scorer eventually, like Van Horn was, or close to it, and carrying a substantial part of the offensive load. His role will be much different than Alex J's.

[LA Ute]

PAC-12 Hoops thinks highly of the Utes, and ranks us #1 in its power rankings:


Any time you can send Bruins Nation into a flurry of lynchmobdom, you get points in my book. Sure it doesn’t take much – a Bruin loss more incendiary than the La Brea tar pits – but UCLA hadn’t scored that few points (39) in a game since 1967 (they won that game, btw). But enough about UCLA, Utah was making statements this weekend. They dominated the Bruins, holding them to the same points per possession as the vaunted Kentucky Wildcats (0.65). Ignore that USC and UCLA are proving themselves not very good. One more thought: Utah leads the conference in 3-point FG%.

When was the last time we led a conference in 3-point percentage? I like this.

[U-Ute]

Apparently the fans booed Hill at halftime and some folks are up in arms about it.

My guess is Hill smiled when this happened.

The worst thing for the program would be if nobody cared what happened with the football coach.

[U-Ute]

I took my GoPro to the UCLA game on Sunday. Here's my view of the new intro and the cool effect of the red glow sticks. Yes, we did get to keep them.

Warning: contains horrible screeching by me since I didn't know the mic would be sensitive enough to get it and my voice is out of game shape.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D89jn03Ybvc&amp;feature=youtu.be

I let my kids take it down on the court for the player handshakes. It's 10 minutes long and a bit raw, I'm hoping to trim it up a bit.

[Devildog]

I took my GoPro to the UCLA game on Sunday. Here's my view of the new intro and the cool effect of the red glow sticks. Yes, we did get to keep them.

Warning: contains horrible screeching by me since I didn't know the mic would be sensitive enough to get it and my voice is out of game shape.



That is a cool new intro. Good video right up to the screeching you warned us about. Damn Man... put some Bass in your voice.

[U-Ute]

That is a cool new intro. Good video right up to the screeching you warned us about. Damn Man... put some Bass in your voice.

I'll start the testosterone treatments as soon as I can.

[Devildog]

I'll start the testosterone treatments as soon as I can.

I appreciated the intro... just sayin', ya kinda sounded like an excited woman.

[U-Ute]

I appreciated the intro... just sayin', ya kinda sounded like an excited woman.

Oh yeah. That part was my daughter....

:Ashamed:

[Devildog]

Oh yeah. That part was my daughter....

:Ashamed:

You're a good dude U Ute. I'm glad you can stand taking a little crap.

Besides, it's not like you have one of those effeminate Utah Mormon lisps. Well at least I don't think you do... never understood that about Utah. Almost sure these dudes are gay and then I find out they have been married for years with several kids. Weird breed.... these Mo's.