The Basketball Offseason 2016 Thread

[UtahsMrSports]

It is a major bummer that I am typing this here today when I thought for sure we would be celebrating a sweet 16 appearance. Last night may sting for a while, so I wanted to try and get that bad taste out of my mouth as soon as possible.

The next few weeks will be very interesting. Among our 13 scholarship athletes we had........

7 guys who were rotation regulars
2 guys on the fringes of the rotation
1 guy who could never seem to stick (Bealer)
1 guy who was injured all year (Ogbe)
1 guy who transferred (Miller)
1 guy who was redshirted despite the fact that we desperately needed a backup at his position (Mawien)

I think its fair to say we will see some cuts and/or transfers this year.

The one thing that is obvious........we gotta get more depth.

[NorthwestUteFan]

I think Bonam has tremendous potential but he needs more help getting up to speed. He has a good shot and is a strong slasher. I hope he will be able to relax into the position next year with a bigger PG on the court (Barefield, 6'2"-ish). Barefield is still a very young player so he will also need to grow into the position.

Jayce Johnson will be helpful, and David Collette is strong and very experienced.

Can Ogbe get healthy? Groin injuries can be terrible.

Can Bealer get there? We need a huge upgrade in wing play if we are to survive.

[Utah]

What about the kid who transferred from SMU? He was a top 150 recruit. He was a PG, right?

[Ma'ake]

Bonam has a much upside as any player we've had since Andre Miller. Gonzaga's ability to take Loveridge out of equation, putting pressure on Taylor, and everyone else struggling, left our improvised offensive game plan to just let Bonam create... and he was simply amazing in getting to the rim and finishing with very difficult shots. He needs to get stronger and build up some toughness, but he's the cornerstone for next year.

I want to think I-Wright and Bealer were simply victims of a logjam in front of them. Taylor, Loveridge and Tucker deserved the minutes they got.

Hopefully they see the opportunity that Kuzma and Chapman got as minutes opened up, and make the most of theirs. Chapman especially has untapped upside he should be motivated to show. I don't know how much better Kuzma can get, but his development over his first year was impressive.

[NorthwestUteFan]

What about the kid who transferred from SMU? He was a top 150 recruit. He was a PG, right?

That is Sedric Barefield. He appears to have the potential we need.

[Mormon Red Death]

Speaking of 3 point shooting here is what we havevto replace
Loveridge shot 223 3s and made 40%
Taylor shot 191 3s and made 33.5%
Tucker shot 108 3s and made 40% as well

Tucker and and loveridge were a little under 40% for the conference season while Taylor shot 37% in the conference

Best shooting % on the team? Bonam a little over 40% on 55 3s
In conference he only shot 25%

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[sancho]

In this thread last year, I said we wouldn't make the tournament unless 1-2 players made a leap or 1-2 of the newcomers could contribute. It worked out.

Looking at what is returning, I would say we need the same thing. We'll need a major leap from two returners and at least one newcomer needs to be worthy of 30 minutes/game.

[Solon]

Speaking of 3 point shooting here is what we havevto replace
Loveridge shot 223 3s and made 40%
Taylor shot 191 3s and made 33.5%
Tucker shot 108 3s and made 40% as well

Tucker and and loveridge were a little under 40% for the conference season while Taylor shot 37% in the conference

Best shooting % on the team? Bonam a little over 40% on 55 3s
In conference he only shot 25%

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Maybe it's Kuzma.
He was atrocious all year, and then hit some big 3s in the conf tourney & early on last night.

I wish we had more than one more year with Lorenzo. I'm not sure if Chapman is up to assuming the mantle.

[Utah]

We will be better next year than this. While we might not have a Poeltl, our overall talent will be much higher. Delon took a big jump, Poeltl took a big jump, Kuzma has improved a ton, even Washburn improved a ton under Larry.

And that doesn't include the PG from SMU, Johnson, Collette. Plus, hopefully, we can add Ogbe back. It wouldn't shock me if we get another player and someone leaves as well. We will be a lot more talented next year overall.

We haven't peaked yet. We are still trending up.

[311ute]

I think this will be one of the most eventful offseasons we've seen in a while. I expect, as UtahsMrSports said on twitter, that we'll see some good and some bad news. I expect a few surprises as well.

Let's recap our current/projected roster:

Scholarships for sure leaving (5): Taylor, Tucker, Loveridge, Poeltl, Miller (already transfered)
Scholarships for sure coming in (6): Zamora, Daniels, Johnson, Collette*, Barefield*, PVD

*I'm not sure how the scholarships count for these guys who aren't eligible until second semester next year.... I'm going to assume they count against the 13 allotted scholarships the team is allowed for the year.


So that means we're currently committed to 14 scholarship players for next year. We're also all aware we're actively recruiting multiple players right now. So who, and how many, of the following players will leave?

PVD, I. Wright, Bealer, Ogbe, Reyes, Mawien.

I could see anywhere from 2-5 of those guys not being on the roster next year.

[Diehard Ute]

I think this will be one of the most eventful offseasons we've seen in a while. I expect, as UtahsMrSports said on twitter, that we'll see some good and some bad news. I expect a few surprises as well.

Let's recap our current/projected roster:

Scholarships for sure leaving (5): Taylor, Tucker, Loveridge, Poeltl, Miller (already transfered)
Scholarships for sure coming in (6): Zamora, Daniels, Johnson, Collette*, Barefield*, PVD

*I'm not sure how the scholarships count for these guys who aren't eligible until second semester next year.... I'm going to assume they count against the 13 allotted scholarships the team is allowed for the year.


So that means we're currently committed to 14 scholarship players for next year. We're also all aware we're actively recruiting multiple players right now. So who, and how many, of the following players will leave?

PVD, I. Wright, Bealer, Ogbe, Reyes, Mawien.

I could see anywhere from 2-5 of those guys not being on the roster next year.

Collette is a walk on as of now. Not sure when that would change.


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[311ute]

We will be better next year than this. While we might not have a Poeltl, our overall talent will be much higher. Delon took a big jump, Poeltl took a big jump, Kuzma has improved a ton, even Washburn improved a ton under Larry.

And that doesn't include the PG from SMU, Johnson, Collette. Plus, hopefully, we can add Ogbe back. It wouldn't shock me if we get another player and someone leaves as well. We will be a lot more talented next year overall.

We haven't peaked yet. We are still trending up.

I hope fans have reasonable expectations heading into next year. It's simply not fair to the coaching staff for fans to expect us to be as good as we've been the last two years. We've lost two All-American, top-20 picks in two years, with no one on the current roster who is a sure fire NBA guy. Go look at our offense this year when Poeltl was out of the game. It was scary bad.

Now I'm as excited about the program as the next guy, and I agree we've got a good foundation going forward and we won't totally fall off the map. But to not expect a step back with what we've lost the past two years (Delon, Bach, Taylor, Loveridge, Tucker, Poeltl) is crazy talk. Even with the best case scenario, this team is going to take a while to gel. It's going to be almost an entirely new roster, and two of our rotation players won't be eligible until mid-December.


I hope we're all excited and optimistic, but I think we need to keep expectations in check.

[#1 Utefan]

I hope fans have reasonable expectations heading into next year. It's simply not fair to the coaching staff for fans to expect us to be as good as we've been the last two years. We've lost two All-American, top-20 picks in two years, with no one on the current roster who is a sure fire NBA guy. Go look at our offense this year when Poeltl was out of the game. It was scary bad.

Now I'm as excited about the program as the next guy, and I agree we've got a good foundation going forward and we won't totally fall off the map. But to not expect a step back with what we've lost the past two years (Delon, Bach, Taylor, Loveridge, Tucker, Poeltl) is crazy talk. Even with the best case scenario, this team is going to take a while to gel. It's going to be almost an entirely new roster, and two of our rotation players won't be eligible until mid-December.


I hope we're all excited and optimistic, but I think we need to keep expectations in check.

Does anyone one know if Bealer was a junior or senior this year? I think he has a lot of athleticism and upside. He will be a lot better than Tucker and clearly is more athletic than any of the graduating seniors.

I would have liked to have seen him more this year, particularly in games like Gonzaga Saturday where Utah's lack of athleticism was being badly exposed. Sometimes during the season I felt Larry was too loyal to his go to guys and seniors, even when they were underperforming and not getting it done. Sometimes you have to give other guys a chance, if nothing else to send a message to the othervguyscthatblack of hustle and effort isn't acceptable.

[NorthwestUteFan]

Bealer is a JR, but the knock in him was he has problems defending.

[sancho]

He will be a lot better than Tucker and clearly is more athletic than any of the graduating seniors.

I hope this is true, but I haven't seen any evidence yet. I like the idea of Bealer backing up Chapman at the 3. That might not be ideal defensively, but it gets Bealer, Chapman, and Collette starting minutes.

[DrumNFeather]

Bealer is a JR, but the knock in him was he has problems defending.

Bealer is a real interesting case for how this team will operate moving forward. His offensive talent is evident and he seems like the kind of guy that could help shoot you back into a game. It is interesting to me that he didn't get more minutes due to his defensive issues, especially when you consider that especially in the blowouts, our D was just atrocious anyway.

[sancho]

Bealer is a real interesting case for how this team will operate moving forward. His offensive talent is evident and he seems like the kind of guy that could help shoot you back into a game. It is interesting to me that he didn't get more minutes due to his defensive issues, especially when you consider that especially in the blowouts, our D was just atrocious anyway.

Well, how good is he offensively? Is he better than Loveridge or Tucker? They both shoot around 40% from beyond the arc. Maybe he didn't get minutes because he wasn't going to be an improvement over what we had already.

[DrumNFeather]

Well, how good is he offensively? Is he better than Loveridge or Tucker? They both shoot around 40% from beyond the arc. Maybe he didn't get minutes because he wasn't going to be an improvement over what we had already.

It's certainly possible. I mean, obviously there was a reason he didn't get more minutes over those guys. Maybe it's the back up QB is the most popular guy in town thing.

[Utah]

I hope fans have reasonable expectations heading into next year. It's simply not fair to the coaching staff for fans to expect us to be as good as we've been the last two years. We've lost two All-American, top-20 picks in two years, with no one on the current roster who is a sure fire NBA guy. Go look at our offense this year when Poeltl was out of the game. It was scary bad.

Now I'm as excited about the program as the next guy, and I agree we've got a good foundation going forward and we won't totally fall off the map. But to not expect a step back with what we've lost the past two years (Delon, Bach, Taylor, Loveridge, Tucker, Poeltl) is crazy talk. Even with the best case scenario, this team is going to take a while to gel. It's going to be almost an entirely new roster, and two of our rotation players won't be eligible until mid-December.


I hope we're all excited and optimistic, but I think we need to keep expectations in check.

This is exactly what you guys said after Delon left. We are still trending up. It wouldn't shock me if we are better next year. As good as we were, we were pretty bad at a lot of things, hence the blowouts.

Yes, we lose Poeltl, but the overall talent will be a lot higher.

We will have two elite recruits. Johnson and Barefield. Colette is no slouch as well. We return Kuzma, who carried us vs Gonzaga early, Bonham, who is coming into his own and has great potential, Chapman, Wright, Mawien. And I haven't mentioned Zamora, who wouldn't shock me if he redshirted and Daniels.

We will be very, very good next year. We will compete for a PAC-12 title again and will go dancing again.

Hate to break it you gloom and doom guys, but we are pretty good and will continue to do so.

[LA Ute]

I think this will be one of the most eventful offseasons we've seen in a while. I expect, as UtahsMrSports said on twitter, that we'll see some good and some bad news. I expect a few surprises as well.

Let's recap our current/projected roster:

Scholarships for sure leaving (5): Taylor, Tucker, Loveridge, Poeltl, Miller (already transfered)
Scholarships for sure coming in (6): Zamora, Daniels, Johnson, Collette*, Barefield*, PVD

*I'm not sure how the scholarships count for these guys who aren't eligible until second semester next year.... I'm going to assume they count against the 13 allotted scholarships the team is allowed for the year.


So that means we're currently committed to 14 scholarship players for next year. We're also all aware we're actively recruiting multiple players right now. So who, and how many, of the following players will leave?

PVD, I. Wright, Bealer, Ogbe, Reyes, Mawien.

I could see anywhere from 2-5 of those guys not being on the roster next year.

The only one on that list that I'd be sad to see go would be Ogbe, if he can get healthy. On the others I trust the coaches. For sentimental reasons (local guy) I'd like to see Van Dam stay, if he can cut it at the PAC-12 level.


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[Rocker Ute]

I think you are drastically under valuing Poeltl and the things he brought to the team. Just like Delon the entire game shifts around him. I'd love to see how our team fared this year without him in versus having him in.

Gonzaga should be a good indicator of that.


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[UBlender]

I think this will be one of the most eventful offseasons we've seen in a while. I expect, as UtahsMrSports said on twitter, that we'll see some good and some bad news. I expect a few surprises as well.

Let's recap our current/projected roster:

Scholarships for sure leaving (5): Taylor, Tucker, Loveridge, Poeltl, Miller (already transfered)
Scholarships for sure coming in (6): Zamora, Daniels, Johnson, Collette*, Barefield*, PVD

*I'm not sure how the scholarships count for these guys who aren't eligible until second semester next year.... I'm going to assume they count against the 13 allotted scholarships the team is allowed for the year.


So that means we're currently committed to 14 scholarship players for next year. We're also all aware we're actively recruiting multiple players right now. So who, and how many, of the following players will leave?

PVD, I. Wright, Bealer, Ogbe, Reyes, Mawien.

I could see anywhere from 2-5 of those guys not being on the roster next year.

I've heard several people say that Collette won't be on scholarship at all in 2016-17. I'm not certain if that's true but I tend to believe it. It makes sense as he can't be on scholarship for the fall semester, so it's not a great use of resources to tie up the scholarship for just half a year. If that is true, we are at 13 for next year. Of course that is almost meaningless right now as there is sure to be plenty of change still to come.

It will be interesting to see where else Larry goes for help. I doubt he is anywhere near content right now. I've heard rumblings of good things from Collette in practice, as well as Johnson. Utah won't have Poeltl but that two-headed monster inside should be formidable. Even better if they can add another head to the monster. I think Utah's foundation will be those post players, Bonam and Kuzma. I'm also hoping to see good things from Chapman at the 3, but not sure that's going to happen.

Utah desperately needs two more good guards. I'm higher than most on Devon Daniels--think he'll be really good but how good as a true freshman? I'm not sure what to make of Barefield--I try to write off his time at SMU because he was sick a lot but still he barely saw the floor and nobody there seemed to care that he left so quickly.

Utah also needs help on the wings. Can Bealer figure things out? He has the talent. Utah clearly is looking to bring in at least one more wing player. A healthy Ogbe would help both the wing and guard position but I don't think anyone is holding their breath for that.

Here's how I see the returnees/current commits:
Collette-Starting center when eligible, one of the building blocks of this team, whatever date in December he'd eligible can't come soon enough
Kuzma-Starting 4, hopefully keeps up the hot shooting we saw late and the rebounding we saw early, needs to learn he can't drive the ball through multiple defenders, one of the building blocks
Bonam-Starting at a guard spot, which spot depends on who else Utah is able to get or who returns, but it may be irrelevant as Larry likes to use interchangeable combo guards a lot, building block who needs to learn to be consistent, I'd bet on him to be the leading scorer next year
Barefield-As I said, I have no idea what to expect from him, but I am at least pretty confident he'll be on the roster which is more than I can say for most
Daniels-Really high on him over the long-term, just not certain he'll be ready to carry a heavy (starter-ish) load as a freshman
Johnson-I think he'll be solid as a freshman with a chance to be a star down the road, will have to hold down the center position until Collette can play

Those I'm not sure about:
Chapman-I hope he's back but he's a former top 100 recruit who may be looking for a larger role than he'll ever see here, could be the incumbent to start at SF
Zamora-He's probably here but I wonder if Utah doesn't consider asking him to void his LOI due to his injury
Ogbe-A building block if he were healthy but you have to be VERY confident in his health if you're going to commit a scholarship to him for another season
Reyes-He hustles and appears to be a good team guy, I don't want him playing big minutes as a backup center but if he's your 11th or 12th man that's fine with me
Wright-I don't think he's as bad as he looked for stretches this season and quietly had some solid (brief) outings late in the season, he probably tops out as a backup PG
Bealer-I can't imagine he was satisfied with his playing time, he'll either have to improve his understanding of the offense and defense or move on, lots of potential
Mawien-Project, not sure how close he is to contributing
Van Dyke-Not sure he'll ever be more than a designated shooter but I'd keep him around for that role as next year's team may be light on shooting

As for recruiting, I like the sound of the Rodas kid from Northern Idaho. If he's really choosing between Oregon and Utah he should see a much clearer path to playing time at Utah. I also think Utah would be a good spot for a senior transfer that is looking for a quality program--there will be plenty of minutes instantly available at guard and wing for such a player. I think Utah needs at least one more high impact guy to supplement what I perceive to be the foundation of next year's team (Collette, Kuzma, Bonam, maybe Chapman, Daniels, Johnson). Where that high impact guy comes from I have no idea.

Buckle up.

[NorthwestUteFan]

Losing Delon hurt a lot, but we still has a lottery pick player on the team.

Losing Poeltl will be tough. Our overall talent level will improve a bit, but it is not out of the question to see finishing with 20 wins as a reason to celebrate (rather than expecting 24+ ).

[Rocker Ute]

I hope I am wrong but I personally don't buy that our overall talent level is going to improve next year at least. Improve some at individual positions? Sure. But along with losing a lottery pick, we are also losing a lot of senior leadership. Don't underestimate that.


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[NorthwestUteFan]

Brandon Taylor was a warrior and his experience will absolutely be missed. Same with Jordan Loveridge.

But both of them had serious flaws as SR leaders. I don't discount them and their ability to give a good pep talk and to hit a big shot when we needed a boost.

Next year out SRs are Bonam (tons of experience), Ogbe (if he can get healthy), Reyes (will he be here?), Bealer (almost zero experience this year). Will Collette be a JR or a SR?

[DrumNFeather]

Anyone know what our OOC schedule looks like? I know we play a limited field in the Diamond Head classic. Do we have any other games announced?

[UBlender]

Brandon Taylor was a warrior and his experience will absolutely be missed. Same with Jordan Loveridge.

But both of them had serious flaws as SR leaders. I don't discount them and their ability to give a good pep talk and to hit a big shot when we needed a boost.

Next year out SRs are Bonam (tons of experience), Ogbe (if he can get healthy), Reyes (will he be here?), Bealer (almost zero experience this year). Will Collette be a JR or a SR?

If Ogbe is back I think he'll be a Jr (should get a redshirt for this season). Bealer has been listed as a Jr all season but if you follow his eligibility clock I think he was actually a sophomore. He played as a freshman at JC, transferred to Utah and redshirted last year, played this year. Collette will be a Jr.

[311ute]

Anyone know what our OOC schedule looks like? I know we play a limited field in the Diamond Head classic. Do we have any other games announced?

Outside of the Diamond Head Classic, I don't know of one game on our OOC schedule. Wichita, SDSU, BYU series are over. I'll be VERY interested to see what it looks like

[DrumNFeather]

Outside of the Diamond Head Classic, I don't know of one game on our OOC schedule. Wichita, SDSU, BYU series are over. I'll be VERY interested to see what it looks like

Looking at the Classic lineup, it looks moderately better than it did when it first came out...still, we should do well:

Hawaii (no post season tourney next year)
Stephen F. Austin
Southern Miss
San Francisco
Tulsa
SDSU
Illinois St.

[311ute]

Outside of the Diamond Head Classic, I don't know of one game on our OOC schedule. Wichita, SDSU, BYU series are over. I'll be VERY interested to see what it looks like

I'm sure it's posted somewhere, but as a refresher, here's the field in Hawaii:

Utah, SDSU, Hawaii, Illinois St, SFA, San Francisco, So. Miss, Tulsa.