Their game vs. Oregon was kind of like our game vs. them earlier this year. The stars just aligned for a blowout. I don't think they'll play as good, but they are certainly capable of beating us...plus it will be our third road tilt in a row, though we will be coming off a road game in Pullman, so hopefully that helps.Originally Posted by SoCalPat
“It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”
Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.
1 game lead with 3 to play. Win 2 and we got 4th
SC has @ UCLA and @ the mountains
Stanford has @zona tomorrow (lost 18 straight to zona)Washingtons and Cal at home
If it holds (Oregon up 14 @ UCLA) Oregon has the zonas @home the @ Washingtons. They could end up 10-8
Also a decent chance Asu - Cal @Oregons, @ zona - finishes with 10 wins
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"Be a philosopher. A man can compromise to gain a point. It has become apparent that a man can, within limits, follow his inclinations within the arms of the Church if he does so discreetly." - The Walking Drum
"And here’s what life comes down to—not how many years you live, but how many of those years are filled with bullshit that doesn’t amount to anything to satisfy the requirements of some dickhead you’ll never get the pleasure of punching in the face." – Adam Carolla
I stand corrected. UCLA is back.
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"Be a philosopher. A man can compromise to gain a point. It has become apparent that a man can, within limits, follow his inclinations within the arms of the Church if he does so discreetly." - The Walking Drum
"And here’s what life comes down to—not how many years you live, but how many of those years are filled with bullshit that doesn’t amount to anything to satisfy the requirements of some dickhead you’ll never get the pleasure of punching in the face." – Adam Carolla
Either UCLA or USC will have 8 losses when they head on the mountain road trip.
As things stand tonight we would get the Cal/USC winner as the 4, which I actually like quite a bit. But yes, our remaining games are certainly winnable and we've given ourselves a cushion against CU as we head into Boulder.
Enjoy the ride man!
Oh, I'm enjoying it. This season has been fun and has had some great moments. I'll hold out hope for a surprising Vegas run until the end. But I do think we are not good/consistent enough to win out.
I'll try to join you in Boulder on Sat.
Utah is now 6-2 on the road, and 3-4 at home in conference games. Crazy.
“To me there is no dishonor in being wrong and learning. There is dishonor in willful ignorance and there is dishonor in disrespect.” James Hatch, former Navy Seal and current Yale student.
No predictions made anywhere, and I’m fully aware of this team’s near-psychotic nature. My comment was made looking at the respective schedules of all three teams right below Washington. We’re deep enough into the season that some definitives are in play, and one of them is, a Utah team that wins out will not be merely a 4 seed.
Well we win 2 we end up 3rd
We win 1 and beat USC we most likely lose the tiebreakers (assuming its Oregon st or UCLA)
We win 1 and beat UCLA we end up 4th (Barring an Oregon Upset of Washington and a Colo sweep)
"Be a philosopher. A man can compromise to gain a point. It has become apparent that a man can, within limits, follow his inclinations within the arms of the Church if he does so discreetly." - The Walking Drum
"And here’s what life comes down to—not how many years you live, but how many of those years are filled with bullshit that doesn’t amount to anything to satisfy the requirements of some dickhead you’ll never get the pleasure of punching in the face." – Adam Carolla
Ok here are the scenarios for seeding:
Win and we end up 3rd seed
Lose and Ore st, Colo, Oreg all lose - 3rd Seed due to our win vs ASU
Lose and Colo, Ore lose - 5th seed (1-2 vs Ore st and UCLA)
Lose and Ore st and Ore lose 4th seed
Lose and Colo and Ore st lose 5th seed
Lose and any other combo... 6th seed
"Be a philosopher. A man can compromise to gain a point. It has become apparent that a man can, within limits, follow his inclinations within the arms of the Church if he does so discreetly." - The Walking Drum
"And here’s what life comes down to—not how many years you live, but how many of those years are filled with bullshit that doesn’t amount to anything to satisfy the requirements of some dickhead you’ll never get the pleasure of punching in the face." – Adam Carolla
Final player grades
Sedrick Barefield: The all-Pac 12 first team honor was deserved, but that's probably more emblematic of the league itself than Sed overall as a player. He's a very good 3-point shooter -- but I would hesitate to call him an all-timer at Utah. He's a better passer than he's given credit for. He gave a young team scoring punch. His team-leading 29 steals are probably a generational low for a Utah team, and against the league's best teams, we were a turnover machine and that starts with your PG. Sed will be missed, but will never be spoken of as an all-timer at Utah. Final grade: B
Parker Van Dyke: We're a sub-.500 team without PVD, who had a great run from 3 as a senior and totally rewrote the ending of his career after a brutal non-con in which it was universally believed he should be benched. That said, having PVD come off the bench was probably the best coaching decision Larry made this year. PVD was very limited offensively (rarely got to the line, zero mid-range game to speak of) and nobody will ever confuse him with an above-average defender, but if you're strongest trait is hitting 40-percent plus from 3, I'll take it. And of course, his back-to-back games against UCLA and Arizona cemented his spot in Utah lore. Final grade: B
Jayce Johnson: I feel a lot better about Jayce going forward, and with a stronger second unit behind him next year, he should be able to play with more abandon and not worry about foul trouble. He's simply has got to get better at the line -- he could be a 15 and 11 guy just by improving his FT shooting, because not only does he miss when he gets there, you can't help but think his role in the offense is stunted because he's not a reliable option from the line. Final grade: B+
Riley Battin and Both Gach: I'm putting both here because after respectable starts (perhaps sizzling in Gach's case?) both were largely ineffective the second time around the league. That's understandable to the point of being predictable. My biggest concern is that neither is really suited for the position they played major minutes at this year. Battin is not a glass-eating, rim-protecting 4; Gach is not going to be the next Delon Wright at the point. Larry has to ensure these players aren't consistently put in spots where they can only fail. Final grade: C+ for Gach, C- for Battin.
Donnie Tillman: If you want, you can find arguments for where Donnie disappointed or underachieved. This will not be one of those spots, although he did have a very rough four-game patch in league play where he was almost invisible (the UCLA comeback had to be somewhat bittersweet, given Donnie did nothing to contribute in that game). I only mention that to demonstrate that he bounced back from that with a bang, averaging 14.4 PPG over the last five games, while shooting 63 percent on 2s and 41 percent on 3s.
You could argue that he wasn't the defender this year that he was last year, but he's hardly alone there. He was much better in league games this year than last year, and he's the shining hope that we'll see likewise from Battin and Gach next year. With a stronger inside presence next year, Donnie shouldn't have to rely as much on the 3 (he took nearly 100 more attempts this year, and although he improved from 32 to 36 percent, unless he can get near the 40 percent mark, he's probably more effective inside the arc; in fact, his make rate on 2s went from 51 to 53 percent YoY). Donnie is our best returning player next year and should threaten for all-Pac 12 honors. As the cast around Donnie gets better, his improvement will be even more noticeable. Final grade: B+
Novak Topalovic: I'm not gonna hammer the kid for coming to Utah, but the coach who thought he could transition to the Pac-12 has some explaining to do. His PER this year was lower than his freshman year at ISU. Conversely, his competition was much, much stronger -- even in a mediocre Pac-12. Some guys can make that jump to a higher league (Justin Bibbins comes to mind). But those guys are the exception, not the rule, and someone on Utah's staff forgot that. Nonetheless, he was a body to replace Jayce, and even the advanced stats show he rebounded about as well at Utah as he did at ISU. Final grade: D
Timmy Allen: The best of the frosh, and the one least affected by the wall most frosh hit. Ironically enough, his arrival pushed Tillman to have more of a perimeter game, and he was better inside as a frosh than Tillman was. Another interesting point -- if Allen played against Minnesota, Hawaii and Northwestern like he did in league games, we might be talking about Utah as a possible bubble team. I'm not suggesting by any stretch that Allen is the reason we're not talking about the Dance, but merely to display how atypical his freshman year was.
Timmy gets my highest grade this year, because his combination of youth and production was pretty damn impressive. However, I can't help but wonder if this is as good as it will get. He's too efficient inside to encourage him to take more 3s, but we've got a lot of size coming into the program next year and I expect Allen's minutes (he averaged a hefty 28.8 this year) and opportunities to be reduced as a result. I don't expect him to become an afterthought by any stretch, but I think it would be a mistake to expect him to trend higher statistically next year. Final grade: A-
Brandon Morley, Charles Jones Jr. both get incompletes. There are opportunities for both next year -- Jones can win the starting job if he proves he can be the catalyst on defense that Sed wasn't; Morley can eat into Battin's minutes as a spot-up 3-point shooter who can spread the floor in spurts and provide a little resistance defensively.
I agree with your grades. I'll give Sed a B+ by factoring in entertainment value.
Battin had to try to fill a role he wasn't suited for at times. With as many bigs as we have next season, he shouldn't be required to do that any more. Depending on the quality of the many incoming bigs, he might have a lot less PT next season. He could fill a role of coming off the bench to spread the floor.
Gach is a question mark. He oozes potential, but potential for what? Does he have PG potential? His ball handling and passing are not strong at all. Does he have SG potential? I think so. He has the athleticism to get to the rim, but that skill is not yet in his toolbox. If he develops that ability, he'll be huge.
A big part of next season's success rests on the PG position. So it's all about Rylan being ready immediately, about Gach or CJJ having a big leap, or about a transfer PG.
Good points here. To your second point, I kind of think we will see a combo of all 3. I see us bringing in a JUCO/grad transfer to pair in the backcourt next to Gach. I see Rylan as the first guard off the bench, maybe around 20 minutes a night.
I also think we'll bring in a transfer. Larry usually ends up with an 8 man rotation. I think we'll have 5 bigs and 3 guards in a regular rotation (like we did this year). Could get up to a 9 or even 10 man rotation if there are pleasant surprises.
I hope someone seizes the PG spot and gets 30+ mpg as a floor leader. I think it's a bad sign if we have to go PG by committee.
This season, we had a 3 guard rotation (32 mpg, 24 mpg, 20 mpg) with 5 bigs (29, 27, 22, 20, 12). That may have looked different if Hendrix had stayed.
A few things:
Do people really expect CJJ back next year? He seems like the most likely candidate to move on. It happens every year. The fact that we are still recruiting for next year is telling.
Also, I think Rylan Jones will be as good as advertised. He will solidify the PG spot almost immediately.
We are recruiting, no secret there. But I think Gaskin is at least as likely as CJJ to be the one to transfer out.
I hope you are right on Rylan. That would make a huge difference for us. Unfortunately, Utah Mr Basketball does not have a 100% success rate. Everything though Akot was a sure thing, and he turned out to be a bust.
Well, I think those are clearly the top 2 and it may (likely will?) come down to being able/unable to bring in a player(s) who are better. We are after two good juco guards (see my post in the recruiting thread) but we face stiff competition for both. Only other offer I am aware of is high school guard Harlond Beverly and thats probably a pipe dream unless it becomes a Vante Hendrix type situation.
I disagree with even going down the path of comparing Rylan to past Mr. Basketball winners. I mean, those guys have gone to be anywhere from "meh" in college to playing in the NBA......High School basketball in Utah isn't nearly what it is comparatively in football and as such its hard to gain much from it. Far better to compare what he has done at the AAU level and enough folks there seem to like him to the point that I am hopeful. Obviously, I agree that nothing is for sure (though I firmly believe Akot was utilized incorrectly and will be a really good player at Boise..).
Its the same argument Im fighting on twitter with Juco's. A lot of folks are arguing that since we had the national juco player of the year last year and he wasn't very good, any future juco wont be good either and thats just nuts to me. Each player should be evaluated on a case by case basis...
Sure, they're all different. Some have been great, and some have bombed. I'm just saying that we don't know yet what we have with Rylan Jones.
I think Van Komen will red shirt as he is just too skinny at this point.
Thione is a rim protector--he might play some 4, but his range is limited.
Both had some really good moments & some really dumb moments---he was better when he started, but then PVD got hot & took away his minutes. Hope he makes a big jump, which many do from Freshman to soph year.
I was down on JUCOs based on CJJ, but changed my mind after watching Taz Sherman---they need a shooter.
Wild card might be Carlson--returning from mission is difficult, but everyone raves about him & he did get many high level offers.
At 32 this is highest rated recruiting class for Utes.
My way too early prediction for next year's rotation:
-The three main guards in the rotation (in no order) will be Gach, RJones and someone who isn't currently with the team or signed. The 4th guard will depend on who is still in the program. I predict a battle between Gaskin and Brenchley for that spot but maybe CJones will be there.
-Timmy and Donnie are the starting forwards, end of story.....Unless, Larry really thinks outside the box and tries Donnie at the 2 (I actually had this thought before SoCalPat said the same in this thread). The issue with Donnie at the 2 is defense. I wouldn't describe Donnie as lumbering, but it still may be a challenge for him to stay in front of a 6'2" guard in space. The Finn and Battin will both get minutes, but if the Finn is as advertised then Riley will have to make some strides to avoid becoming something of a fringe rotation player/specialist. But given Utah's possible lack of shooting, Riley will provide value as a shooter.
-I think Center is also pretty easy. Headband Jayce is your starter and can play with a little more abandon with more depth behind him. Lahat is your first backup (could play a little 4 at times against certain matchups) and then Carlson kind of gives you spot minutes and works off his mission rust (a redshirt isn't out of the question but I hate the idea of a guy taking over three years off from competitive basketball--at some point you just lose the edge). If Morley sticks around he may get the occasional run too. MVK redshirts (I do think you could run him out there and he'd impact games just with his size in the paint, but there's so many bodies that I don't think it would be a good use of his eligibility unless Carlson is really not ready to compete.
I think Utah is pretty solid in the frontcourt--good talent, good role players, good depth. We will need to see an alpha dog emerge, all eyes will be on Donnie and Timmy to be the guy to attack the basket and generate offense. The key is going to be the backcourt. It's a little scary right now, but all it takes is one really solid grad transfer or JC guy to solidify things there. Remember how much the whole team was elevated the day Delon Wright showed up? We probably won't get that but even a Justin Bibbins or Zo Bonam level guard would make a huge difference. Also, I wonder if people are discounting Rylan a little because he's from Utah. If we signed a guard as highly rated as him from California or Texas or some other big city in the midwest or east coast would we have any reservations about him being really solid out of the gate? In any case, whether next year's team can make a leap forward will depend a lot on landing another guard (or two) that can be pretty good right away as well as Rylan being solid and Gach making strides. If the backcourt performs this team will have a shot at making a solid leap forward.
I would. I don't think I've ever gone all in on a player until I've seen him play. Basketball recruiting ranking is just too much of an inexact science. I'm certainly hopeful for Rylan, though. If he comes in and impresses, it would instantly solve many problems for this team.
This is an encouraging sign that people aren’t talking about enough.
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--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
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