I see that the Utes went 4-5 at home last year. We will end up at worst somewhere between 7-2 and 5-4, but I think we win at least one of our next two games. Probably both.
That's a big improvement right there. You start by winning your games at home.
Did Wright play point in JC and hs? I think part of the problem is that he is not a natural point guard, or at least a point guard with a lot of experience, and he has trouble running the offense at the end of games--particularly last night and Oregon. Really hurt us in both games. Maybe a year of experience will make a big difference. Seems as though he is not sure what to do, and certainly is not in command as an experienced pg would be.Originally Posted by SoCalPat
I agree. To borrow from Les Miles, right now we're undefeated at home in regulation.
We've also been monsters against the spread, meaning we're killing the public's expectations of us.
Our record in close games is an indicator of how far we've come. It's also an indicator of how far we have to go. You can preach patience when talking about incoming/future recruits and the impact they'll have on our future. You can only preach it for so long when you keep losing games in the manner we did last night.
We start 4 sophomores and a junior. A big part of our comeback run last night occurred with two freshman on the floor. Arizona is young too, but they are clearly more talented at nearly every position.
My step-son attended the game with me last night, and he is a longtime Arizona fan. He mentioned that Johnson was their "closer", and asked who ours was. I had to reply that we really don't have one, and I attribute that to the youth and lack of experience, and confidence that experience brings.
I am kind of resigned to who this team is this year. Fairly talented, hard working, improved from last year, but not quite "there" yet.
“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.
My thoughts on the general state of Ute hoops:
http://benthinkinglately.blogspot.co...k-of-fans.html
My guess that with his athleticism and size, Delon always had the ball in his hands. But he wasn't running an offense, he just did his thing.
My theory on the comparative differences between Delon vs Dorrel Wright's shooting ability: Dorrel is the older brother. Delon deferred to him on the court. Dorrel shot the ball, Delon found a way to get him the ball.
True. The problem with your statistic is that nearly all of our close games have been on the road. We've been killing it at home. So I prefer to measure progress by home and road wins vs close games.
I couldn't find next year's schedule to see how realistic this is, but my expectation for next year is that we will continue to win our home games at the clip we have been (7 wins) and we win 4-5 of our road games next year (.500 on the road). That puts us, at worst case, 11-7 in conference, which should land us in the top half of the league. I would count that as progress, even if all of those losses are by 2 points.
Young teams usually lose close games. No need to over-react.
This kinda sorta fits in here:
Catching up: Old friends Andre Miller, Alex Jensen reflect on their time at Utah under coach Rick Majerus
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Looking ahead to 2014-15:
It seems like the recipe for success for our opponents during 2013-2014 was this: Do whatever you need to do to stay close, within 10 points, and chances are the Utah team will fold In the final five minutes.
Imagine you are an opposing coach studying video of this past season's team. If you were, I think some additional points for the formula would be to seal the keyhole off from Wright, and bump Loveridge a lot so he becomes frustrated and checks out of the game. I suppose another tip might be to foul Princeton whenever he has an open lane to the hoop because he can't make the free throw shots. Also, do what you can to exploit the fact that Utah's starting PG is 5'9" tall. Let's face it, every player in our rotation has a significant weakness and opposing teams learned to exploit those weaknesses. Add to all of that the almost inevitable and inexplicable loss of composure in the final few minutes, and you know how to beat the Utes. I am hoping that during the off-season the coaching staff and the players can find ways to fix some of those weaknesses, to the extent possible, and that the incoming players can fill some gaps. They will all be young (Kuzma and Chapman) and unproven (Reyes). And I don't know how a coach instils mental toughness in a team that seems to lack it. But hope springs eternal.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Remember when the color guy berated Onwas/Larry because Onwas had a clear lane to the hoop and could have given Holt his 5th foul, but didn't take the oppty? I wonder if it was because he didnt want to go to the line.
It's tragicomic. We have an athletic 2 who can get to the hoop but who can't make 50% of his free throws.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Krysko nails it:
We'll be middle-of-the-pack next season too if the deficiencies are not fixed.“Having a lot of guys back does not lead to being successful the next year,’’ he said. “That’s the biggest mistake we can make, saying, ‘Oh we’ve got everybody back except (Lenz)’ and expect some kind of success out of it. That’s not the ticket. Hopefully we’re a year older and a year wiser and our bodies will be stronger. We’ve got to improve in a lot of areas to get better.’’
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Amen to this. If we are going to be any better, we need Kuzma and Chapman to step up big time. I really think Kuzma starts day one at a forward spot and the other forward spot comes down to Reyes and Loveridge.
Could you imagine if Loveridge didn't start for us next year? How amazing would that be? Loveridge is a very good player, and if he couldn't beat our Kuzma and Reyes, then we will be very good. If our starting five is the same next year...I don't know if we are any better.
Or we need players to improve. It does happen.
Yes, but shouldn't everyone's players improve? So, wouldn't the best chance to improve, especially for a program like Utah where they are two years off of rock bottom and still not there depth wise, be through new players, especially when those four players are very, very good?
I get everyone can improve, but the fastest way to improve would be to bring in two players who can get into the starting five next year.
We have our starting PG for next year. Wright will be back!
Great news.
May the jump-shot gods smile upon his efforts this off-season. Both the three-point gods and the midrange floater gods. Throw in the get-to-the-line gods for good measure.
For those that don't know the source, Delon tweeted a pic with "until next year" and Tony Jones has tweeted he confirmed Delon will return (which Delon retweeted)
Dorrell Wright also tweeted separately:
The link is to NBC Sports.Delon Wright to return to Utah for his senior season http://www.snsanalytics.com/58hty0
Last edited by LA Ute; 03-23-2014 at 09:50 AM.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
I'd never seen this bit about Brekkott Chapman:
Looks like a good kid.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
This fits here as well as anywhere, I guess. From the New York Daily News:
Utah's Blitz Kids: NCAA's original Cinderella story
Last edited by U-Ute; 03-25-2014 at 09:25 AM.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Here's how I see it breaking down next year:
PG: D. Wright, Taylor, I. Wright
SG: Ogbe/Tucker/Onwas, Fields
SF: J Love, Chapman
PF: Kuzma, Reyes
C: Bachynski, JO
NOTE: The "/" means I think they are interchangeable, the "," denotes depth.
Random thoughts:
I would be surprised to see I. Wright, Chapman, or Reyes start. Freshman and transfer guys usually don't play good enough defense. The exception in this case would be Kuzma. I think he starts because we need a true stretch 4 on the offensive end and JLove is not a 4 in this league. I think the other 4 can work to overcome his defensive liabilities. Especially with Bachynski hovering around with him in the key.
I'll believe in Reyes when I see him. He may be a rebounding machine in JC, but it may be because he was the biggest guy on the court in JC because everyone else was in D1.
Ogbe won't play PG over Taylor. Unless Ogbe improves dramatically over the summer, he doesn't have the handles, the knowledge of the offense or the defense, or the mental toughness of Taylor. Any speculation otherwise is ludicrous. That being said, Ogbe is our best shooter. He struggled with defense, but looked like he improved towards the end of the season. He could emerge as the starter at the 2 - the exception being is that I have a concern with this lineup with defense. I can see Tucker or Onwas starting for Ogbe for defensive reasons if Ogbe doesn't improve enough over the summer. This would be as a tradeoff with having Kuzma on the floor for offense. Last with the guards: Fields showed me some great athleticism, and he could charge up the depth chart because of his experience and athleticism - if he has his head on right.
The coaching staff needs to figure out how to get JLove more involved on the offensive end next year. The problem I see is that he is not a spot up shooter but is at his best when he can put the ball on the floor and either bull rush the rim or pull up for the mid range jumper, but you don't want to take the ball out of the hands of Taylor or D. Wright. Right now, the best way I can see him inserting himself in the offense is the Alex Jensen way: offensive rebounds and savvy play (being in the right place when Taylor or D. Wright charge the lane).
I see Kova as being the odd man out. He really looked lost in the times he was on the floor. Maybe he just didn't have the time to learn it all with the injury and he is improving at practices, but I just have a hard time seeing it.
I wouldn't want Carlino. The way that guy has moved around, he obviously thinks he is owed something. That's not gonna fly with K, nor would I want it to.
Last edited by U-Ute; 03-25-2014 at 09:45 AM.
I don't understand why you guys all think Kuzma is better than Chapman. What do you know more than the national firms that rate recruits.
One thing I have learned in a long life: that all our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike -- and yet it is the most precious thing we have.
--Albert Einstein
The fact that life evolved out of nearly nothing, some 10 billion years after the universe evolved out of literally nothing, is a fact so staggering that I would be mad to attempt words to do it justice.
--Richard Dawkins
Be kind to all, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.
--Philo
I put Kuzma over Chapman because Kuzma has been in Utah for the last year, and everybody who has seen him thinks he starts next year and is our leading scorer. If Chapman is better than Kuzma, then we will be damn good. Compete for the PAC-12 title, elite eight good.
Kuzma is legit. He will shock us at how good he is. If Chapman is better? Wow.
Yup. Kuzma's "Next Big Thing" Sports Illustrated cover is due out any day now.
Those who have seen Chapman play a lot this year say he's not strong enough yet to compete at the D1 level. Still, I'm calling it now: By the middle of next season he will be playing lots of minutes. He'll be like Ogbe this season but progressing faster and contributing even more.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Agreed. It's been a little surprsing to watch the idea of Reyes the Rebounder take hold. We have no idea how well he'll perform in D1. I hope he's a monster rebounder, but not someone to count on yet.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
I have only seen one youtube video, but that was my thought as well. But it's not unheard of for a skinny kid to kick butt. It's vague, but I also seem to remember a somewhat slow, low release on his shot (which works well for Kyle Anderson of UCLA)?
Here is your chance to see Reyes in action.
Here is link to to road game he played this year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C7_w7nOo6o
Its a pretty good production by Santa Monica College, complete with commentary. You won't have to watch very much of the game to understand why we gave him a scholarship.
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