When the Runnin’ Utes rely on their big man Jakob Poeltl, things usually work out for them on the offensive end of the floor. When they start to go away from the center and take outside shots early in the shot clock, other teams tend to go on a bit of a run.
Although Washington State failed to make it a competitive game throughout most of the Sunday afternoon win for Utah, this exact phenomenon played out toward the end of the first half.
The Cougars got a couple of quick baskets when the Utes went away from Poeltl, and it’s instances like that where Utah knows if it stands a chance of winning any game, Poeltl is going to have to come first. He finished with a double-double against Washington State, 25 points and 10 rebounds, all of which came in just 25 minutes of playing time as he led Utah to an 88-47 victory.
Although basketball could be considered a guard’s game nowadays, that is not the case for this current Ute squad. Head coach Larry Krystkowiak always emphasizes the importance of getting the ball to Poeltl, because when the ball is in his hands, it opens up other possibilities for scoring. Whether it be Poeltl driving to the hoop or him kicking it out to an open guy on the three, he stretches the floor better than anyone else on the team can.
In practice, the team is always looking for more ways to get the ball to Poeltl. Not a lot of opposing teams are equipped to handle his height, nor are they familiar with having a big man be the priority.
“From a player’s point of view ,when you’re playing a lot of AAU basketball and you’re growing up, even in high school basketball, feeding the post is kind of a lost art because there’s not a lot of guys who play with their back to the basket,” Krystkowiak said.
Although Krystkowiak thinks his players do a decent enough job of feeding the post, they continue to stress it practice because there’s always room for improvement. The head coach continues to mention the unselfish nature of the team, and that is evident not only by the ball movement on the wings but how it continues to work the ball inside and out.
If the team didn’t take advantage of what Poeltl brings to the court, the team would have a harder time scoring, but more importantly, it would have a harder time winning.
“It’s something we work on probably a daily basis,” Krystkowiak said. “You can have the best post guy on the planet, but if you can’t have someone to throw him the ball, he can’t get into that scoring position. Our guys have taken a lot of pride in proving their ability to do that.”
One person who is always willing to pass the ball in the paint is Jordan Loveridge. He recognizes how much effort Poeltl puts into getting open, so the least he can do is throw him the ball. There’s never a doubt in his mind that Poeltl is going to finish the job when the ball is in his hands.
“We always have confidence when we throw it to Jakob,” Loveridge said. “He’s such a great player inside, and it’s also nice when he does his work and he makes your passes a lot easier when he gets angles.”
Just as the team works hard to get Poeltl the ball, Poeltl works equally hard to get more points on the board. He leads the Pac-12 in field goal percentage at 67.1 percent and is second in average points per game in the conference with 17.8 points.
Krystkowiak is certain other teams are aware of Utah’s game plan, but he has no intention of changing it until it stops working in its favor.
“Jakob is taking a lot of pride in his ability to slow down and finish which has been a big change from a year ago,” Krystkowiak said, “It’s pretty obvious that’s kind of where we like to start our offense and the tandem is working.”
@kbrenneisen