As the U men’s basketball team is preparing for the upcoming season, returning senior forward/center Tim Frost has been out of the country playing for the NIT All-Star College Select Team in the Bahamas.
The team played seven games on its Caribbean tour, including two games against the junior and senior Bahamian national teams, along with games against four club teams.
Without breaking a sweat, the team cruised through the tour without a loss in seven contests. Frost did his part, as he contributed double doubles in a pair of victories.
“The trip to the Bahamas was great, but the basketball wasn’t any good,” Frost said. “They couldn’t get as many teams as they wanted to, and so we just had to play the national team and some club teams, and they aren’t as advanced as we are.”
Now Frost will turn his attention to a Utah squad that is need of leadership after the departure of Britton Johnsen and Trace Caton.
Frost will be counted on this season to deliver more of a scoring punch inside, along with improved rebounding, which is considered to be a weakness in his game.
The Utes will have time to find a leader, considering their relatively soft non conference schedule.
“Me and Nick [Jacobson] are being looked upon as leaders,” Frost said. “We’re going to have to step it up and play a lot more minutes.”
Although the Utes are playing in the preseason NIT tournament, which only showcases one big name in the Connecticut Huskies, the rest of the non-conference schedule isn’t as difficult. However, Frost, for one, is taking it seriously.
“I think we have a decent non-conference schedule because we have a chance to play the No. 1 team in the nation. If we make it to Madison Square Garden [in the Preseason NIT], we have a chance to play both Texas Tech and UConn, which are two really good tests for us.”
Road trips to face LSU and Colorado are the only games that pose major threats to the team until the conference season begins.
The Utes will also play host to Pepperdine, a solid program that has consistently made appearances in the NCAA Tournament during the past several years.
By Jan. 12, the Utes need to find leaders, as conference play starts on Big Monday against UNLV.
2003-04 Men’s Basketball Schedule
Oct. 31 L.A. City All-Stars (Exhib.) Salt Lake CityNov. 13 Sydney Kings (Exhib.) Salt Lake CityNov. 17 Georgia St. (Pre-NIT) Salt Lake CityNov. 19 Minnesota/UMKC (Pre-NIT) TBANov. 23 at Stony Brook Stony Brook, N.Y.Nov. 26 Semifinals (Pre-NIT) New York, N.Y.Nov. 28 Championship (Pre-NIT) New York, N.Y.Dec. 3 UTAH STATE Salt Lake CityDec. 6 SAN DIEGO Salt Lake CityDec. 13 SAVANNAH STATE Salt Lake CityDec. 16 at LSU Baton Rouge, La.Dec. 19 CAL STATE-NORTHRIDGE Salt Lake CityDec. 23 at Colorado Boulder, Colo.Dec. 29 SOUTHERN UTAH Salt Lake CityJan. 3 at Weber State Ogden, UtahJan. 5 PEPPERDINE Salt Lake CityJan. 7 WHITWORTH Salt Lake CityJan. 1 at UNLV Las Vegas, Nev.Jan. 17 WYOMING Salt Lake CityJan. 19 COLORADO STATE Salt Lake CityJan. 24 at New Mexico Albuquerque, N.M.Jan. 26 at Air Force Colorado Springs, Colo.Jan. 31 BYU Salt Lake CityFeb. 7 SAN DIEGO STATE Salt Lake CityFeb. 9 UNLV Salt Lake CityFeb. 14 at Colorado State Fort Collins, Colo.Feb. 16 at Wyoming Laramie, Wyo.Feb. 21 AIR FORCE Salt Lake CityFeb. 23 NEW MEXICO Salt Lake CityMar. 1 at BYU Provo, UtahMar. 6 at San Diego State San Diego, Calif.Mar. 11 Quarterfinals (MWC Tourn.) Denver, Colo.Mar. 12 Semifinals (MWC Tourn.) Denver, Colo.Mar. 13 Championship (MWC Tourn.) Denver, Colo.