As the losses pile up for the Runnin’ Utes, it is quickly becoming apparent that the team will likely miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001 unless it makes a surprise run through the Mountain West Conference tournament in March.
That’s not a huge concern for most players on the young team, as they were expected to be going through a rebuilding phase following the departure of Andrew Bogut and a few lackluster recruiting years prior to Ray Giacoletti’s arrival.
But what about the seniors who will be most likely be missing out on March Madness for the first time and have had to deal with growing pains that they won’t be around to see through?
Bryant Markson, Chris Jackson, Tim Drisdom and Casey Iverson are reaching the back stretch of their careers and are putting in perspective what they want to get out of their final collegiate games.
“We knew we were going to have our ups and downs this season,” Markson said. “We just talk amongst each other and let everybody know it’s a rebuilding year for the young guys, but (the seniors) are going to be gone, so we’ll try to get some wins this year.”
Those wins have been tough to come by recently, with the squad having lost five games in a row and sitting with an 8-9 record. The Utes are giving major minutes to five players who are in their first year of NCAA basketball, with a sixth-sophomore starter Chris Grant-seeing his first sustained playing time.
Giacoletti knows that while the struggles haven’t been a complete surprise, his four seniors didn’t sign up to be babysitters, and he and the team still need to expect success.
“We try to do it two-fold,” Giacoletti said. “Yeah, we do have a big picture here. The seniors understand that. But right now it’s the little picture. It’s about getting better today and trying to be successful.”
Giacoletti and the players insist that morale is still high and everyone still expects to peak come postseason, but that’s not keeping some players from taking it upon themselves to help the next generation get better.
“I’ve taken on a role, even previous to this year, where I’ve just tried to help Luke (Nevill) develop and do what I can to help him out,” Jackson, a senior center, said. “If that’s what it comes to at the end, then that’s fine with me.”
It may not be the perfect way to finish up careers that have been to several NCAA Tournaments and a Sweet-16, but as long as the team is going forward, the seniors can make do with what has turned into a disappointing season.
“It’s all right,” Markson said. “The team’s young, but they’re learning and having fun.”
The Utes will get a chance to get back on track this Saturday when TCU visits the Huntsman Center at 1 p.m.