Although official practice hasn’t started, and won’t for a few weeks, the Runnin’ Utes have done other things to prepare themselves for the upcoming season.
Up until Sept. 15, head coach, Jim Boylen, could only work with four players at a time due to NCAA regulations. He mainly worked on individual pieces of the team’s puzzle to prepare and ready them for the full-boar team practices.
“I’m excited about our team, we’ve worked very hard,” Boylen said. “We are becoming closer as a team and I think we have to be as tight a team as we can to handle the tough schedule.”
During individual practice, the team worked on basic skills like finishing at the rim, ball handling and shooting. The drills they run will fine-tune each person’s game. As far as defensive practice, it has been intense and Boylen is trying to get his players to run his defense the way he wants it.
Despite having four seniors on the team, Boylen said they are basically working with five freshmen and 10 sophomores this season. The reason being that most are all new to his system. In practice, he mixes the freshmen with the seniors to get them ready for current and future seasons.
“We have a challenge to match four seniors with five freshmen,” Boylen said. “So we’re trying not to go too slow, but trying to go fast enough to keep the others rolling too.”
Another objective for the Utes is getting good grades at this time of the year. With this being a slow period for them on the court, it’s a great opportunity for them to take advantage of it. The team has been doing well in school overall, but does have one problem.
Jace Tavita, the Utes freshman guard and most sought-after recruit this season, is having problems with the clearing house. As of right now, the Utes are waiting for an answer from the NCAA about him being able to play this season. He has been doing well in his first semester of college and has done a complete 180 from his struggles at Brighton High School.
“We’re proud of the work that (Tavita’s) done and we’re hoping for an answer real soon,” Boylen said.
Lennie MahlerUtah Coach Jim Boylen has spent much of September working individually with his players.