After a month of hearing about a more fast-paced offense Larry Krystkowiak is set to employ, the public got its first chance to see the  2013-2014 Runnin’ Ute squad on Wednesday when the team held its annual “Night with the Runnin’ Utes” scrimmage at the Huntsman Center.
Most of the buzz surrounding the scrimmage — which featured two halves with different teams in each — was about the new offense, Jordan Loveridge’s revamped body and the addition of transfer Delon Wright. Though those things were on display, what the scrimmage ended up being was an introduction. Ute fans meet Kenneth Ogbe.
Ogbe, a freshman guard from Germany, showed range, passing ability and elite athleticism. He finished the night as the scrimmage’s leading scorer with 21 points on of 8-of-9 shooting, including a perfect 3-of-3 from behind the arc.
While his stats were impressive, so too was the way the youngster handled himself. Everything Ogbe did just looked easy, from shooting to attacking the rim.
“I had a lot of confidence, then the first couple shots went in and my confidence got even higher,” Ogbe said. “So I wanted to take more shots, go to the basket and make plays.”
And make plays he did. In the second half, Ogbe provided the highlight of the night. He drove to the basket and threw down a one-handed slam on junior Princeton Onwas.
“I am never thinking of dunking. I don’t know why. I want to dunk it but I am never thinking about it in the game,” Ogbe said. “When I went to the basket something in my head just said dunk it … I think I did pretty good.”
Krystkowiak said Ogbe had been aggressive in practice, but never this effective. He said that just like most young players, Ogbe has struggled with consistency, but that in this contest he let the game come to him.
Ogbe admitted that he has struggled with his consistency, but he is putting in the work to get better.
“I have some struggle in the past, but I have worked a lot on my shot,” he said. “I went to the gym and got a lot of extra shots in and I think it’s working. I’ll keep on working on my shot and I think it will get consistent.”
Ogbe wasn’t the only star on this night. Wright made his Ute debut with a stat-sheet stuffing of an 11-point, nine rebound and six assist performance. Loveridge had 20 points, including  a behind-the-back move for a layup that was the play of the game before Ogbe’s dunk. Dakarai Tucker contributed hot shooting, as he finished 6-of-7 from the field, including 4-of-4 from behind the three-point line.
At the beginning of training camp, Krystkowiak said he would be giving players more freedom to make plays this season and that the team would focus on running. From the get-go Wednesday, all of that seemed to be the case. The first bucket was scored on a Wright-to-Tucker alley-oop and from there the game was up and down. As can be expected in a first scrimmage, much of the play was sloppy, but it was clear that the Utes plan to use their abundant athleticism.
Krystkowiak said that the second half’s Red team was likely the rotation that he would begin the season using. That team’s lineup included Brandon Taylor, Wright, Loveridge, Renan Lenz, Onwas and Jeremy Olsen, but Ogbe certainly made a case to join that group.
Utah will open its season with an exhibition game next Friday against Saint Martin’s at the Huntsman Center.