For five weeks the Utes have been battling each other in practice. Tonight, they finally get a chance to compete against someone else.
Utah will welcome Saint Martin’s into the Huntsman Center for an exhibition game, and the talk coming from the Utes leading up to the game is that they are ready to take on some fresh faces.
“If they’re not excited, we better check their pulse and figure out why they wouldn’t be,” says head coach Larry Krystkowiak of his players. “It’s been a longer preseason than normal. It’s our fifth week and about our 25th practice. There’s a lot of competition in practice, but, like siblings would be, they are kind of getting tired of each other.”
From the sound of his players, Krystkowiak has nothing to worry about.
“Instead of taking it out on ourselves, we can finally take it out on someone else,” says sophomore Dakarai Tucker.
The Utes will open the season with a starting lineup featuring Delon Wright, Brandon Taylor, Dakarai Tucker, Jordan Loveridge, and Renan Lenz. However, Krystkowiak made it clear roles and playing time are still up for grabs.
“Guys are going to get the opportunity to play,” Krystkowiak says. “We are in the process of trying to figure out what the normal rotation is, we don’t really have one yet. Being the first game, some of that stuff is yet to be determined. We’ll see how our guys do and see how the game is flowing, and we’ll make adjustments from there.”
Ute fans got a taste last week of the new up-tempo offense that Krystkowiak has installed at last week’s scrimmage. Krystkowiak hopes his squad will be a player-led team offensively. The Utes have a few set plays, but the plan is to allow the players to use their own playmaking ability. He said it is the coaching staff’s job to put them in position to succeed, but from there it is up to the players to make plays.
While talking about the offense, Krystkowiak quotes Tony Dungy, saying, “The key to success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.” The plan is to keep the offense simple and execute it well.
Saint Martin’s head coach Michael Ostlund will be making his debut tonight. Ostlund left Snow College in April of last year to take over the Saints’ program. Ostlund went 44-19 in his last two season with the Badgers.
The Saints lost their top two leading scorers to graduation and hope a trio of seniors, Evan Coulter, Matt Dodson, and Rei Jensen, can fill that void.
Krystkowiak says one of the challenges of preseason is there is always a ‘glass half-empty’ side of a good play. If someone makes a play on offense, then the defense was bad. He says that now with games starting, the team can make some good plays without a downside.
The exhibition contest will tip off shortly following the Utah women’s basketball game with an expected start time of 7:30 p.m.