“Defense wins games.”
It’s a common saying among basketball teams, and it’s been a staple of the Utah basketball program for quite some time. This year’s team, however, is lagging in that aspect. Players and coaches know it needs improvement, especially with the BYU game coming up on Wednesday.
Forward Kyle Kuzma has been working on improving his game since the team’s trip to Puerto Rico. He did just that against Idaho State. Kuzma finished the night with 17 points, and although his offensive production was better than before, he also cleaned it up on defense.
“I just got my focus back,” Kuzma said. “I played pretty bad in Puerto Rico. I wouldn’t say bad, but not up to my standards, and I just got back to the gym and got my focus right.”
Head coach Larry Krystkowiak has also noticed Kuzma’s efforts to step it up on both ends of the floor, but he doesn’t expect him to Kuzma in high numbers every game.
Krystkowiak wants to see Kuzma, along with every other player on the team, be solid on the defensive end. He knows any one of his guys can score when necessary, but he needs them to have a complete team effort on stopping the opponent from scoring points.
“We’ve got a deep team, and we got to keep people engaged,” Krystkowiak said. “We’re going to need to depend on different guys on different nights. That’s the mentality that we all have to have. We’re all trying to play really hard and not thinking about where the production and the points are going to come from.”
Kuzma is more than aware of this and also realizes that most of the team’s offense stems from when it is playing good defense. Taking the ball away from the opposing team and taking it down the court for a dunk is something that hypes up the team. It makes everyone want to have a moment in the spotlight.
“When we’re playing good [defense], it energizes everyone, and everyone wants to get steals and stops, charges,” Kuzma said.
The Utes had a couple of momentum-shifting plays against Idaho State on Friday, such as when Jakob Poeltl stole the ball and took it the length of the floor for the dunk and later when Lorenzo Bonam did the exact same thing. Both times the team got more energized, and that translated to more aggressive play, something Krystkowiak has been working on with his team in the past few practices.
Krystkowiak thinks if his team continues to amp up the pressure in practices, on both offense and defense, they will find more success come game time.
“We’re working on different things — not just for a defensive plan for us, but if we start getting more aggressive in our practice setting, it gives us a different look from an offensive point of view,” Krystkowiak said. “It’s been good for us, our decision-making when we commit to putting more pressure on the basketball.”
With the team getting a lot of games out of the way early in the season, Krystkowiak feels as though his team is going to be more than ready come Wednesday night against the in-state rival Cougars. He is positive his team will continue to build on what they have already established.
For now, the team will keep grinding in hopes of erasing their poor showing a couple weeks ago.
“We’re still dealing with some young kids — confidence is always a big thing,” Krystkowiak said. “We certainly laid an egg against Miami, and I know we’re a lot better than what that final score was.”
@kbrenneisen