Last season, Delon Wright was Utah basketball.
He was the senior leader who seemingly made the all the right plays at all the right times on Utah’s way to a Sweet 16 run in March. Questions lingered around Larry Krystkowiak and this Utah program following Wright’s departure and no one was quite sure how the Utes would make up for the now-Toronto Raptors rookie’s production on the court.
Some thought Lorenzo Bonam, the JUCO transfer who brings a similar skillset to the table as Wright, would help shoulder the load. Others said maybe sophomore Kyle Kuzma, who has been working his way to a starting role ever since he stepped on campus two winters ago, would assume a bigger role.
But actually, the answer was a simple one — Utah cannot fully replace Wright and what he was able to do. He was that good. Instead, Krystkowiak has changed the identity of this team and turned to sophomore center Jakob Poeltl to help lead this team throughout the campaign. The Austrian has responded about as well as anyone probably would have in his situation.
Don’t get me wrong, Poeltl was no secret heading into the season. Had he declared for the 2015 NBA Draft, we could be watching him polish his game against some of the best players in the game right now. He’s a bonafide talent with professional potential and it’s not like these last few games have been his coming out party. That happened last season during the NCAA Tournament. The scary thing is, Poeltl has gotten even better.
Last season, he was just a seven-footer who played good defense and had the potential to develop into a starting center one day. Now, Poeltl looks like an everyday center in the NBA, and the numbers support that. Currently, the sophomore is nearly averaging a double-double, with 21.3 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.
Additionally, Poeltl throws in 2.5 blocks per game, but where the second-year player really improved is on the offensive end. Gone are the days where Poeltl only scored off of easy putbacks and layups. Now, Krystkowiak is running plays specifically through Poeltl, and to be honest, he seems to be the most confident option the Utes have in their playbook.
He owns an array of post moves this season that were absent in last, and though I’d like to wait until Pac-12 play begins before jumping the gun, Poeltl looks like the improved, polished center Ute fans were hoping to see after an offseason of development.
Oh, and did I mention that he’s hitting 67 percent from the line? Yeah, that’s not a great number but if you saw the Austrian center shoot a free throw last season, you’d know what I’m talking about when I say that’s a HUGE deal. Hoping for him to make a free throw last season was like waiting for rain in the Sahara Desert and opposing teams knew that. Fouling Poeltl was almost considered good defense against the big man. Now, Poeltl is making his opponents pay for their mistakes.
He’s even improved in places you might not expect. Poeltl has been where he’s supposed to be — rebounding, inside scoring, etc. — but did you see him passing dimes to his teammates against IPFW on Saturday? He finished the game with six assists, and although it was against an inferior opponent, his play impressed his head coach, though Krystkowiak isn’t surprised.
“He’s a point center. He’s a great passer and has got a terrific set of hands on him,” Krystkowiak said. “He’s not afraid to pass and we have to make sure everyone on the team feels that way and get good shots.”
With his revamped post moves, keeping teams honest with his foul shot and his apparent point-guard-like passing skills, Poeltl has quickly evolved from a project into one of the best centers in the entire nation.
Find me a seven-footer out there who has as big of an impact on a basketball game that Poeltl has with the Utes. If he had left for the Draft last season, this Utah team would be lost and there have been signs of that already this season. At times when Poeltl is on the bench, the Runnin’ Utes have struggled to keep up the production without the center out there spacing the floor.
Ute fans probably miss Wright and what he did for this team. I mean, how could you not? He was one of the all-time great Runnin’ Utes. Although many speculated, it won’t be Bonam or Kuzma, or Brandon Taylor or Jordan Loveridge leading this team now that Wright is gone.
Rather, it’s become clear that through eight games (still early), this is Poeltl’s team. The Poeltl Squad, if you will.
Simply put, Poeltl is the new face of Utah basketball.
@GriffDoug