On a snowy night in Salt Lake City, the University of Utah men’s basketball team tipped off the 2022-23 campaign with an exhibition match against the Westminster Griffins. It was the first chance to see many of the new Utes in uniform as they showed off the new squad.

Both teams started off the game slowly, a sign of the first game back after a long offseason. With 12 minutes to go in the first half, Utah was 4-12 from the field, and Westminster was just 1-9.

As the players got loose, more shots started to fall. Utah went up big on the Griffins and never looked back, as expected. 

Observations

Keba Keita is a ridiculous athlete, but needs a lot more polish. He can jump out of the gym and sets monster screens, but his hands need work, lacks a tight handle and overall needs more experience on both ends. These kinds of struggles are typical for young, athletic bigs. Those issues can be fixed with time and game reps. Keita can definitely help Utah this year, but he is far from a finished product, and that’s an exciting proposition for head coach Craig Smith.

“Keba’s gonna be special,” Smith said. “He’s a freshman, so he has some great moments and there’s some moments where there’s a lot to take in.”

If Coach Smith wants to play fast, Mike Saunders Jr. and Wilguens Jr. Exacte will be right up his alley. Both players are good with the ball in their hands and are always looking to push the pace. Throw in Keita or Branden Carlson as a lob threat and Lazar Stefanovic or Gabe Madsen spacing from three, and the offense could fly this season. It should be fun to watch.

Bostyn Holt and Gavin Baxter are returning from injury. It was good to see both of them out there tonight, and there’s reason to believe they can both help the Utes a lot this season. Holt is a solid wing defender and a good athlete. He can play on or off the ball and has good size for his position.

Baxter was out there with a brace on each knee, an unsurprising move for a guy with his injury history. Health is not a given for Baxter, but he showed flashes of great basketball tonight, which will help if he can stay healthy for the rest of the season. The shot looked good and he held up on defense.

“I thought he played very well in his short time,” Smith said. “I thought he provided a good spark for us.”

Up Next

Utah will play Long Island University next Monday at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Their first four games of the season are at home.

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