Pac-12 Basketball Team Preview: Utah Utes

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 29: Tyler Rawson #21, Gabe Bealer and Sedrick Barefield #0 of the Utah Utes react in the fourth quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the 2018 NIT Championship game at Madison Square Garden on March 29, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 29: Tyler Rawson #21, Gabe Bealer and Sedrick Barefield #0 of the Utah Utes react in the fourth quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the 2018 NIT Championship game at Madison Square Garden on March 29, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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It’s here! The 2019 Pac-12 Basketball Preview! To get you ready for another season of Pac-12

hoops, here’s a preview of each and every squad in the conference, from the contenders…to the pretenders. 

Utah Utes 

Head Coach: Larry Krystkowiak

2017-18 Record: 23-12

2017-18 Pac-12 Record: 11-7

Postseason: NIT Runner-Ups

Key Losses: Justin Bibbins (14.8 ppg, 4.7 apg), David Collette (12.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg), Tyler Rawson (10.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.7 apg)

Key Returners: Sedrick Barefield, Donnie Tillmann

Projected Starting Lineup: 

G: Charles Jones Jr. (JUCO)

G: Sedrick Barefield (12 ppg, 2.5 apg)

G: Parker Van Dyke (4 ppg, 1.5 apg)

F: Donnie Tillman (7.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg)

C: Jayce Johnson (5.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg)

Bench: Novak Topalovic, Both Gach, Brandon Morley, Timmy Allen, Brooks King, Vante Hendrix

2018-19 Season Outlook: Utah was once again solid (not spectacular) last season, and even made  an impressive run in the NIT, finishing as runner-ups — which I would compare to telling your extended relatives you’ve graduated from community college. Like, it’s an accomplishment. But then again, you and they both know you left a lot on the table. And Utah certainly did. With a lot of last year’s production departing, the Utes recruiting efforts in the 2018 class were very admirable, as they brought in a whopping nine-man class in addition to the two redshirts they had last season. There’s a few ways things may play out.

Best Case Scenario: Utah’s abundant recruiting class produces big time, and the Utes have one of the conference’s deepest squads. Just looking at their roster now, there are at least 13 different players that could earn big game minutes for this team. And that’s crazy. So, with this depth, Utah can practically platoon guys on defense like Rottweilers: Send a pack in rip the meat out of the opposing offense, and then five minutes later throw another swarm in there to suck the marrow out of their bones. Sorry, was that a little graphic? Whatever. I just love great defenses. Last year, Utah was first in scoring defense, and losing Bibbins (a hampered defender at 5’8) won’t do damage on that end. Plus, they will have 21 feet worth of centers at their disposal for shot-blocking purposes. Yeah, they should be good on this end.

On offense, we could very well see the same mentality. With a committee of scoring threats, there may not be a go-to guy in crunch-time, but on any given night someone or another will go off — like a Moorman version of the Boston Celtics. With such a massive upheaval of player transactions, there will be almost no tape at all on these Utes. Not one person in the Pacific-12 conference outside of Utah’s locker room could really tell you anything about their team. They might be the biggest mystery of the entire conference. If everything breaks right, we could be looking at one of the deepest and most loaded teams in the conference. If everything breaks wrong, well…

Worst Case Scenario: Utah loses all of their best players from a season ago, and Sedrick Barefield, unlike Pitts from Dead Poets Society, never rises above his egregiously misspelled name (Cedric) and poor shooting percentages, and is merely an inefficient scorer incapable of leading a true Pac-12 contender. Aside from him, the rest of the returners offer little more than they did last year (which wasn’t a pot of gold to begin with), leaving the bane of the Utes’ season in the hands of 11 newcomers. Oh boy.

So. Larry Krystkowiak’s impersonation of fellow Polish brethren Mike Krzyzewski (Coach K) fails immensely as he realizes that coaching and managing 11 new players is a task only elite coaches can handle, and things get out of control, leaving a messy chemistry situation. Let’s just say that when you bring in a bunch of confident newbies and combine them with a host of average veterans, the solution is often one oil and water, not coffee and cream.

Bottom Line: With a core of quality veterans and 11 first-year players, the Utah basketball situation will certainly be one to monitor, whether it’s jaw-dropping overachievement or a Timberwolves-level team-chemistry nightmare.