Congrats...

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

We'll see. Utah had only one senior this year, and he was little used. Its main players were sophomore's and freshmen. They have a freshman point guard from So. Cal. who was a top 100 prospect. It isn't uncommon for a team like this to come off of a losing season and win 25+. Majerus' first season after Archibald was fired is a case in point. He won 31 I think.

Another reason some people hypothesize this young Ute team has talent is that it is a good shooting team and has demonstrated the ability to light up the scoreboard, which most informed people agree takes athleticism and basketball skills.

Majerus' first season was his multiple bypass surgery season. It was the next year that the Utes went onto go something like 31-4 behind Josh Grant, Walter Watts and Co.

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

Majerus' first season was his multiple bypass surgery season. It was the next year that the Utes went onto go something like 31-4 behind Josh Grant, Walter Watts and Co.

Yes but they were leftovers from a bad Archibald team that got him fired. Majerus didn't recruit one of those guys.

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

Yes but they were leftovers from a bad Archibald team that got him fired. Majerus didn't recruit one of those guys.

True. Archibald, like Giac, was a really nice guy, but not really what I'd call a recruiter.

[Insensitive PAP]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

We'll see. Utah had only one senior this year, and he was little used. Its main players were sophomore's and freshmen. They have a freshman point guard from So. Cal. who was a top 100 prospect. It isn't uncommon for a team like this to come off of a losing season and win 25+. Majerus' first season after Archibald was fired is a case in point. He won 31 I think.

Another reason some people hypothesize this young Ute team has talent is that it is a good shooting team and has demonstrated the ability to light up the scoreboard, which most informed people agree takes athleticism and basketball skills.

The reason Utah scores is they have a good player in the middle that commands a double team. Green would be worthless without Nevill. This year's Utah team had athleticsim on the level of BYU 1-26 team, as evidenced by allowing MWC opponents to shoot over 50% from the field on average.

While Utah is young, they have a big problem in that 2 of the primary building blocks, Green and Neville, are remarkably slow and unathletic. So unless the other 3 positions are played by players with exceptional athletic ability, the defense will be medicore to bad, and the wins won't go up much. I have no idea if Utah has athletic players coming in for next year, but I wouldn't count on any from this year's team.

Utah actually played decent offense this year, so I don't think you can expect much improvement on that side. Things will get a little sharper, but not enough to overcome bad defense.

[RockyBalboa]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

Your team had a heckuva year. It deserves the outright title.

Now, for all that is good for the conference, go win a Tournament game, dangit.

Thanks Il Pad..you're all class.

[RockyBalboa]

In regards to the talent on Utah's team.

Nevill is going to play in the NBA. Whether he's a 12th man or more is up to him. He seems like the type who doesn't know how to get motivated without someone helping him and sometimes that's a bad combination for someone with the talent that he possesses.

Stephen Weigh...it's obvious the kid has some talent, but like Nevill is softer than charmin.

Daniel Deane....I really like this kids feisty temperment out on the court. However, word is he's seriously contemplating transferring out of the program.

I'm not a big fan of Shaun Green...sure he's a 3 point assassin and has some other games where he's had some surprisingly good stats with rebounds, steals, assists,,,,but honestly the guy seems to also play passionless and couldn't guard a statue. He's a HORRIBLE defender.

Johnnie Bryant can shoot from anywhere but he's a coach killer. I would not want him on my team.

Luka Drca sucks. He's not a D-1 ball player. He'd be better playing somewhere like Westminster on a lower talent level. Giac mis-fired badly on him.

No one knows about Kim Tillie because he didn't play due to injury.

Curtis Eatmon has talent, but again Giac didn't play him much and due to his inconsistent rotation really affected the confidence of a lot of his players.

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by RockyBalboa

Thanks Il Pad..you're all class.

I dunno about all class; I think of myself as about 15% class, 15% BS, 40% enigma, 20% questionable character and 10% misc.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Thanks, IPU. It has been an amazing year.

I hate to admit it, but I actually felt sorry for the Ute players and fans in the second half of the game yesterday. It was a slaughter. It would have been more fun had the game been a little closer; like the football game was. The rivalry is more fun when both teams are competitive.

There are a couple of brothers in our ward who are diehard Ute fans. This in spite of the fact that they grew up in Provo and their mother teaches at BYU. They sat not far from me yesterday and the poor kids were pretty depressed at the end. I didn't have the heart to tease them about it.

[MikeWaters]

SU, have you watched the Utes play this season?

[Insensitive PAP]

Originally Posted by RockyBalboa

In regards to the talent on Utah's team.

Nevill is going to play in the NBA. Whether he's a 12th man or more is up to him. He seems like the type who doesn't know how to get motivated without someone helping him and sometimes that's a bad combination for someone with the talent that he possesses.

Stephen Weigh...it's obvious the kid has some talent, but like Nevill is softer than charmin.

Daniel Deane....I really like this kids feisty temperment out on the court. However, word is he's seriously contemplating transferring out of the program.

I'm not a big fan of Shaun Green...sure he's a 3 point assassin and has some other games where he's had some surprisingly good stats with rebounds, steals, assists,,,,but honestly the guy seems to also play passionless and couldn't guard a statue. He's a HORRIBLE defender.

Johnnie Bryant can shoot from anywhere but he's a coach killer. I would not want him on my team.

Luka Drca sucks. He's not a D-1 ball player. He'd be better playing somewhere like Westminster on a lower talent level. Giac mis-fired badly on him.

No one knows about Kim Tillie because he didn't play due to injury.

Curtis Eatmon has talent, but again Giac didn't play him much and due to his inconsistent rotation really affected the confidence of a lot of his players.

I think he will be a dominant college player by the time he's a senior, but the only reason he'll succeed is that he's bigger than everyone. That deoesn't work in the NBA. He doesn't have the foot speed, and a single dimension post player needs to be fast to make it in the NBA. Has Neville every scored outside 8 feet?