Post by mhbruin on Jun 21, 2022 10:03:46 GMT -8
CHANGES
David Jenkins Jr will not longer be transferring to Illinois. He is going one state further east to Purdue.
===================
Next are the 11th place Utah Utes. In a rare moment of clarity or luck, I picked them to finish 11th last season. Even a stopped clock ...
Before last season, this Coach Smith (not Kyle Smith of WSU) replaced the other Coach K, and 8 players transferred out. Heading into last season, Coach Craig Smith was left with 4 returning scholarship players and not much talent. He tried to put together a team in a hurry. It wasn't a rousing success, but they did manage to win 4 conference games. They were the fourth-best team in Utah, behind BYU, Utah State, and Utah Valley State.
They looked like a well-coached team without a lot of talent. They managed to win 4 conference games. However, they also gave Oregon State their only Pac-12 win.
This season they will be a bit more talented and a bit more experienced at playing together.
GRADUATING
- None -
IN THE DRAFT OR TURNING PRO
After transferring from Utah to Minnesota and transferring back to Utah, Gach appears to be done with college basketball. Just for symmetry, I would like to have seen him transfer back to Minnesota.
TRANSFERRING OUT
Losing 4 players to transfer seems like an improvement over last year, when 8 players left through the portal. However, they are still 4 rotation players.
David Jenkins transferred from San Diego State to UNLV and then to Utah. He played one season in Salt Lake City and is now on his way to Purdue. That's four different college teams.
Dušan Mahorčič transferred in from Illinois State, played one season, and is transferring again. He'll be able to say he played in three time zones. Some people are born to wander.
Both of these guys will have to ask the NCAA for a waiver or sit out a year.
It's probably a testament to Utah's lack of talent, that Riley Battin started 21 games averaging 4 points per game.
Last season, Riley Batten and Lahat Thioune put their names into the portal and then decided to return to Utah. They won't be returning this year.
RETURNING
In spite of losing 5 rotation players, Utah returns 6 rotation players. 5 of them started games last season. I wouldn't get too excited about the starts. 11 players started games for them last season. I think Coach Smith was looking for a good starting lineup.
They return 5 of their top 7 scorers, including their leading scorer. They return their top 3 rebounders. They return 3 of their top 4 assist leaders.
This may look like a pretty good group to build around, until you look at the shooting percentages. Last season they ranked #255 in effective FG%. This is not a good shooting group.
Unlike a lot of teams, Utah is returning someone with a very good A/TO ratio in Jaxon Brenchley, if in limited minutes. If he can improve his 3-point shooting, he might be an effective PG.
Marco Anthony at 6' 5" was their leading rebounder. Not too many guys his size lead their team in rebounds.
(#62 class, #7 in Pac-12)
The incoming freshmen are not exactly a group of household names. Keita could one of those athletic bigs like Efe Abogidi.
A story about Keba Keita
Tarlac isn't even listed by 247. According to Balkan Prospects, the 19-year-old hails from Belgrade and is a former teammate of Utah guard Lazar Stefanovic, When you are getting your information from Balkan Prospects, you are dealing with an obscure prospect.
He spent the past two seasons with a U-19 team affiliated with Partizan, who plays in the Serbian A League. He averaged 12.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists last season.
Mike Saunder's name may remind us of former UCLA player Mike Sanders, but the spelling should tell you they are not related.
Ben Carlson played in every game last season for the Badgers, but didn't get a lot of PT. He was playing behind some really good players,.
Yes, Utah has two guys named "Carlson", Branden and Ben.
Sanders and Carlson (Ben) don't look like the answer to Utah's shooting woes. Neither lit it up for their previous team.
In sprite of being a 4-star recruit out of HS, Gavin Baxter was used sparingly in Provo. He was limited by a series of injuries. He will be moving 45 miles north up I-15, to walk on for the Utes.
It's pretty unusual for a scholarship player to transfer as a walk-on. I would guess he has graduated and is going to Utah for graduate school.
CONCLUSION
Craig Smith is an excellent basketball coach. In their five seasons in the Mountain West before he arrived, Utah State had never finished higher than 4th, and they had not been to the NCAA tournament since 2011. In three seasons after Coach Smith took over, they finished 1st, 2nd, and 2nd, and gave San Diego State a run for their money.
He arrived in Salt Lake City to find a roster as bare as Old Mother Hubbard's cupboard. They returned four rotation players, and there was not much returning talent. They brought in bodies through the portal, but not a lot of talent. They still managed
This season seems like they will have more experience, and are bringing in some transfers who may have potential.
I expect Utah to finish higher than 11th, but still in the bottom half of the league. Things are looking up in Salt Lake City, but not too far up. They still need to find players who can shoot.
Here's what Wilner has to say:
10. Utah (9): Admittedly, the Hotline has less clarity on Utah’s outlook than any other team. We know center Branden Carlson is one of the league’s top big men. Beyond that, production and success are difficult to project. The arrival of guard Mike Saunders from Cincinnati should help solidify the backcourt, but not to the point that we considered the Utes for a top-half finish. At least they don’t have to contend with expectations. After a poor Year One under Craig Smith, mediocrity is the goal in ’23.
David Jenkins Jr will not longer be transferring to Illinois. He is going one state further east to Purdue.
===================
Next are the 11th place Utah Utes. In a rare moment of clarity or luck, I picked them to finish 11th last season. Even a stopped clock ...
Before last season, this Coach Smith (not Kyle Smith of WSU) replaced the other Coach K, and 8 players transferred out. Heading into last season, Coach Craig Smith was left with 4 returning scholarship players and not much talent. He tried to put together a team in a hurry. It wasn't a rousing success, but they did manage to win 4 conference games. They were the fourth-best team in Utah, behind BYU, Utah State, and Utah Valley State.
They looked like a well-coached team without a lot of talent. They managed to win 4 conference games. However, they also gave Oregon State their only Pac-12 win.
This season they will be a bit more talented and a bit more experienced at playing together.
GRADUATING
- None -
IN THE DRAFT OR TURNING PRO
| Player | Games | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Both Gach | 30 | 24 | 9 | 3 | 2 |
After transferring from Utah to Minnesota and transferring back to Utah, Gach appears to be done with college basketball. Just for symmetry, I would like to have seen him transfer back to Minnesota.
TRANSFERRING OUT
Losing 4 players to transfer seems like an improvement over last year, when 8 players left through the portal. However, they are still 4 rotation players.
| Player | Games | Starts | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Destination |
| Riley Battin | 31 | 21 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 1 | Cal Baptist |
| David Jenkins Jr | 31 | 10 | 19 | 9 | 2 | 1 | Purdue |
| Dušan Mahorčič | 13 | 2 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 1 | NC State |
| Lahat Thioune | 28 | 5 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 0 | UCF |
David Jenkins transferred from San Diego State to UNLV and then to Utah. He played one season in Salt Lake City and is now on his way to Purdue. That's four different college teams.
Dušan Mahorčič transferred in from Illinois State, played one season, and is transferring again. He'll be able to say he played in three time zones. Some people are born to wander.
Both of these guys will have to ask the NCAA for a waiver or sit out a year.
It's probably a testament to Utah's lack of talent, that Riley Battin started 21 games averaging 4 points per game.
Last season, Riley Batten and Lahat Thioune put their names into the portal and then decided to return to Utah. They won't be returning this year.
RETURNING
| Player | Games | Starts | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | FG% | 3Pt% | Assists | A/TO Ratio | Class | Recruiting Stars | Recruiting Rank |
| Branden Carlson | 24 | 23 | 26 | 13 | 6 | 51% | 31% | 1 | 0.7 | Jr | 4 | 102 |
| Marco Anthony | 28 | 27 | 29 | 9 | 7 | 41% | 35% | 2 | 1.3 | Sr 5 | 3 | 244 |
| Rollie Worster | 31 | 30 | 29 | 8 | 5 | 40% | 33% | 1 | 1.9 | So | Unranked | |
| Lazar Stefanovic | 31 | 18 | 25 | 8 | 3 | 36% | 31% | 1 | 1.4 | Fr | Unranked | |
| Gabe Madsen | 25 | 10 | 16 | 7 | 1 | 39% | 39% | 1 | 0.9 | So | 3 | 209 |
| Jaxon Brenchley | 27 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 46% | 14% | 1 | 2.7 | Jr | 3 | 376 |
In spite of losing 5 rotation players, Utah returns 6 rotation players. 5 of them started games last season. I wouldn't get too excited about the starts. 11 players started games for them last season. I think Coach Smith was looking for a good starting lineup.
They return 5 of their top 7 scorers, including their leading scorer. They return their top 3 rebounders. They return 3 of their top 4 assist leaders.
This may look like a pretty good group to build around, until you look at the shooting percentages. Last season they ranked #255 in effective FG%. This is not a good shooting group.
Unlike a lot of teams, Utah is returning someone with a very good A/TO ratio in Jaxon Brenchley, if in limited minutes. If he can improve his 3-point shooting, he might be an effective PG.
Marco Anthony at 6' 5" was their leading rebounder. Not too many guys his size lead their team in rebounds.
RECRUITS
(#62 class, #7 in Pac-12)
| Player | Size | Position | Recruiting Stars | Recruiting Rank | Offers |
| Keba Keita | 6-9 225 | C | 3 | 158 | Washington, UNLV, Utah Tech |
| Wilguens Exacte Jr. | 6-5 200 | SG | Unranked | East Carolina, George Mason, Colorado State | |
| Luka Tarlac | 6-8 | Unranked |
The incoming freshmen are not exactly a group of household names. Keita could one of those athletic bigs like Efe Abogidi.
A story about Keba Keita
Tarlac isn't even listed by 247. According to Balkan Prospects, the 19-year-old hails from Belgrade and is a former teammate of Utah guard Lazar Stefanovic, When you are getting your information from Balkan Prospects, you are dealing with an obscure prospect.
He spent the past two seasons with a U-19 team affiliated with Partizan, who plays in the Serbian A League. He averaged 12.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists last season.
TRANSFERRING IN
Coach Smith was known for getting transfers to build his roster at Utah State. He hasn't matched last season's haul of 7 transfers, but the quality may be a bit higher.
He has brought in two players who were highly-rated out of HS, but who were disappointments at their previous school.
He has brought in two players who were highly-rated out of HS, but who were disappointments at their previous school.
| Player | Size | Games | Starts | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | FG% | 3-Pt % | A/TO Ratio | From | Class | Recruiting Stars | Recruiting Rank |
| Mike Saunders, Jr. | 6-0 185 | 33 | 0 | 20 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 40% | 36% | 1.7 | Cincinnati | So | 3 | 240 |
| Ben Carlson | 6-9 220 | 32 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 33% | 5% | 0.4 | Wisconsin | So | 4 | 107 |
| Gavin Baxter | 6-9 228 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 65% | 0.4 | BYU | Sr 5 | 4 | 100 |
Mike Saunder's name may remind us of former UCLA player Mike Sanders, but the spelling should tell you they are not related.
Ben Carlson played in every game last season for the Badgers, but didn't get a lot of PT. He was playing behind some really good players,.
Yes, Utah has two guys named "Carlson", Branden and Ben.
Sanders and Carlson (Ben) don't look like the answer to Utah's shooting woes. Neither lit it up for their previous team.
In sprite of being a 4-star recruit out of HS, Gavin Baxter was used sparingly in Provo. He was limited by a series of injuries. He will be moving 45 miles north up I-15, to walk on for the Utes.
It's pretty unusual for a scholarship player to transfer as a walk-on. I would guess he has graduated and is going to Utah for graduate school.
CONCLUSION
Craig Smith is an excellent basketball coach. In their five seasons in the Mountain West before he arrived, Utah State had never finished higher than 4th, and they had not been to the NCAA tournament since 2011. In three seasons after Coach Smith took over, they finished 1st, 2nd, and 2nd, and gave San Diego State a run for their money.
He arrived in Salt Lake City to find a roster as bare as Old Mother Hubbard's cupboard. They returned four rotation players, and there was not much returning talent. They brought in bodies through the portal, but not a lot of talent. They still managed
This season seems like they will have more experience, and are bringing in some transfers who may have potential.
I expect Utah to finish higher than 11th, but still in the bottom half of the league. Things are looking up in Salt Lake City, but not too far up. They still need to find players who can shoot.
Here's what Wilner has to say:
10. Utah (9): Admittedly, the Hotline has less clarity on Utah’s outlook than any other team. We know center Branden Carlson is one of the league’s top big men. Beyond that, production and success are difficult to project. The arrival of guard Mike Saunders from Cincinnati should help solidify the backcourt, but not to the point that we considered the Utes for a top-half finish. At least they don’t have to contend with expectations. After a poor Year One under Craig Smith, mediocrity is the goal in ’23.