How I Spent My Summer

As a ghost, I obviously have a lot of downtime. Especially in the off-season when there's no basketball games or practices to watch. It can get boring and lonely around campus sometimes.

A few months ago, I made the mistake of trying to befriend a group of students. I found myself at the Widtsoe Building late one night where some kids were studying. I made a simple friendly gesture of rolling a basketball down the hallway toward their table. Unfortunately, this caused great alarm and they ran out in a panic.

The kids were back the very next night, but this time they brought a video camera, an EMF sensor and night-vision goggles. They wandered around the building saying things like "Reveal yourself, Spirit!" and "Spirit, why won't you rest?" Of course, the EMF sensor was off the charts, but they couldn't see or hear me. After this went on for a while, one of the kids took out some holy water, which was completely unnecessary. I seized the vial and threw it across the room, causing it to shatter against a wall. I may have slammed a door or two as the kids ran from the building in terror.

Poor lonesome me.

This went on for weeks. Once they brought an Oujia board, but I could only get so far as T-G-O-J-G-D-O-T-B-L-O- before they gave up in confusion. Another time they brought an old blind woman with long white hair, but she didn't understand when I tried to explain how to break a pressure zone in layman's terms.

It all finally got too weird for me, so I've quit hanging out at the Widtsoe Building for awhile.

Anyway, basketball season is back in full swing. No need to torment our fine young scholars anymore. Or at least not until the season ends.  

HAVE A HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Thoughts on the scrimmage...

Basketball is upon us again!

Which means you get to hear from an old, ghostly, Hall of Famer rant about the Runnin' Utes. I am very excited about this team.  Each returning player has notably improved in some way.

What defines this team in my opinion is their athleticism. Especially out on the perimeter. Newcomers like Princeton Onwas, Kenneth Ogbe, and Delon Wright were very impressive in this regard. Onwas had a couple of impressive blocks that brought everyone in the Special Events Center to their feet. Unless I am mistaken, I seem to recall it happening a couple of times. Ogbe produced similar results when he dunked over the aforementioned Onwas. And Wright had some steals that were a result of his length. He is certainly longer than your traditional guard and it will prove to be useful.

You can tell that this team is just going to be fun to watch.
Here is who I think the starting five will be:

Wright/Taylor, Tucker, Loveridge, Lenz, Olsen

I could also see Ogbe moving into the starting lineup if he continues to play like he did last night. They have him down as a guard, but I think he could play a little small forward as well. He was the player of the game yesterday in my opinion. Also will be interesting to see how Wright and Taylor split minutes.

Overall, to sum up my thought about yesterdays scrimmage:

Player of the game: Kenneth Ogbe. This young man had 21 points, going 8-of-9 and 4-of-4 from 3 point range. Delon Wright is a close runner-up though as he was close to a triple-double. 11 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and a few steals.

Most improved: Dakarai Tucker. He had 16 points, 4/4 from beyond the arc, and only missed once going 6-of-7

Most athletic: Princeton Onwas. I'm telling you, that block was sensational.

Team Strength: Athleticism and physicality

Team Weakness: Probably the bigs. They are a little weak down low, especially defensively. Dallin Bachynski is the most athletic of this group but is limited by whats going on in his head. Renan Lenz has showed improvement but is still soft. Jeremy Olsen has got game, but he isn't the fastest and strongest guy in the league by any means.

Best player Loveridge/Wright. Loveridge has improved his game a lot from last season as well. He appears to be in a lot more control over the ball and the direction he wants to take the ball. Last year he could be a little out of control, especially when he drove in. He had one play in particular last night where he faked right, dribbled behind his back, drove in, pump faked in air, and then layed it up and in. I talked about Wright earlier. It will be interesting to see which of these guys step up this year and becomes that "go to" guy. I see it being one of these two guys, but somebody else could surprise us and become that guy. With this team I would not be surprised.

I am excited about this season and things appear to only be going up for Larry K and his squad.

Go UTES!!!

This is madness!

Postseason TV Schedule

UPDATED.

Date	Time MST	Game	Channel	Comcast Salt Lake	Dish
Mar. 19th	7:30	NIT: #6 Washington at #3 BYU	ESPN	668 (HD)	140
Mar. 19th	9:00	NIT: #5 Stephen F. Austin at #4 Stanford	ESPN2	669 (HD)	144
Mar. 20th	8:00	NIT: #6 Detroit at #3 Arizona State	ESPNU	755 (HD)	141
Mar. 21st	2:40	NCAA: #12 Oregon vs. #5 Oklahoma State	TNT	667 (HD)	138
Mar. 21st	5:20	NCAA: #11 Belmont vs. #6 Arizona	TNT	667 (HD)	138
Mar. 21st	5:27	NCAA: #12 California vs. #5 UNLV	truTV	736 (HD)	204
Mar. 22nd	2:40	NCAA: #10 Colorado vs. #7 Illinois	TNT	667 (HD)	138
Mar. 22nd	6:00	NIT: #3 Arizona State at #2 Baylor	ESPN2	669 (HD)	144
Mar. 22nd	7:57	NCAA: #11 Minnesota vs. #6 UCLA	truTV	736 (HD)	204
Mar. 23rd	10:00a	NIT: #4 Stanford at #1 Alabama	ESPN	668 (HD)	140
Mar. 23rd	4:10	NCAA: #14 Harvard vs. #6 Arizona	TNT	667 (HD)	138
Mar. 23rd	5:10	NCAA: #12 Oregon vs. #4 Saint Louis	TBS	674 (HD)	139
Mar. 23rd	7:40	NCAA: #12 California vs. #4 Syracuse	TBS	674 (HD)	139
Mar. 28th	5:47	NCAA: #6 Arizona vs. #2 Ohio State	TBS	674 (HD)	139
Mar. 29th	5:15	NCAA: #12 Oregon vs. #1 Louisville	CBS	654 (HD)	2

The Ducks Kicked our Butts!

Well, I didn't predict that one very well. Oregon played excellent and took Utah out of its offense, beat the Utes up on the boards, and ran an efficient offense. And after I gushed about the play of Jarred DuBois, Oregon took him completely out of his game. And finally, Oregon played harder than Utah. They had more in the tank, more talent, and proved to be the better team. Props to Oregon. Oregon will give UCLA all they can handle, especially with the injury to Jordan Adams. And they will be a tough out in the NCAA tournament.

As for Utah, the Utes won four of their last five, including two games in the conference tournament. The Utes won a total of seven games against improving Pac 12 competition. And most importantly, the Utes learned how to win close games. They learned if they play harder than the other team, that they will have a chance to win. These are valuable lessons for the younger players. And DuBois, Martin and Washburn have helped lay an excellent foundation for the younger players. All in all, this has been a successful rebuilding season. The Utes are well-coached and have a bright future.

More to come ...

Look Who Has Learned How to Win

The pain of rebuilding has finally reaped some benefits. The Runnin' Utes have learned how to win games. And it has been a blast!! What are the keys to this four game win streak? I have three observations:

The players have learned to make the extra pass on offense. The coaches have made a slight adjustment on defense (switching from man to zone and back to man). And Utah finally has a go-to guy who can score in pressure situations.  

The Runnin' Utes have become less selfish in recent games. Their motion offense has been much more effective at spreading out the defense leading to wide open outside shots, and opening up the inside game. DuBois has benefited from having more open shots, which has in turn helped his confidence. Washburn and Olsen have more room to operate inside and they have taken advantage.  

Utah has also started to mix up its defenses and opposing teams have struggled to adjust. Utah has started games in a sagged in man-to man. But as soon as the opponent gets in a rhythm, the Utes switch to zone. This switching up has been effective in getting teams out of their rhythm and is good for 5-6 stops per game. In some games, that has been the difference. This has been an excellent adjustment by the coaches.

Finally, Jarred DuBois is the man. He has learned how to take over games and will his team to victory. The shot against Cal was epic, but he was amazing to open that game as well. Utah lacked a go-to guy all season. Washburn did a great job, but could be shut down by double teams and more physical big men. And Jordan Loveridge isn't quite there yet. But in the last four games, DuBois has played aggressively while still playing under control and within the offense. He has more open shots and, therefore, makes more shots. And this has increased his confidence. He has been outstanding. And I couldn't be more happy for this fine young man.

I don't know if Utah will win tonight. I predict a close game. The Utes will have a chance to win. I have to be honest. I didn't expect Utah to turn the corner this season. I thought it would happen some time next year. Coach K and his staff have done a great job keeping his team engaged in team basketball. That is a tough thing to do when a team is not winning. But the players have bought in and the boys are reaping the rewards. Let's hope we'll see them have a chance to make it to the big dance tomorrow night. But even if they don't, I think most Utah fans will agree that, with this performance in the Pac-12 tournament, this first rebuilding season has been a success.