Free your mind, bench your center?
Time now for the question you might never have thought you would be asking:
Are the Utes better without Luke Nevill?
It certainly looked that way in the 86-82 overtime loss at New Mexico on Saturday night. The 7-foot-1 sophomore — the leading scorer and rebounder — gave the Utes awfully little for the second straight game, and the Utes fell behind by 15 points at The Pit in Albuquerque.
But when 7-2 freshman backup David Foster entered the game, he provided an immediate spark that helped the Utes rally in the second half and ultimately send the game into overtime.
“We had some guys step up,” coach Ray Giacoletti said. “David Foster was unbelievable. He gave us a great lift.”
Foster finished with eight points, nine rebounds and a blocked shot in 17 minutes — Nevill had nine and three with no blocks before fouling out in 18 minutes — and provides the coaches an interesting question:
Should they start him?
After all, Nevill has been increasingly lackluster as the Utes’ losing streak has stretched to six games, longest since 1950. Maybe it’s time to keep him on the bench until he can show a little more than he has lately. It’s not as if the Utes have much to lose, with nationally ranked Air Force visiting the Huntsman Center on Tuesday.
And speaking of players who made an impact, freshman point guard Curtis Eatmon had his best game of the season by far, scoring 11 points with five rebounds and five assists. He did so off the bench in relief of first-time starter Luka Drca, who did not exactly take advantage of his opportunity after an apparent breakout game at Colorado State last week.
The freshman missed all five shots he took, and played only five minutes after halftime — none in the overtime. Fellow guard Lawrence Borha did not play at all for the first time all season, something Giacoletti said was simply a coaching decision.
Are the Utes better without Luke Nevill?
It certainly looked that way in the 86-82 overtime loss at New Mexico on Saturday night. The 7-foot-1 sophomore — the leading scorer and rebounder — gave the Utes awfully little for the second straight game, and the Utes fell behind by 15 points at The Pit in Albuquerque.
But when 7-2 freshman backup David Foster entered the game, he provided an immediate spark that helped the Utes rally in the second half and ultimately send the game into overtime.
“We had some guys step up,” coach Ray Giacoletti said. “David Foster was unbelievable. He gave us a great lift.”
Foster finished with eight points, nine rebounds and a blocked shot in 17 minutes — Nevill had nine and three with no blocks before fouling out in 18 minutes — and provides the coaches an interesting question:
Should they start him?
After all, Nevill has been increasingly lackluster as the Utes’ losing streak has stretched to six games, longest since 1950. Maybe it’s time to keep him on the bench until he can show a little more than he has lately. It’s not as if the Utes have much to lose, with nationally ranked Air Force visiting the Huntsman Center on Tuesday.
And speaking of players who made an impact, freshman point guard Curtis Eatmon had his best game of the season by far, scoring 11 points with five rebounds and five assists. He did so off the bench in relief of first-time starter Luka Drca, who did not exactly take advantage of his opportunity after an apparent breakout game at Colorado State last week.
The freshman missed all five shots he took, and played only five minutes after halftime — none in the overtime. Fellow guard Lawrence Borha did not play at all for the first time all season, something Giacoletti said was simply a coaching decision.
posted by www.sltrib.com @ 2:43 PM |
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