Smart Money Says the Utes Are on the Rise
What a way to finish.
Having played inconsistently amid a torturous travel and game schedule throughout their exhibition tour of Australia, the Utes capped their trip with an encouraging 85-80 victory over the Brisbane Bullets that suggests they are returning home today with far more encouraging prospects for the season ahead.
“We have demanded a lot from this group of guys,” coach Jim Boylen said. “From being early to the bus, to contact practices on game days, to extended video sessions and team meetings, the guys pulled through. Hopefully this will be a springboard to improving as a team and building a top program.”
Certainly, it looks like it could be.
Even though they had endured yet another “full-contact” practice the morning of their final game -- they did that two or three times on the trip -- the Utes managed to explode right out of the gate against a veteran professional team that won the National Basketball League championship last season by going 28-5, with a season-ending 18-game winning streak.
Center Luke Nevill scored 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds in his best game of the trip, forward Stephen Weigh had another solid performance with 21 points, and the Utes scored 37 points in the first quarter, led by 21, and held the Bullets to 37 percent shooting in the second half.
They even performed in the clutch, something they never seemed to manage last season, with guard Lawrence Borha making two free throws with three seconds left to clinch the victory.
“I was proud of my team,” Boylen said.
And why not?
The Utes were a disaster last season, and appeared at times on their trip thoroughly ready to fall back on that poor form. But Boylen clearly isn’t going to let that happen, unquestionably demanding so much more from them than former coach Ray Giacoletti did. He intentionally made the trip as difficult as possible, in order to instill a sense of toughness in a group of players that has been embarrassingly soft.
“It has been exactly what I hoped it would be,” Boylen said. “The travel was tough, the games were tough. We had difficult situations to play in, but I felt we responded well to adversity and took some small steps in growing as a team. I have said all along that this was a business trip and I feel we did a good job taking care of our business.”
Now, the Utes will prepare for the start of classes next week, when newcomers Tyler Kepkay, Carlon Brown and Morgan Grim are expected to officially join the team. Brown and Grim occasionally watched the Utes practice before they left on their trip, though Kepkay had not arrived in town yet.
In any case, it’s probably safe to say the Utes should have a lot more optimism about the future than even two weeks ago. They might not win the Mountain West Conference championship, but after watching them work out and monitoring their progress on their exhibition tour, it’s a pretty good bet they’re going to be a lot better.
Having played inconsistently amid a torturous travel and game schedule throughout their exhibition tour of Australia, the Utes capped their trip with an encouraging 85-80 victory over the Brisbane Bullets that suggests they are returning home today with far more encouraging prospects for the season ahead.
“We have demanded a lot from this group of guys,” coach Jim Boylen said. “From being early to the bus, to contact practices on game days, to extended video sessions and team meetings, the guys pulled through. Hopefully this will be a springboard to improving as a team and building a top program.”
Certainly, it looks like it could be.
Even though they had endured yet another “full-contact” practice the morning of their final game -- they did that two or three times on the trip -- the Utes managed to explode right out of the gate against a veteran professional team that won the National Basketball League championship last season by going 28-5, with a season-ending 18-game winning streak.
Center Luke Nevill scored 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds in his best game of the trip, forward Stephen Weigh had another solid performance with 21 points, and the Utes scored 37 points in the first quarter, led by 21, and held the Bullets to 37 percent shooting in the second half.
They even performed in the clutch, something they never seemed to manage last season, with guard Lawrence Borha making two free throws with three seconds left to clinch the victory.
“I was proud of my team,” Boylen said.
And why not?
The Utes were a disaster last season, and appeared at times on their trip thoroughly ready to fall back on that poor form. But Boylen clearly isn’t going to let that happen, unquestionably demanding so much more from them than former coach Ray Giacoletti did. He intentionally made the trip as difficult as possible, in order to instill a sense of toughness in a group of players that has been embarrassingly soft.
“It has been exactly what I hoped it would be,” Boylen said. “The travel was tough, the games were tough. We had difficult situations to play in, but I felt we responded well to adversity and took some small steps in growing as a team. I have said all along that this was a business trip and I feel we did a good job taking care of our business.”
Now, the Utes will prepare for the start of classes next week, when newcomers Tyler Kepkay, Carlon Brown and Morgan Grim are expected to officially join the team. Brown and Grim occasionally watched the Utes practice before they left on their trip, though Kepkay had not arrived in town yet.
In any case, it’s probably safe to say the Utes should have a lot more optimism about the future than even two weeks ago. They might not win the Mountain West Conference championship, but after watching them work out and monitoring their progress on their exhibition tour, it’s a pretty good bet they’re going to be a lot better.
posted by www.sltrib.com @ 5:22 PM |
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