Coach Jim Boylen has hardly stopped riding his players hard in practice. Junior forward Shaun Green, for example, frequently seems to endure a lot of coaching criticism, and senior guard Chris Grant took a lot of heat when he practiced poorly the other day.

But Boylen consistently maintains that he loves the players he has, and has been pleasantly surprised lately by a few of them -- including junior guard Lawrence Borha, who has been burdened in the past by a reputation as an inconsistent and inattentive player.

"He's getting it," Boylen said. "He has more sense of urgency. ... You have purpose, you have to have focus, and he's getting there."

Boylen was careful to note that Borha -- now sporting closely cropped hair, instead of his old braided look -- was making "progress, not perfection" in his effort to pay more attention and work on the details of his game. Same with sophomore guard Luka Drca, who only recently has been able to show Boylen what he can do, having been unable to play during the Utes' exhibition trip to Australia while he finished recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.

"He's one of my smartest players," Boylen said. "He's one of my players who understands how to play the game. .... He has a feel for that."