Coach Still 'Fighting the Good Fight' for Toughness
Coach Jim Boylen sounded almost exasperated at his weekly press conference today, where he acknowleged his team's improved competitiveness but again bemoaned its lack of toughness and winning desire.
"We are still fighting a culture in this program where my players were allowed to be average, and it was accepted," Boylen said. "We're going to change that. We have changed it. It's not where it needs to be, but we're fighting that on all levels. And I'm going to keep fighting the good fight."
The Utes will be going relatively easy this week because of final exams, in advance of their only game of the week against Missouri State at the Huntsman Center on Saturday.
Yet it's easy to understand why Boylen is so aggravated.
The Utes have had chances to win big games at Oregon and Washington, but faded down the stretch both times. They're just 5-3 so far, which puts them sixth in the Mountain West Conference. And for as much as their defense seems to have improved from last season, they still rank last in the league by allowing 42.8 percent shooting and 38.8 percent shooting from three-point range.
Having watched the Utes show their capacity for strong play, particularly against Oregon and Washington, I asked Boylen what it is that he believes keeps his players from making key plays down the stretch when they have shown they can make them at earlier points in games. After all, they rallied from 11 down at Oregon over the weekend.
"It comes down to toughness," he said. "Mental toughness, understanding that at that point in the game, you have to play it a little tougher. Be a little tougher. Grit your teeth, but be mentally tough.
"Everybody thinks I talk about toughness as ..." he said, putting up his fists like a boxer. "It's not that. It's some of that -- physical toughness is important, conditioning is very important. Our conditioning is 10 times better than it was last year. But it's a mental approach to the game that you understand what needs to be done, you understand how to get it done, and then you make the adjustments through the adversity in the game to do it. We have to learn that."
Obviously, it's not happening quickly enough for Boylen.
"We are still fighting a culture in this program where my players were allowed to be average, and it was accepted," Boylen said. "We're going to change that. We have changed it. It's not where it needs to be, but we're fighting that on all levels. And I'm going to keep fighting the good fight."
The Utes will be going relatively easy this week because of final exams, in advance of their only game of the week against Missouri State at the Huntsman Center on Saturday.
Yet it's easy to understand why Boylen is so aggravated.
The Utes have had chances to win big games at Oregon and Washington, but faded down the stretch both times. They're just 5-3 so far, which puts them sixth in the Mountain West Conference. And for as much as their defense seems to have improved from last season, they still rank last in the league by allowing 42.8 percent shooting and 38.8 percent shooting from three-point range.
Having watched the Utes show their capacity for strong play, particularly against Oregon and Washington, I asked Boylen what it is that he believes keeps his players from making key plays down the stretch when they have shown they can make them at earlier points in games. After all, they rallied from 11 down at Oregon over the weekend.
"It comes down to toughness," he said. "Mental toughness, understanding that at that point in the game, you have to play it a little tougher. Be a little tougher. Grit your teeth, but be mentally tough.
"Everybody thinks I talk about toughness as ..." he said, putting up his fists like a boxer. "It's not that. It's some of that -- physical toughness is important, conditioning is very important. Our conditioning is 10 times better than it was last year. But it's a mental approach to the game that you understand what needs to be done, you understand how to get it done, and then you make the adjustments through the adversity in the game to do it. We have to learn that."
Obviously, it's not happening quickly enough for Boylen.
4:23 PM
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