At long last ... we're finally back!

My apologies to all of those readers who wanted more info on the Utes in the past few weeks, but I just had to take advantage of my opportunity to travel around China after the Beijing Olympics. Now that we're home, though, we'll be getting back on the wagon right away, and getting back to providing all the Utah basketball news you can stand.

So feel free to drop a line with any questions you want answered or topics on which you want more information, and I'll be happy to pursue them as I work to get caught up with the season just a few weeks away.

Meanwhile, in an interesting side note, I had the chance in Beijing to ask point guard Patrick Mills of St. Mary's how close he came to joining the Utes back when he was being recruited from his native Australia a couple of years ago. He said he had seriously considered it, but that the Utes already had obtained a commitment from a point guard by the time he made a recruiting visit.

That point guard was Tyler Kepkay, who's entering his senior year for the Utes after enduring a rough transition from junior-college last season while Mills was burning it up as a freshman for St. Mary's. Mills was pretty impressive for the Australians at the Olympics, too, so it should be fun to watch how he and Kepkay will compare this season, now that each has a season of college experience under his belt.

And while Kepkay didn't reach the Olympics, don't forget he enjoyed some valuable summer training time with the Canadian national team. I'm guessing that with a fresh start adding to his experience, he's going to be a lot better this season ...