It looked about the same as it always does, the first day practice. Bunch of really tall guys wearing red and white, dashing up and down the court, the squeak of their sneakers and the shouts of the coaches echoing off the walls.

But it definitely felt different to the Utes.

Though they're still just running drills and perfecting the playbook, coach Jim Boylen and the Utes said they're already far ahead of where they were last season at this time, having spent a year learning their new system and each other.

"Instead of preparing to get used to the system, we actually know the system," senior forward Shaun Green said. "Now, we're just preparing to win games."

The Utes had some company, too.

University president Michael Young stopped by -- Boylen had his players all run over to him and thank him for his support with a handshake -- while recruit Shawn Glover watched from the sideline on his official recruiting visit. The 6-foot-6 forward from Texas already has committed to join the Utes next season.

Freshman guard Chris Hines dressed and shot around lightly, but still isn't recovered enough from his lingering sprained ankle to practice with his teammates. Boylen said he will be out at least another month.

Otherwise, the players were ready to go, and mostly pleased their coach.

Boylen said he wanted to see how well they communicated and helped each other during practice. "I thought at times, we did both well," he said. "And at times we did both poorly. I've got seven, eight or maybe nine guys that I think are in great shape and understand how hard you have to play at this level, and I've got six or seven that are still learning that."

"But again, our system is in place," Boylen said. "We have to work on it, we have to get better at it. It's just a nice feeling to know that we're all going into our second year."