We are "The
online voice of the Ute Fans." Students,
alumni, and fans of the University of Utah athletics
programs meet here to discuss football, basketball, gymnastics,
and other sports.
Crimsonkim
Crimsonkim’s faster, smarter, little sister.
Julianne Hough
That Sweet Spirt with the nice smile at Hogi Yogi
That one oriental Laker Girl
Err… Sorry wrong Boylen
I realize that the “starting 5” is not the “finishing 5” and that a starting 5 might change a lot next season. Boylen has said (and shown) that he loves to bring Srs and shooting off the bench and the only one that comes close to fitting that mold this year is Luka Drca… so bearing that in mind her
5) David Foster 7’2” So.
4) Kim Tillie 6’10” Sr.
3) Jay Watkins 6’7” Jr.
2) Carlon Brown 6’5” Jr.
1) Chris Hines 6’1” RsFr
My tortured logic:
As mentioned Luka is the only one that can bring a veteran presence off the bench and I really think that Boylen wants to play Drca more at the wing and less at the point… I think that “Hinesy” and Jace Tavita 6’4” So will get every chance to start at PG, I am just picking Hinesy based on buzz. Luka off the bench also gives a lot of flexibility to Boylen. Drca for Hines makes Utah awfully big, Drca for Watkins allows Brown to slide to the 3 where he played last year. Against a lot of teams Watkins could play 4 and Luca could (on paper) come in for Tillie.
I expect Jason Washburn 7’0” RsFr to actually get more minutes than Foster next year, but if Fosters “Mission Legs” are only good for 10-15 minutes a game then I fully expect Boylen to spend 5 of those minutes starting the game. Washburn is also capable of playing either the 5 or the 4 so bringing him off the bench allows him to go in for either Foster or Tillie depending on early fouls.
I expect Luka and Jason to come off the bench together much like Green and Kepkay last year… I also think that Matt Read 6’9” Jr could come in for Tillie, Read is more of a “spacing big” and looks to have a better jump shot (or at least more range) than either Watkins or Tillie. Part of Read’s value depends on someone else (Washburn and/or Foster) developing a post game worthy of drawing double teams.
It doesn’t take a genius to see that my starting 5 has a weakness, shooting, in fact if Carlon can’t make a step-function improvement in his outside shot (and he is working on it) Boylen may have to tinker with it to start the game w/ more shooters on the court.
The book on Jay Watkins is that he is an athletic and determined rebounds, a driver with a good handle and an OK 15’ jump shot, but does not have 3-pt range. A major part of his value is that he can defend 3 positions (4, 3, 2).
Neither Hines nor Tavita are real jump-shooting threats at Point and Tillie has not shown the ability to spread the court with his jumper either.
So… If Boylen needs more shooting the places to go are Jordan Cyphers 6'4" So and Marshal Henderson 6’1” Fr (along with Read and Drca)… I think that with both we will see a decrease in defense over my above rotation. Still at a minimum they see action vs. zones and sagging defenses. In fact I am not ruling out much bigger roles for either. It is not hard to imagine Henderson filing the “gunslinger” role of Johnnie Bryant, Tyler Kepkay, or even “Sparc” Jackson.
The odd men out in my rotation are Freshmen Jeremy Olsen 6'10", and Shawn Glover 6'6":
I see Olsen as a more talented, but younger Matt Read, Olsen is also planning on a Mission after his freshman year so unless his play just demands minutes he is a good candidate for a Red Shirt.
In some ways Glover is this years Jason Washburn, people might be saying “if he is supposed to be so good why is he redshirting?” However it may make more sense to defer his eligibility into the future rather than play him limited minute this year.
Personally I think that both Glover and Olsen are going to play a lot of good minutes for Utah in the future.
The chance not to play for a national championship doesn't anger me nearly as much as Washington St, Iowa St, Duke, Vandy, Baylor, Minnesota and so on get millions of dollars for fielding a team a 20th as competitive as ours.
What is going to kill us is not the inability to pay for a national title, but the money disparity that exists between us and even the lower tier BCS schools now. I know folks don't believe it but that is where our end lies and its coming way sooner than we think.
(NM) means No Message was included
in the post, so don't bother clicking on it.
On the internet, there are people called "Trolls" --
not because they look like monsters -- but because they troll around
different message boards, throwing out little baited
hooks hoping to get a bite from some eager fish. And
like any fisherman, the Trolls won't
stay very long if no one bites
DISCLAIMER:
UteFans.Net is not affiliated with the University of
Utah, except that the owner, operators and contributing members
are students, alumni,
and rabid fans of the U. Additionally,
the owner and operators of Utefans.Net are not responsible
for the actions of those who use this public forum. By contributing
to this
forum you agree to abide by the Rules of Conduct outlined on
the
Post Message page.