We are losing one of the greatest players the Utes have ever had in Andre Miller. I am a BIG Dre fan. However, I do believe for the following reasons - that we will be better than last season:

1. We return 4 starters and 2 All WAC players.

2. Alex Jensen is coming on.

3. I expect Mattola and Ahltof to be improved. Also they will be practicing every day against a premiere player in Burgess. This will help them improve their defensive skills.

4. Harvey (should) be available all seaosn and knows the system much better.

5. Jeff Johnson will be there to back up Alex who had foul trouble many tiomes last season. Jeff is a hard nosed player that will add a lot to the team.

6. We have three players that can play the point: Harvey, Whiting, and Colbert. I would not be surprised to see Harvey start the season off as the point.

7. We have added much needed outside shooting in Jacobsen and Whiting. I believe that Killion will also feel more comfortable this season.

8. Cullen was really improving at the end of last season. He could really be a big factor this season.

9. Not much is expected of Puzey. If he gives us anything it will be a bonus. I know that Tyson is more athletic. However, Tyson rarely if ever gave us any valuable minutes and I have to believe that Puzey has a little bit more basketball sense than Tyson.

It will be hard to replace Andre. He is a stud!!! But, I feel that overall we will be a better team, especially by NCAA tourney time.

That, to me, is the big question. Doleac succeeded KVH, Andre succeeded Doleac. Can Hanno play at the All-America level? If so, we should have a great year. If he duplicates last year we'll be top 20 but not a threat to make it to the Elite 8 or beyond IMHO.

Good points.

I think the Utes will have one of the best front lines in college basketball next year. IMO, all three will play in the NBA. I don't expect that any will be all-star calibur (like Keith and Andre), but any time you have three guys good enough to play in the league, you're in pretty good shape.

This year's Utes will have the most depth of any Utah team under Majerus. This has to be a good thing.

The obvious concern is the guard play. Can anyone make up for Miller? Probably not this year, but I hope they can combine to at least run the team adequately.

Outside shooting. IMO this has been the Ute's Achillies Heel for the entire Majerus era. We are expecting help from Jacobsen and Whiting, but we were also expecting help from the likes of Jimmy Carrol, Ben Caton, and Killian. The Utes need consistency from the outside to be a legitimate contenter.

Defense. You know Alex will a force in this area. But the rest of the team has to show the same committment he does every night. I still think the main reason for the Utes' final four run was that they had one of the best defensive teams in college basketball history. Alex, Drew and Andre could literally shut down the perimiter game of any team in the country. Scoring against the Utes on the inside was no picnic either because Doleac was just so big and strong. Hanno is also tall and he played well and Alex is also a great interior defener. As far as this year goes, Alex is still Alex; Nate looked good defensively last year, but he still does not own the 5-7 foot perimiter under the basket like Mike did; Hanno is adequate; Harvey looked good last year and has the potential to be a better defender than Drew if he wants to; Killian did well, but most of the players he has to guard are 4-6 inches taller than he is; Cullen still has a long way to go defensively; and who knows about the new guys?

I think next year's success depends on how well this team gells defensively. Just like every other year.

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