First off, this is not "intended" to be a Nate smack or bash, although it will probably sound like it.

Secondly, I would use some stats to support my theory, but I am too lazy, and will leave that up to you experts to either agree or dispel my thoughts.

The reason for this note is solely due to the extensive talk about recruiting, who's in or out next year, and the lack of extra scholarships to go around.

Now, I realize that Nate has been fairly consistent in points and rebounds through out the season, but I really think that he is expendable - PROVIDED the Utes have a big guy replacement.

Here's why...

I bet if you look at the stats, all of Nate's points are within 4 feet or less from the basket. Did you ever see Nate drive to the basket? Or make a spin move like Hanno? Even in the paint, Nate had trouble catching the ball if it was NOT thrown perfectly at chest height. Did you ever see Nate catch the ball in the outside perimeter area and have an expression on his face like a deer caught in headlights? He can't put the ball on the floor, like Hanno or it would create an instant steal - turnover. I don't ever recall him shooting outside the perimeter.

He appears to only be effective under the basket... period. Now, how hard is that for someone as tall has him? Gee, I might even be able to pull it off.

Nate is not a powerhouse that is needed to force fouls under the basket or keep the ball from being taken from his grasp, nor "create" plays that we may need. How many times was the ball stripped from him? He definitely needs to bulk up.

Regarding injuries. Okay, I understand he has some physical problems, but lets face it... he's a baby. I know no one has come out and honestly said it, but it's the truth. Coach likes to camouflage it by saying that he has a "low threshold" for pain. In Vegas, any time Nate landed on the floor, the rest of the Ute players practically ran to hoist him up, before he got the opportunity to lay there and whimper. (I was there and have witnesses who will testify!)

Watching the NCAA tourney and watching ALL the big guys playing ball, Nate just doesn't have what it takes to compete against these tough guys. Marcus Fizer would eat him for a snack.

I really think Nate will be more of a liability to the team than an asset. Prove me wrong AND with no smack, please.

I am really looking forward to the Utes team next year, but I truly think Nate will be the weak link.

FWIW

kjd

Well, there's probably not much evidence to support MY beliefs, but here we go. Why should we keep him?

1) You can't coach tall. Any team needs a center, whether they have talent or not. And the more, the merrier. The Utes were really lacking depth at the position this year, and I'd rather not see that next year (i.e. Burgess will add height).

2) Nobody gave him a decent lob pass. It's hard to look good when any pass you get is out of your reach. Yes, even out of reach for a guy with probably a 7' wingspan. Also I don't think I've ever seen him in a position to drive for the basket... HELL, out of all of the players on the whole team, it seemed Hanno was the only one who would consistently try going inside. This was an outside shooting team this year.

Besides, I don't care if he has no outside range. Does Shaq have an outside game? Few (American) centers were taught how to shoot. It's simply not their job. And while Majerus is a good coach, I don't know if he ever emphasizes offense as much as defense.

3) I don't think he was THAT bad at defense. What I easily remember about the game against MSU was how much different the game was with Althoff in it. They forced the ball outside because, well, it's dumb to try to drive against him. Also he kept post players away from the basket. He's not THAT light-weight.

4) He REALLY looked in pain. I know Hanno played through pain too. But did you see that grimace on Althoff's face when he did that slam in the last game? Frankly, I believe few of us really understand how painful it is to have extreme growth spurts and the after-effects. Britton, for example, has his chronic knee problems, and I believe Burgess had back problems too.

Also, it seems that Hanno had the help of a knee brace and an elbow brace, and he could easily favor the limb by not putting undue stress on it. However, when your back hurts, there's no way to minimize the pain. I've had back spasms, and they hurt like hell. Every move you make, any limb you move, you're gonna feel it. You can't favor that muscle.

So I'll reiterate. When you finally have a chance to have a scary, tall team not totally devoid of skills, don't get rid of a key big man. If all else, I want to see if Majerus plays Althoff, Burgess, and Britton at the same time, just for fun. :)

Interesting question. For what it's worth, here's my answer:

The Utes don't have someone who can step in immediately and do a better job. Even if Britton Johnsen started at center, who would replace him if he got hurt? Jon Godfread is going to need some work and will likely redshirt, so that pretty much leaves Utah needing Nate.

Also, Nate's back problems were real in that they limited his motion both on offense and on defense.

I agree with you in that I don't think you'll see his numbers or his shooting range improve much next year, but they won't need to. There will be plenty of scoring from others on the team.

I do think, however, that you'll see a much more imposing defender in Nate than you saw this year. And with the front line of Burgess-Althoff-Johnsen, that is the key, and could turn out to be a pretty dramatic advantage for Utah. In fact, I would say it's critical, especially in the early going, considering the Utes will have a relatively inexperienced back court. The big guys will need to pick up the slack for a while until the guards get into sync.

Of course, all this depends on his back returning to full strength.

--UteRunner

Nate proved his value during the season by having a few games that actually made the difference between the Utes winning or losing.

Yet, he was seriously inconsistent. While I do not think he is expendable, I do think he seriously needs to look up the word aggressive.

He is not puny but in 50% of the games he played puny.

Is there going to be a big guy who knows how to finish on the Utes?... I cannot remember any since Van Horn. He knew that when he got the ball down under that he had to go up with authority and he almost always did. Doleac could do it and I have seen Nate do it but neither Mike or Althoff made it a normal part of their game.

My guess is that Burgess will present this strength move but Nate could certainly be capable of it. The problem is he takes an extra dribble or waits just a second too long. Get the ball and go up with authority. If you do not get the basket, well you will probably get the foul.

The good point is that he was a Junior. I mean I have, and I know many of you have, seen a meek Junior just get it all together as a senior.

However you can only grow and improve horizontally for so long. Only one person can change this to a vertical growth and that is Nate.

... I think Althoff is terrible. He has a scholie only because he's tall. He's not cut from the same cloth as many of your very good big men (Grant, Van Horn, Doleac, Cullen). In short, he reminds me of a Dave Bliss big guy (ouch).

In UNM's second game against Utah, Fraschilla's entire game plan was derived around beating Althoff (Möttölä was out). Whenever one of Fraschilla's "Dave Bliss" big guys (read: 6-5) got the ball, his purpose in life was to drive Althoff to the hoop because Nate's very immobile. In fact, Majerus began the 2nd game with a junk "box and 2" defense, but Damian Walker took Althoff to the hole on the very first play. Majerus dropped the zone and played man most of the afternoon.

The rest of your big men are fine as always (Cullen, B. Johnson), it's Althoff that's the weak link. For the life of me, I can't remember seeing Chris Burgess, but if Duke and Majerus likes him, he's probably very good.
 

Nate's not going to be the next great center in anyone's program, but he is very good at filling the role of the 5 spot in the Majerus offensive scheme. Doleac was able to knock it down from 3 point range but that was just a bonus. He's usually hit the first one early and then other teams would remember to defend it from then on. The real role of the center in this offense is to do exactly what Nate does -- get position in the low post for scores and get rebounds. Nate has come a long way from his freshman year. If he can get over the injury bugs he's just fine. I won't regret having seen that kid play his four years at Utah.

Go Utes.

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