There are only two things that I expect when I go to see the Utes play. They are DEFENSIVE EFFORT and HUSTLE. I can tolerate poor shooting, 12 turnovers in a half, giving up 40 points at home in 20 minutes, etc…. What I can not accept is the prima donna, go through the motion, got-somewhere-else-to-be attitude that was displayed last night. This team needs a serious infusion of HEART. The stuff that makes you want to practice when your tired, or do not only your job but the job of the guy next to you. This effort DISEASE was highlighted several times last night. 1) Down 6 in the second half, Kevin Bradley chases a loose ball to the sideline where he nonchalantly flips the ball behind his back. Lack of Hustle costs a possession and a technical foul. 2) On two occasions, we have players boxed out, only to let the rebound bounce on the floor (a cardinal sin in hoops). 3) Not getting back on D after missing a layup.

Players that had other places to be last night: Cullen, Bradley, Althoff, Spivey, Burgess. These guys owe me $10 and should take every boo directed at the team personally.

Players that displayed an element to heart: Jacobsen, Britton, Jeff (played a bad game overall but still hustled).

This team needs to develop a cutthroat attitude, the attitude of a Shark when it smells blood. I get a sense that some players are more concerned about not living up to there personal expectations then putting personal stuff aside to be a good team. Burgess would rather be your friend then your opponent (Have you ever seen anyone smile with the opponent more then him?), Britton gauges success by points scored, Phil Cullen can’t cover me on defense, and Nate (captain) appeared scared to say anything during the season.

There will be changes on this team next year, which may include:
Jackson/Allred leave on a mission
Bradley transfer. Bradley will not play point for Rick.
Cullen focuses on Baseball (I’m crossing my fingers).
Missionaries don’t return as expected.

In short, the changes that need to occur for next year have more to do with effort and role acceptance then talent and ability already on the team.

but your post mentioned a lot of the things I've been thinking about.

First, some individual players:

Bradley - did he even play in the second half? I'm not sure if he will be around next year. I know Majerus won't put up with his "'tude." Also, I would think that he and Hunsaker's relationship is so fractured that one of them will have to go next year. I hope Majerus can step in within the next few days and straighten this situation out because Bradley was the best player on the team this year and the Utes could really use him next year.

Cullen - The staff is going to have to decide what to do with this guy. He reminds me so much of Shane Knight who used to play for Roger Reid. Both are 6' 10'' guys who wish they were shooting guards. An outside shot is a great dimension to a big man's game - provided its not the only dimension to his game. Phil is still as skinny as he was as a Freshman. He can not defend the post, he has no post moves and he can't rebound. I still think there is a place for this guy on next year's team as a bench player who can come in and hit a couple of threes when needed. He should not, however, be the Utes' starter at the 4 spot.

Britton - I still think this guy has the potential to be a 20 pt, 10 board a game player. To do this, however, he has got to make a serious committment to improving his body and his shooting. He also has to realize that for the Utes to win, he has to get his points somehow.

Jeff - I don't think that "Jeff sucks." He has the skills to be the "consumate role player" (Majerusism). Its now time for Jeff to realize this. Jeff should focus about 90% of his energy on playing defense and getting rebounds. On offense, his only role should be setting picks and passing the ball to his brother.

Spivey - I also don't think that "Spivey sucks." I thought he did a pretty good job of running the team when the Utes put things together in February. I don't know what happened to him during the last 4 games. I still have hope for this guy to be a Tyrone Tate/Terry Preston type point guard.

Burgess - Overall, I was pretty happy with Burgess. Majerus said that he was not in shape when the season started, and I think all of his injuries really prevented him from ever getting there. I think if Burgess commits to developing a couple of additional post moves, and really works on his free throw shooting, he could be a 15 pt, 8 board player next year.

Jacobson - Ok. This guy is good. Hey coaching staff, how about running some plays for this guy?

I don't really have any comments about other players.

Overall:

IMO, this team will be pretty good next year if Majerus can do three things: (1) Teach them to play defense; (2) teach them to shoot free throws; and (3) define thier roles and make sure they stick to them. I don't think we need to have 7 guys who average 7 points a game. We need one guy to average 20 (Britton); 2 guys to average about 15 (Jacobson & Burgess); a couple of guys off the bench who can score 8-10 each (Bradley and Cullen); a guy who can pass the ball to the scorers (Spivey); and two or three guys who will rebound, set picks, play defense like sonsofbitches and only shoot the ball when they have an uncontested layup (Jeff, Caton, Puzey).

Well, that was too long. Even though this year had many disapointments, I still wish the next season was starting tommorow.

GO UTES!

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