Posted By: Gilly
Date: Friday, 23 November 2001, at 10:45 p.m.
I thought Travis Spivey distinguished himself tonight, not only with a good game, but as the only senior who didn't throw up an air ball at some point during the game.
After a Burgess dunk (on a nice Spivey pass) and a Britton three pointer to
open the game, it all belonged to Utah State. They shot better, rebounded better,
and certainly defended better. On the post-game, Hunsaker said that three out
of the four years he has been her, the changing Utah State defenses have really
bothered the Utes.
Well, Coach, how about doing something about it?
Utah really had no plan of attack agains the zone, especially with Jacobson
having a bad shooting night.
After the last game, I said the Ute offense had no outside threat when Jacobson was not on the floor. Sadly, tonight his shot was off, and the Utes had no outside threat. Unfortunately, they couldn't figure out what to do agains the zone, and were forced to huck up three pointers late in the shot clock.
Koford came in in the first half, messed up a bit, and was done for the night. That was too bad, but it let Lance Allred get some minutes, and he had his best game at Utah. Got some tough boards, made four of four free throws, and hit a nice jumpshot going across the lane. In fact, I wish Majerus had left him in longer in the second half to see if he could score any more from the post.
Osimani played briefly in each half, and scored his first field goal (I think) for utah, but was then yanked. I would have liked to see him play more, but Spivey was doing well so why not bring him back in?
Jeff Johnsen and Phil Cullen really struggled and didn't see many minutes.
Caton did a nice job on Tony Brown, but he once again looked tentative on offense. Except for a sad play late in the game: Utah scored 9 straight to cut the lead to 5 points. Jacobson had finally hit a three, and Spivey hit a layup and got fouled. Next time down the floor, Caton took a three on the move that crashed off the backboard and pretty much killed the rally.
There was one particularly terrible sequence in the second half, when a Utah St. player made his first free throw, missed the second, and the Aggies got the rebound and scored and got fouled. Good grief, that was awful.
Pinegar is really good. Ahman is good. The two point guards for Utah State were really quick. It seemed like they could get past the Ute defender pretty easily.
I got a good chuckle on the postgame show when Hunsaker said Puzey had given them a complete scouting report, not only of Utah's plays, but of personal tendencies. Nice one, Dick. If you and Majerus hadn't forced him out, he'd still be at Utah helping win games like this. I also laughed when Majerus said guys didn't block out and weren't tough enough -- again, things Puzey could have provided.
All in all, I thought Utah played as hard as they could in the second half. They were just the slower, poorer-shooting team. Utah State is quick, and they can shoot.
The positives for Utah were Spivey - scoring, and playing Defense. He forced a couple turnovers late in the game that were unbelieveable. On one, he knocked the inbound pass right back into the inbounder, causing an out of bounds violation.
Allred -- he played hard and played well.
Britton played hard, tried to make things happen.
The team -- came out at the start of the second half, and really tried to come
back.
I know Texas lost tonight, but I get scared thinking about TJ Ford and Chris Owens running wild in the Huntsman Center.
We'll see what happens Monday at Alabama.
As you may recall, Koford had verbally committed to USU, but then in an act
of great integrity (sarcasm intentional), he decided to break his word and go
to play for the fat man. Well, USU saved a scholarship for a much better player
and Ewe are stuck with him.
Puzey did provide USU a great scouting report. He told the USU players and coaches
that on D, the Ewe likes to take out the best outside player and best inside
player. Well, the Ewe did take Tony Brown out of the game, but there were plenty
of others able to pick up the slack. Has Majerus lost his edge? He was clearly
out-coached by a team with 4 new players who have not played DI basketball until
this year. That speaks volumes about your coach and USU's coach. USU has the
third best record in all of Division one basketball over the past 3 years. There
is a new dynasty is basketball in the state of Utah.
Posted By: Official Bandwagon Dancer...with nothing
on but a thong (aka UteStar)
Date: Saturday, 24 November 2001, at 4:01 a.m.
Last nights game was brutal. But, I am not about to go crazy. There are a couple of reasons that I am not too nervous yet about our team. This team will need a little time. They should have not lost this game, but I can handle this defeat...Utah State is a very solid team. Gilly said it best earlier this week...10 wins in the preseason would be a nice beginning. There will be some stumbles, but this team can still be very good.
Some of the positives and negatives about this game:
Spivey. Could he have done much more for the team?...18 points (that had to be a career high), 5 assists and only 2 turnovers. Man, the Utes should be in good shape this year if he can average around 10points. If he stays agressive like that and penetrates the lane, this team could do very well. Problem is, now we know he can explode for a game like this and we will expect it more often.
Britton's shooting is fine, but he has to rebound...only 2 boards will not do. He should be getting at least 5 boards a game, if not more. He is also the key to get some key baskets. He needs to understand that he should be THE MAN. Until he does....
Butter still has the shot, and though he struggled, he still got 11 points and 3 assists. I'm not nervous at all about his shot falling in the future.
Burgess needs to be more active, but at the same time, they need to get the ball down to him more. 5 rebounds is not great, but I can handle that (he should get 7 a game though), he just needs to be more agressive and demand the ball and attack the hoop for putbacks.
I know that Jeff and Phil didn't play a whole lot, but I do expect more out of them and Caton who did play a lot. How is this for production from these three: 9 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists. Those numbers should be almost double that total for those three. And they are the veterans. They will step it up too, but it just wasn't there last night for some reason.
Really, I expect a little more out of Britton, Burgess and Butter in each future game. Spivey gave a little more than expected and the other 3 have to be more productive. Koford and Osimani just need some time to get comfortable in the system. I am still on this bandwagon...but man, that was one nasty speedbump to start the drive. Can't wait for this week...go Utes!
Posted By: Tville 24 (aka proud dad HoopUte)
Date: Saturday, 24 November 2001, at 9:35 a.m.
I think Stew Morrell is a great coach. If/when Majerus leaves I wouldn't mind us making a play to him to come down here. I also doubt that would happen.
USU played tough ball and their zone just threw us for a loop. Early the Utes had 3 three point attempt rattle down and out, and USU carries on a 13-2 run over that span. Had a couple gone down, we might have been less tentative to shoot later, we might have been able to pull the zone out and free up the middle, etc. Utah was exceptionally bad at getting anyone to flash to the middle and, in the few times they did, getting them the ball.
The charge call on Burgess in the second half was horrible and a momentum killer for Utah. It essentially caused a 6 point swing with a lot of time left when there could have still been a chance to creep back into the game by making up a point/minute or so.
I'm jealous of USU: They can recruit guys like Peniger. I hate to say this, but we have not had a player with that kind of size (i.e. muscle), quickness, and range for years. We're too lanky to compete with players like this. I'm not jumping off the bandwagon, but this is really a continuing weakness we've had for some time.
For now, I'm just staying patient and hoping we'll improve over the next month before MWC games start.
Posted By: Gator
Date: Saturday, 24 November 2001, at 11:49 a.m.
The good news was that the Utes had five returning starters. The bad news is that the Utes have five returning starters!
I said last year that the Utes were missing:
1. One or more dependable "go-to" "money" players
2. Tough, hard-nosed players on the O and D
3. Leaders on the floor
4. Players with "heart"
The team had some talent but was totally lacking in the above essential ingredients.
Even if you throw out last nights abortion (you have to because none of the Utes {save Spivey and Allred} even bothered to show up), one must conclude that this years collection of basketball athletes is just like last years. If you think I'm wrong, show me by player(s) and their consistent performance where I'm wrong. Otherwise shut up.
The sad thing is that I believe that the above intangibles cannot be coached. Players seem to have it or they don't. This team doesn't. They are good enough to beat the patsies and mediocre teams on the schedule (good for 18-19 wins) but that is about it.
I blame Majerus. He slacked off on his recruiting and this is what we got. I believe he is more interested in good SAT scores than tough, hard nosed players. Maybe his new zeal in recruiting will bring some much needed intangibles, but for now and next year we are stuck with the "Tin Men" (read Burgess, Cullen, the Johnsens, Jacobsen, Koford) with no heart.
Posted By: lilpenny
Date: Saturday, 24 November 2001, at 10:02 a.m.
1) Rick was outcoached. Obviously having Puzey there to point out our foibles helped Stu prepare for the game but it was clear that USU was better prepared for us than we were for them. Fortunately, Rick is rarely outcoached.
2) Utah always struggles offensively in the early games. This is partly because Majerus focuses mainly on defense in the beginning.No reason to jump off a cliff, they will get better. It is puzzling however, that our defense and rebounding were so weak last night.
3) Utah State is a good team and they played very well. They made some hard shots. They would have beaten all but the top 10-15 teams the way they played last night.
4) Utah does not have any 1 or 2 players who are strong enough to carry a team. Therefore, they need everyone to make a contribution or they will lose. Caton or Jeff Johnson needs to contribute at the three or Majerus should send Britton back to the three and try Cullen or Allred at the 4. We also need scoring from the bench which we are not getting.
5) Our zone offense was not as bad as it seemed. There were many occasions when the 4/5 guy was open in the middle, we were just afraid to get the ball to him.
6) Hard to blame anything on this but have you ever seen a game where we had as many in and out shots as we did last night? Jacobsen had three or four last night and Britton had several.
7) I think we can remove the toast label from Butter. He did a great job on Tony all night long.
Posted By: Official Bandwagon Psychological Therapist
akaUBlender <blender444@hotmail.com>
Date: Saturday, 24 November 2001, at 1:28 p.m.
I'm just as bent as the next fan about the Utes lack of effort yesterday and let's give Utah State credit for firmly placing their boot right in our collective backside. That was no fluke. Based on last year and this year, it's hard to say that USU is not the premier basketball program in the state right now. Nevertheless, let's talk about the Utes....
Enough has been made about the Utes poor performance already, so I won't hash over that again. But I do have a few thoughts....
To the person who called the Utes the tin men: to say that after one game is ridiculous. You are a very fickle fan and do not bother getting back on the bandwagon when we start rolling again.
To the person who said Majerus doesn't want to be here anymore: Rick had every chance to leave for his supposed dream job last year. Instead he stayed and has put together his best back to back recruiting classes in several years. I see no evidence of him not being interested in making this program successful anymore.
A few thoughts for everyone:
--Western Kentucky beat Kentucky, Hampton beat North Carolina, Ball State beat Kansas and UCLA and Utah State thumped the Utes. It happens to everyone. It doesn't mean we can't be good later in the year. We always struggle early, as many teams do. Upsets happen, the key is to get better as a result of it. We lost to Utah State three years ago and everyone was jumping ship, but we only went on to go undefeated through the WAC.
--Rick typically gets the team to bounce back well from a loss like this. With Rick on the sideline you don't see many uninspired performances lumped together.
--As for the players, they are not the best group we've ever had and they struggled mightily last night. But I will say we had a great effort from Spivey last night and Allred played well with his minutes. The others will get better.
Bottom line: There is a long way to go for this to be a great team, but we've said that many times before. We always get better during the season. If we don't, you naysayers can say I told you so, but I almost guarantee we will improve. Let's give this team a little time to grow before we write off the season.
Go Utes!!!!!!!!!
Posted By: L.A. Ute, Bandwagon Shock Absorber Specialist
<la_ute@hotmail.com>
Date: Saturday, 24 November 2001, at 3:34 p.m.
Thoughts while taking a break from work on a very rainy Saturday in L.A.:
This year's team reminds me just a little of the 1993 squad-- without Josh Grant. Now, that's a big empty space, because Josh led the team in scoring and rebounding that year, which was a good year, but followed the really disappointing 1992 season, when Josh sat out while recovering from knee surgery and the team finished 14-14.
What I am struggling to keep reminding myself is that we should have relatively low expectations for this team. Here's why:
1. We don't have any real standout "leader" players this year. Looking back at stats from the 90's, I see that Josh Grant and Keith Van Horn led the team in scoring, rebounding, and free throw percentage for three straight years and four straight years, respectively. Josh led insteals and blocked shots, too, and Keith led in three-point percentage for two years and blocked shots for two years. They were the monsters of the team, frankly. Then Andre led the team for two straight years generally and in many other stat categories. Since then, we have simply not had a comparable leader.
We will all faithfully wait for Britton Johnsen to emerge, for Burgess to dominate, for Spivey to run the offense, and they might actually do those things. But we had better not hold our breath while we are waiting!
2. Something weird happened to Rick Majerus and to the program over the last two or three years. He seemed emotionally/physically worn out or ailing in some strange way. I thought the end of the Majerus era was near. Now he's back, seems generally very excited, and had his best recruiting year ever-- by far. So go figure! It may be that whatever was out of kilter is now fixed. It may not be.
3. I think we are suffering this year from the effects of whatever odd malady struck Rick and, by extension, the Ute program. It will take this season and probably next season before those effects are past, and we start to really benefit from recruits like Chris Jackson and this year's big three.
So that's why I think we will be very lucky to make it to the round of 32 this year. Of course, I hope I am wrong. Time will tell!
Posted By: provo_ute
Date: Saturday, 24 November 2001, at 4:02 p.m.
i don't live and die with the early season results of the utes. i was at the game yesterday, and i did feel like mr. c's fun vampires were sucking the joy out of the huntsman center. but consider:
majerus has been away awhile. he's making his mark on all these players, and he will. it's not a team of uncaring dogs, and he will find those players that can and will give more effort.
these deficits (post defense, poor zone attack, etc) that i fretted over last night are all problems that can be fixed. so we don't have a single luminary stud? give them time.
if you had a team that was achieving below it's expected potential, who could you ask to teach, motivate and prepare them that would do a better job than majerus?
i first became a ute zealot because of majerus. i loved the way he molded his first teams into crisp, cohesive machines. it will happen this year, and seeing the unfinished product last night makes the anticipation of the final result all the more delicious.
provo_ute
Posted By: RaiderUte <raiderute@utahutes.com>
Date: Saturday, 24 November 2001, at 8:33 p.m.
First off, a big hat's off to Utah State. They are for real and if they do indeed get to the NCAA's they could end up winning a game or two.
On the Majerus "situation". I remember reading somewhere (may have been in his book) that he would make one more coaching move before he hangs it up for good. I still think he might do just that. Now, a lot of things Majerus says does get misconstrued. He's the Yogi Berra of college basketball, he may not have said everything he said, but I do not see Majerus ending his coaching career at the U.
Now, the team. I think the main problem right now is not having a go-to guy. There isnt a Van Horn or Andre or Josh Grant on this team to depend on. I do agree with Gator and that the current "Tin Man" assemblage isnt playing with any leadership or heart. However, it MUST be up to Britton or Burgess or Spivey or someone to take the leadership role on this team. There may be a player on this team who can, but I will believe that when I see it.
Overall, this is still a good team. They still can get to the NCAA's and play well in the conference. But right now, I think the goal should be twofold 1) win the Mountain West, and 2) get to the NCAA tournament. I may be in the minority right now, but I still think both those goals can be accomplished.
GO UTES!!!
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