Official Utah basketball coach candidates thread.

[U-Ute]

I'm still thrilled that Jim Boylen isn't our coach anymore. I'm still not happy with the Krysto hire. However, I'm now glad that we didn't get Gillispie. I guess people saying he was a train wreck were right.

http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/e...83066/31496050

He and Henderson can be drinking buddies.

[Top Ute]

Bump.

Larry blew a great opportunity to over-deliver this year -- something all coaches have to do within their first 3-5 years to insure long-term security. Now there's the real possibility that this Utah team could be labeled an underachiever, which is fair since absolutely no one would have pegged a five-game losing streak from this team after the Boise State-BYU week.

[Donuthole]

Bump.

Larry blew a great opportunity to over-deliver this year -- something all coaches have to do within their first 3-5 years to insure long-term security. Now there's the real possibility that this Utah team could be labeled an underachiever, which is fair since absolutely no one would have pegged a five-game losing streak from this team after the Boise State-BYU week.

And yet, neither Giac nor Boylen ever recovered after over-delivering. Perhaps K is just smarter than either of them.

[Goatnapper'96]

Bump.

Larry blew a great opportunity to over-deliver this year -- something all coaches have to do within their first 3-5 years to insure long-term security. Now there's the real possibility that this Utah team could be labeled an underachiever, which is fair since absolutely no one would have pegged a five-game losing streak from this team after the Boise State-BYU week.

It is much easier to go from bad to average than it is to go from average to good. Larry is doing alot of good things but I don't think Utah ever descended to such depths before. Fan interest is picking up, the team has played some good teams fairly decently and beaten one decent club. There is no doubt that this past game was a huge step back but I think he is moving things in a positive direction.

[U-Ute]

It is much easier to go from bad to average than it is to go from average to good. Larry is doing alot of good things but I don't think Utah ever descended to such depths before. Fan interest is picking up, the team has played some good teams fairly decently and beaten one decent club. There is no doubt that this past game was a huge step back but I think he is moving things in a positive direction.

I agree. I expected there to be some setbacks. We have to have the one step back, two steps forward mentality.

That being said, however, it is critical that the team bounce back after that debacle.

[LA Ute]

It is much easier to go from bad to average than it is to go from average to good. Larry is doing alot of good things but I don't think Utah ever descended to such depths before. Fan interest is picking up, the team has played some good teams fairly decently and beaten one decent club. There is no doubt that this past game was a huge step back but I think he is moving things in a positive direction.

That about sums it up. It's far too early to start talking about "blowing" a season. Ludicrous, really.

[U-Ute]

That about sums it up. It's far too early to start talking about "blowing" a season. Ludicrous, really.

My concern is that the players lose faith after a game like that.

[LA Ute]

My concern is that the players lose faith after a game like that.

Yes. Krysko met with each and every player over the weekend. I hope those meetings went well.

EDIT: I think this team's biggest problem is mental. How else can we explain the free throw shooting against USC? Getting them past this will be a test of Krysko's coaching ability.

[Top Ute]

That about sums it up. It's far too early to start talking about "blowing" a season. Ludicrous, really.

No more ludicrous than saying Utah basketball "is back" after a crushing loss that, had we won instead, could've possibly led to a true resurrection of the basketball program, and not one you're insisting is happening without the requisite W-L to show for it.

You are the absolute last person that should be calling out others for speaking too soon.

[SeattleUte]

Nobody else but me saw this USC stinker coming? While losing, the Utes had achieved incredible moral victories, done things that were wildly beyond what reason said they were capable of doing. This is still the least talented team in the Pac 12. Even WSU has a kid averaging 20 ppg and a bunch of rebounds who can light it up. Our PG was a starter on a losing Eastern WA team. Aaron Dotson is a huge disappointment offensively. Bachinski rode the bench his fresham season at SUSC, hardly generated any stats. You all know about Washburn.

Loveridge is a thoroughbred. Thank god for him. Besides Loveridge, we have some true freshmen who show flashes, and may be developed into strong players Whittingham style, but truth be told they are just mid-major level recruits. It's right there on the ESPN pages for the world to see.

But through sheer effort (mainly defensive effort) and coaching savvy, the Utes came within a hair's breadth of beating BYU, ASU and Arizona ON THE ROAD, and then suffered a close but excruciatingly disappointing loss at home to UCLA. (By the way, look and see what Boise has done before and after the Utah game.)

Of course the Utes were going to be flat as the Bonneville salt flats against the only team in the Pac 12 with a losing record. Life is all about those kinds of ironies. The let down against USC was not hard to see coming. I dreaded that game. The problem is, even USC has talented players, even USC probably has more talent than Utah. There are no patsies, no gimmies in the pac 12.

Clearly our coaches can coach. They are doing a lot more with what they have to work with than the two previous coaches.

But yes, TopUte, this does not necessarily mean all will be well. I've said for some time my exclusive concern is recruiting. So far the coaches have not recruited at the level they need to, except for Loveridge. They need to recruit more talented players. They need to recruit substantially more talented players than even BYU or Boise or New Mexico have, in order to be relevant in the pac 12. Or else they need to be even more magical than Rose at making a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

Right now, with the players Utah has, even with coaches who can definitely coach, this team is capable of losing every conference game. We need better recruiting, or a miraculous transformation like Andre Miller or Jimmer Fredette. We need better players.

Maybe it takes a while after Boylen let the program erode to ruin, and then vandalized and burned it to the ground.

[UtahDan]

But yes, TopUte, this does not necessarily mean all will be well. I've said for some time my exclusive concern is recruiting. So far the coaches have not recruited at the level they need to, except for Loveridge. They need to recruit more talented players. They need to recruit substantially more talented players than even BYU or Boise or New Mexico have, in order to be relevant in the pac 12. Or else they need to be even more magical than Rose at making a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

Right, and the way you get more talented players is by the program showing signs of life. For this to happen it must overachieve on the strength of coaching, effort and a little luck in getting a decent player or two (Loveridge). We have had no signs of life for years. Finally, we look like a basketball program again. No one should be expecting that translates into anything more than passing the eyeball test at this point, which we do. As you say, the next BIG step is to translate this improvement into selling a couple of recruits on the idea that we are on the way up, they can play big minutes, and (Mom and Dad) if K cause these players to improve so much, imagine what he can do for your very talented child.

[LA Ute]

No more ludicrous than saying Utah basketball "is back" after a crushing loss that, had we won instead, could've possibly led to a true resurrection of the basketball program, and not one you're insisting is happening without the requisite W-L to show for it.

You are the absolute last person that should be calling out others for speaking too soon.

After the two Arizona games I said it was back. By that I meant they are playing good D1 level basketball again, the intelligent kind we haven't seen since 2004. I think even you might grudgingly admit that. I did not see the USC blowout coming, and neither did you, although I suspect you take some grim satisfaction from it. Really, the way people like you and Mr. Crimson have been clinging to your anger over the Boylen firing and the LK hiring is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen among people with a prior history of being staunch Utah fans.

[LA Ute]

I've said for some time my exclusive concern is recruiting. So far the coaches have not recruited at the level they need to, except for Loveridge. They need to recruit more talented players. They need to recruit substantially more talented players than even BYU or Boise or New Mexico have, in order to be relevant in the pac 12. Or else they need to be even more magical than Rose at making a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

Right now, with the players Utah has, even with coaches who can definitely coach, this team is capable of losing every conference game. We need better recruiting, or a miraculous transformation like Andre Miller or Jimmer Fredette. We need better players.

Maybe it takes a while after Boylen let the program erode to ruin....

You're right. Even Majerus needed a couple of years of success before the Van Horns and Millers started coming, and even they had special circumstances (UCLA overlooked Van Horn and Miller was a Prop 48). Right now Krysko is pulling off a decent-looking program with smart, high-character players who are buying into his system. But when they are up against teams with 4 or 5 Loveridge-level players, and those guys get hot, there's little the Utes can do. So the issue is he reality of our talent situation, not the coaching. Anyone who is not willfully blind can see that LK was a good hire.

[MartyFunkhouser]

You're right. Even Majerus needed a couple of years of success before the Van Horns and Millers started coming, and even they had special circumstances (UCLA overlooked Van Horn and Miller was a Prop 48). Right now Krysko is pulling off a decent-looking program with smart, high-character players who are buying into his system. But when they are up against teams with 4 or 5 Loveridge-level players, and those guys get hot, there's little the Utes can do. So the issue is he reality of our talent situation, not the coaching. Anyone who is not willfully blind can see that LK was a good hire.

Except that recruiting is also his job and the talent problems in the program are on him. Look no further than Mark Gottfried at NC State to see how a program can be turned around quickly. Larry K doesn't deserve credit for losing games. We lost to Arizona. We lost to ASU. Those games are not positives.

[LA Ute]

Except that recruiting is also his job and the talent problems in the program are on him. Look no further than Mark Gottfried at NC State to see how a program can be turned around quickly. Larry K doesn't deserve credit for losing games. We lost to Arizona. We lost to ASU. Those games are not positives.

I disagree to the extent you are saying LK can't recruit. i don't think a coach can get PAC-12 level recruits simply by being a good salesman. You've got to have a credible program that is attractive, and LK hasn't had that yet. Even so, there's evidence he can sell. Loveridge was a huge get that amazed and impressed everyone, because there was no reason for Jordan to come to Utah. Gottfried's selling a much different product than LK is, so the comparison is not apples to apples. Not even close.