Utes vs. Huskies

[LA Ute]

Only a fool would try to diminish last night's win. Bigger fools come in the form of people who would expect others to downplay it.

Not so fast, mon frère. Some BYU fans have already done so. Q.E.D.*

What do you think of my theory that this Utah team's biggest problem (in term of problems that can be resolved in relatively short order, as opposed to talent and experience, which take time) was mental? They seemed so snake bit in the USC and WSU games that I was worried they might not recover this season. Now there are grounds for hope that we'll see some more wins, although I have given up on any post-season action for these Utes.

One of my own pet theories is that a confident team makes its free throws, assuming they've been practicing the shots. I think Majerus used to say that. So I'll be watching to see if that improves in difficult game situations. It was a little shaky last night.

*And if you'll forgive my snarkiness in my "nor can I" post, I'll forgive the name-calling.

[LA Ute]

LA, you're full of crap.

What part of "I think Taylor deserves great props" do you disagree with? I think he may well be starting at PG for most of his 4 years at Utah (or however long he plays). I'm probably less willing to predict the future definitively than you are.

I was six feet from the team the whole game. I can't say enough good things about Taylor. He has a lot more potential than Soto. He's dangerous from anywhere on the court offensively, and a great penetrator, and also runs the motion offense like nobody we've seen since Mark Jackson. He had 19 points and six assists playing 35 minutes against a really athletic team. After the game Romar said that Washington had no answer for Utah's pick and roll, and Taylor was the biggest part of that, leveraging the big bodies setting the hard picks.

The players respect him, and you can see on his face the self confidence radiating, that he's an assassin. During one timeout Syemour came over and affectionately mussed his hair. The players knew Taylor was their general, the guy who was making it all happen for them. His last steal after the Washington timeout was the dagger in the heart. I love that kid.

I can't help but think that if our coaches had early on just taken a chance on him like Pete Carroll did Russel Wilson, we'd be in a better W-L place right now. This is not the first time he has been dominant.

I don't disagree with any of this, so I humbly apply for a statement that at the very least, I am less full of crap than you seem to think.

[il Padrino Ute]

The handsome brow in the bottom left of that pic is me.

I thought I saw you on tv last night. It must have been fun to be there. High five for being there supporting the good guys!

[LA Ute]

Krysko's post-game interview is interesting. He has lots of good things to say about Taylor.

http://espn.kall700sports.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Larry-Krystkowiak-Post-Game-1-19.mp3

Here's the post-game interview wth Brandon Taylor:

http://espn.kall700sports.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Brandon-Taylor-Post-Game-1-19-13.mp3

Sounds like a nice, intelligent kid.

[Top Ute]

Not so fast, mon frère. Some BYU fans have already done so. Q.E.D.*

What do you think of my theory that this Utah team's biggest problem (in term of problems that can be resolved in relatively short order, as opposed to talent and experience, which take time) was mental? They seemed so snake bit in the USC and WSU games that I was worried they might not recover this season. Now there are grounds for hope that we'll see some more wins, although I have given up on any post-season action for these Utes.

One of my own pet theories is that a confident team makes its free throws, assuming they've been practicing the shots. I think Majerus used to say that. So I'll be watching to see if that improves in difficult game situations. It was a little shaky last night.

*And if you'll forgive my snarkiness in my "nor can I" post, I'll forgive the name-calling.

After BYU this was the most I've seen Utah this year. Knowing full well our history of second half chokes and losses where we couldn't convert late, I expected to see the team tighten up late. Mostly, I saw a team that was loose and composed. Letting Jordan have the ball and beat his man late was the trust we should have given him 10 games sooner. Throw Taylor into the mix and the long term prognosis for this team is actually favorable.

[SeattleUte]

After BYU this was the most I've seen Utah this year. Knowing full well our history of second half chokes and losses where we couldn't convert late, I expected to see the team tighten up late. Mostly, I saw a team that was loose and composed. Letting Jordan have the ball and beat his man late was the trust we should have given him 10 games sooner. Throw Taylor into the mix and the long term prognosis for this team is actually favorable.

Maybe the difference was Taylor. In the Husky post-game show Romar bashed his team's defenisive effort and the interviewer suggested that the Utes had a hot hand. But I saw a hard fought game on both sides, and I wasn't seeing any crazy Ute shots go in. What I saw was that the Utes were just running plays, with Taylor at the helm, and making mostly short jumpers, layups and a little bit of dunking. That translates into high percentage. Taylor's tripple threat of ball handling, shooting and passing ability was devastating (he made the Utes' only threes, 3-5). Romar needs to look at himself in the mirror.

It's unfortunate that Taylor was riding the pine in the last few minutes of ASU, AZ and BYU.

Also, defense. Wilcox was 4-11, some late in the game; 0-2 at half. Romar said Utah ganged up on him and dared the next best players, Gaddy and Sugges, to beat them. Those two were 6-25.

[LA Ute]

It's unfortunate that Taylor was riding the pine in the last few minutes of ASU, AZ and BYU.

I don't know, but people who've attended practice this year say that in the early going this season it seemed to take Taylor a while to catch on to the system and to D1 ball. If that's true it's not surprising at all. I think it's actually a good sign of player development and speaks very well of Taylor. Bachinsky and Seymour, OTOH, seem to have hit some bumps in the road. Here's hoping that Taylor is our first real point guard since - who? Maybe Marc Jackson is the most recent.

[hostile]

Maybe the difference was Taylor. In the Husky post-game show Romar bashed his team's defenisive effort and the interviewer suggested that the Utes had a hot hand. But I saw a hard fought game on both sides, and I wasn't seeing any crazy Ute shots go in. What I saw was that the Utes were just running plays, with Taylor at the helm, and making mostly short jumpers, layups and a little bit of dunking. That translates into high percentage. Taylor's tripple threat of ball handling, shooting and passing ability was devastating (he made the Utes' only threes, 3-5). Romar needs to look at himself in the mirror.

It's unfortunate that Taylor was riding the pine in the last few minutes of ASU, AZ and BYU.

Also, defense. Wilcox was 4-11, some late in the game; 0-2 at half. Romar said Utah ganged up on him and dared the next best players, Gaddy and Sugges, to beat them. Those two were 6-25.

Taylor had a couple of well-defended jumpers, including one three, that went in. Other than that you are correct. It was nice to see them take and make open jumpers as well as run the offense to generate layups. Taylor's ability to handle the ball and make other defenders help was fun to watch.

[Scratch]

Taylor had a couple of well-defended jumpers, including one three, that went in. Other than that you are correct. It was nice to see them take and make open jumpers as well as run the offense to generate layups. Taylor's ability to handle the ball and make other defenders help was fun to watch.

The one thing I was wondering about Taylor was why UW didn't really try to take advantage of his size, especially when he and Dean were out there together (along those lines, I was shocked that Wilcox didn't post Dean up at all; Dean was on him for a lot of the night). I wonder if Romar is just so mediocre with the Xs and Os that he didn't jump on it, and I wonder if we see more of that going forward given Krystko's strong preference for playing man.

[Top Ute]

Maybe the difference was Taylor. In the Husky post-game show Romar bashed his team's defenisive effort and the interviewer suggested that the Utes had a hot hand. But I saw a hard fought game on both sides, and I wasn't seeing any crazy Ute shots go in. What I saw was that the Utes were just running plays, with Taylor at the helm, and making mostly short jumpers, layups and a little bit of dunking. That translates into high percentage. Taylor's tripple threat of ball handling, shooting and passing ability was devastating (he made the Utes' only threes, 3-5). Romar needs to look at himself in the mirror.

It's unfortunate that Taylor was riding the pine in the last few minutes of ASU, AZ and BYU.

Also, defense. Wilcox was 4-11, some late in the game; 0-2 at half. Romar said Utah ganged up on him and dared the next best players, Gaddy and Sugges, to beat them. Those two were 6-25.

Well, we're not going to shoot 60 percent every time out, even if Andre Miller came back and played for us. So there is something to that, although most of our shots were good shots, as you noted.

I think Larry was beholden to Dean, and still might be to a degree. I think the big loser in all of this is Dubois. He'll still get minutes, but they'll come at Taylor's expense. Even late, when Dubois' foul trouble was no longer an issue, we were running a Taylor-Dean backcourt with good success.

In the future, when we need a basket, both should defer to Loveridge. That's where we should go iso, give him the rock and tell everyone to get out of the way.

[LA Ute]

Well, we're not going to shoot 60 percent every time out, even if Andre Miller came back and played for us. So there is something to that, although most of our shots were good shots, as you noted.

I think Larry was beholden to Dean, and still might be to a degree. I think the big loser in all of this is Dubois. He'll still get minutes, but they'll come at Taylor's expense. Even late, when Dubois' foul trouble was no longer an issue, we were running a Taylor-Dean backcourt with good success.

In the future, when we need a basket, both should defer to Loveridge. That's where we should go iso, give him the rock and tell everyone to get out of the way.

It is encouraging to see that the two guys who inspire the most confidence - the guys we want to have the ball when we need a bucket - are two true freshmen. Cool.

[U-Ute]

Well, we're not going to shoot 60 percent every time out, even if Andre Miller came back and played for us. So there is something to that, although most of our shots were good shots, as you noted.

I think Larry was beholden to Dean, and still might be to a degree. I think the big loser in all of this is Dubois. He'll still get minutes, but they'll come at Taylor's expense. Even late, when Dubois' foul trouble was no longer an issue, we were running a Taylor-Dean backcourt with good success.

In the future, when we need a basket, both should defer to Loveridge. That's where we should go iso, give him the rock and tell everyone to get out of the way.

You are right about Loveridge. Between his strength when penetrating, and his ability to shoot the 3, he is an extremely tough matchup, but I think our best option when we need a bucket is Washburn. He is unstoppable on the low blocks right now. Between that jump hook and the face up 10' jumper, you have to double him, and teams will from here on out. USC and UCLA did a good job of doubling him and it worked out well for them. We just stopped giving him the ball in the Wazzu game. UW tried to single him with their shot blocker, N'Diaye, and Washburn destroyed him. We should be able to take advantage of that double team.

I'd like to see a nice 2 man game set with Loveridge and Washburn. I think that would be difficult to stop.