2012- 2013 Utah Basketball Preview

New Faces, New Expectations

            
            This Wednesday, October 24^th the University of Utah basketball team will kick off their 2012-2013 season with “Runnin’ Utes Night” at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.  This will be a scrimmage free to fans and will start at 7 p.m.  For the casual Utah basketball fan, this scrimmage can serve as an opportunity to get to know the names and faces of almost an entirely new team.

            Despite the 6-25 record from last season, these new faces provide promise and hope for the upcoming year.  Over the past year, the Runnin’ Utes have gotten big men, playmakers, and guys who they hope can provide consistent outside shooting.  These are all areas where the Utes struggled last season.  Look everywhere from transfers, to JUCOS, to incoming freshman to all make an immediate impact on this year's squad.

            Let us not forget the big man, Jason Washburn, whose game seemed grow as the season prolonged last year, as he ended up being the Utes leading scorer, rebounder, and shot blocker.  The senior had little to no help in the post last season, being the only player on the team over 6’7.  However, this year will be different with help from Renan Lenz, a 6’9 forward and Brazilian native, who will give assistance to Washburn at the center position and provide size when he plays the power forward spot.

            Freshman, Jordan Loveridge, who is possibly the most anticipated player for the upcoming season, was an ESPN Top 100 recruit and is the program's highest-rated recruit in recent memory.  Many Utah fans hope Loveridge will help restore the program to its old winning ways in his years up on the Hill.  It looks like this year Loveridge will spend a majority of his time at power forward due to the injury and loss of big man David Foster, who re-injured his foot in preseason practices and will have to miss the entire 2012-2013 campaign.

There is certainly no shortage of wing players this year for the Runnin’ Utes. Junior, Aaron Dotson will most likely fill one wing spot to add athleticism, experience, and maturity to the team.  As a freshman at LSU, Dotson started 17 games, then as a sophomore started 21 more before transferring to Utah.  Senior, Jarred DuBois, who transferred to Utah as graduate student from Loyola Marymount University, will mostly likely fill the other wing.  DuBois will help offensively, as he averaged double-digit points in the three full seasons at LMU, and defensively with his aggressive parameter defense.  He may also see time at point guard in some situations.  There are several other players who could see time as a wing, including freshman Justin Seymour, a natural scorer and deep threat, freshman Dakarai Tucker, a long and athletic young talent, and senior Cedric Martin, who started 31 games for the Runnin’ Utes last season and shot 37% from behind the arc.

            One of the biggest areas the Utes struggled last season was the lack of a floor general.  The team struggled not having someone who could create for others, set up the offense, or handle the ball without turning it over.  The unquestioned answer to these problems is transfer point guard Glen Dean.  The junior is a transfer from Eastern Washington University where he led the team in scoring and assists both his freshman and sophomore year.  He was named Big Sky freshman of the year, and his sophomore year he averaged 13.3 points and 4.2 assists per game and shot 41% from three-point land while earning a second-team All-Big Sky Conference selection.  Dean looks to be close to being back to full strength after having brain surgery last December to repair a ruptured blood vessel in his brain.  Freshman, Brandon Taylor may also see some time as the point guard.

            Expect Coach Larry Krystkowiak to have this team solid fundamentally and playing with tremendous effort.  Despite the poor record last season, the team was very good defensively.  It appears through the first few days of practice, defense has been the main focus yet again.  The Runnin’ Utes will open with an exhibition game Friday, November 2^nd at the Huntsman Center at 7 p.m. against Simon Fraser, then will have their first regular season game at the Huntsman Center on Friday, November 9^th versus Williamette.  The Utes will continue against a fairly weak non-conference schedule until they start playing the powers of the PAC-12 in early January.

            Regardless of the performance of the team on the court, no team in the country can match the Utes performance off the court.  Starting in July, senior Jarred DuBois and others began making and delivering sandwiches to the homeless in Pioneer Park.  With coaches and media unaware, more and more players started going and dropping off sandwiches and it became a tradition for the team every Sunday afternoon.  These actions show the caliber of people these players are.  We should be proud they are representing not only the basketball program, but also the University.

Be sure to follow @TheMUSS on Twitter for information regarding the upcoming season!

Brad Kiernan (@hibachi2200)