I think they are actually better overall than last year though, and they’re just starting to really gel. Coach K continues to deliver, and prove the naysayers wrong. Many of us were concerned in the offseason with the loss of talent in Poeltl, Tucker, Loveridge, Taylor, and even Chapman, and the recruiting class didn’t do a ton to make us think we’d be able to rebound so quickly to the level we’ve been at in recent years. God bless that man.
Even as close as the ASU win was I came away impressed with Utah’s play. The Sun Devils remind me of Utah in Krystkowiak’s first season. They don’t have much talent, but they feed off Hurley’s emotion and play a gritty form of basketball. They’ll be in games that they have no business being competitive in, and will pull off another upset or two before the season is over. Utah being able to overcome a raucous comeback by ASU at home was big, and following it up with a blowout of a decent USC team is huge.
Sidenote to the ASU game; we were standing outside Wells Fargo Arena waiting for the players to exit, as my kids wanted a pic with Kuzma and Daniels. Andre Miller suddenly strolls by, so I grab him, and tell my kids they’re taking a picture with him. My fifteen year old blurts out loudly “who’s that guy”. Andre looked so dejected, and I was as close as I have ever been to violently laying hands on my child. He smiled through it, and afterwards I explained the greatness of ’98 while chastising her for embarrassing me in front of Utah royalty. All this after I spent the bulk of the car ride to the arena teaching them the ills of celebrity worship after I heard them discussing the Kardashians.
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