Keba Keita MONSTROUS DUNK

[UtesRule]

If you guys haven’t seen him play yet, you’ve got to watch the Utes, if for nothing else to see Keba Keita!
Open this article, if for nothing else but to see the video of this monsterous dunk from last nights game against Oregon State. 
Utah beats Oregon State

[utefansince79]

Had several thunder slams and a few crushing blocked shots last night. Not to mention his rebounding. Very fun exciting player to watch.

[AZUTE]

If he could develop a 15’ jumper along with all his others talents he’d be a lottery pick.

[EagleMountainUte]

Nice to see him start finally.

[Minnesota Ute]

Starting is for High School.

If you have a player that is foul prone, and no argument that Keba is exactly that, but that same player brings high energy and is solid to great on both ends of the floor, it only makes sense to bring him off the bench (if you can). When all the starters are on the floor, including Carlson, assuming Deivon going forward, Rollie when health, and Gabe you are not lacking for scoring options. So why risk him picking up fouls at a point in the game where he isn’t needed. Let Lovering gather some boards, maybe pick up a foul or two, alter/block some shots, and set some screens. Better to bring Keta off the bench to LEAD the second unit. Lovering is not going to lead that second unit, and neither is anyone else who isn’t starting. Everyone else I mentioned needs to start the game. He is the one guy you can spare so you have him when you need him. And when you have Johnny, Pajama, Ben, Jayden, etc. you NEED an anchor. Its a hugely important role, and one that Keba embraces, so for me, I wouldn’t fix that.

However, that said, IMO Deivon should never come off the floor. Unless he is in foul trouble, which he seems to play fairly clean, he should play 40 minutes every damn night. Period.

[Charlie]

I agree. A sixth man that changes the game the way Keba does is quite rare and he is more valuable there than as a starter. Of great value for Keba is to see how the game is getting called before he steps in. Let others play to define the preferences of the ref squad. I like how Smith was bringing him in very early which provides an opportunity for him to play the same minutes as the starters. I would much rather see him miss the first 4 minutes of the first half than the last 4 minutes. It is not hard to recognize the spots in the game as well as the closing run where Smith wants his best combination.

I could also see where Rollie is needed to help with ball handling. Smith needs more help there to be there for us at the end with energy. This will be more apparent as we face very good backcourt defenders. Oregon will be all over us the whole game and ball handling against them is never a 1 man job. Rollie is our next best option.

[utefansince79]

Starting because Lovering has an injury. Trick is that if Keba gets a few early fouls by an official with a tight hand and quick whistle, we’ll be limited in our options who to bring off the bench.

Hopefully our 2 starters can return healthy soon as we’ll need them heading into the heart of the conference season.

[Minnesota Ute]

[Kellso]

DO WE HAVE A PROBLEM Mr. LAWRENCE?

[pedro]

I have to give a shout out to Madsen on that play as well. That one handed pass was precision and in rhythm was also a thing of beauty.

[Rick]

I’m sorry but if you watched that game last night and think Rollie should start over Smith, then you need to have your eye examined. Smith is a better defender. Better passer by a mile! At least as good an outside shooter. Better penetrator and finisher. This also goes with Keita over Lovering. Although the spark off the bench concept is great, I think as the season goes on you have to give majority minutes to your best players, period. The starting 5 last night are our best players. There is no question about it.

[The Miami Ute]

In all honesty, for pure physical talent, Smith is up there with Keita as the best player on the team. Hopefully, Smith decides to come back next year during his fifth Covid season.

[Dallas]

He was beat pretty bad by Stanford’s Parisian player.