Official, Rollie to TP

[homer]

Wish him well.

Not yet official, but reading we may lose Deivon too.

[RustyShackleford]

I’m betting he could have played towards the tail end of the season

[D T]

Where are you reading that DS is gone or is possibly gone?

[NarfUte]

Deivon is going to test the TP to get his market value. He’ll stay if we match or are close

[AZUTE]

Deivon will stay if the NIL numbers are right.
I would expect Tarlac to be shown the door as well.

This is a big off season for Craig Smith. Roster needs a major talent upgrade to compete in the big12 but I get the feeling he’s just gonna fill the empty spots with more Utah St and byu rejects.

If he does that he’s already fired and we should start a thread on possible new coaches

[The Miami Ute]

I would make it a priority to make sure Devion stays with Utah. On the positive side, Utah can offer him definite starter’s minutes plus NIL. What he most definitely doesn’t want is to go to another winning team and have to share major minutes or come off the bench in his last college season.

As for Tarlac. I don’t know what Smith saw in him because he’s definitely not a Division 1 talent.

[Coreyc04]

Tarlac is division 1 talent. He actually has some nice skills to him. He’s just not a good fit for this program. Honestly he should go either down to wac or Big Sky level and he’ll be pretty good.

[The Miami Ute]

Brother, let me tell you something, there’s a big difference between the way things are and the way you wish them to be. Saying that Tarlac is a Division 1 talent is wishing on a star. I’ve had season tickets the last few years so I’ve seen all of his cameos for the Utes up close and personal.

He is as uninstinctive a basketball player as I’ve ever seen play for Utah. He doesn’t handle the ball well, he doesn’t move well on the floor, he doesn’t shoot well from the outside, etc…I have a hard time believing he’d be any sort of factor on the court unless he went down to Division 2 or 3.

[Coreyc04]

Poof

[CoyoteUte]

Judging by Twitter it looks official. Bummer.

[highlandute7]

Official
DesNews

[Ute Dub]

You mean you read on Utezone about some speculation?

[utefansince79]

Tarlac just never seemed to play consistently at the college level. Very surprised if he is still around next season and as always, wish him well whatever path his life takes him.

[Kellso]

That one is a head scratcher. I wish him well. He was an intricate piece of the rebuilding process. Looked like a slow PG at times, but his numbers proved his worth. I will miss him.

[concerned]

Rollie knows Hunter Erickson is taking his minutes next year. Writing is on the wall.

(tic)

[Utah]

Man, you want to know why fan engagement is down…it’s because you are telling fans to go pound sand. No open practices, no media access, no injury updates, no open scrimmages and new players every time the season starts.

What in all of that invites a fan to have a good experience? At least professional teams have contracts that can tie a player to a team.

[The Miami Ute]

I wouldn’t call his defection a major loss but I think that the team is worse without him. At a bare minimum, he could have provided the Utes 15-20 quality minutes a game.

[utefansince79]

Rollie was a consistent performer always good for about 10 points, 5 boards and 5 assists. Very seldom had an unproductive outing. Missed his own triple double last year when Anthony took away a late rebound from him.

Would be nice for him to stick around.

[RustyShackleford]

How are we feeling about Keba. When he’s playing well he’s a dominant force but he really fell off the last half of the season. Should we try and hit the portal for a starter that has more of an offensive game?

[The Miami Ute]

Keba has all of the physical measurables but is just not an instinctive basketball player and might never be. Fact is that there isn’t a single thing, from a basketball perspective, that he does really well. He surely is an impressive physical specimen and a team player and that’s why Utah, at this point, has no problem seeing him as a developmental project. I’d love it if he stayed to provide minutes off the bench but I just don’t see him as a starter without major improvement.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

Rollie is a loss for sure. He has experience and can play either guard. I’d take him over Erickson any day. He wants to play point and Smith is just better period. I agree with Miami on Keba. His basketball IQ needs to improve. Too many bad fouls and no face the basket game. If Madsen and Smith stay we need athletes at 2 guard and 4. Lovering is a ten minute a game player at best. We need a center that can score inside.

[Charlie]

I wish Rollie stayed, he has a better drive to the rim game and he can play with Smith in a 2 PG system. Keba will likely not ever be a starter but is an awesome bench option. Lovering does not have high minutes in him even if we tried to give him high minutes. Erickson will be better next year. All these guys, much like Smith, should realize it will take 1/2 a year to learn a new system and jell, something I don’t think is for the best in your last year or for best progress. Coach seems to be good for a good new face every year, he needs it to replace Branden. I guess we will soon get the answer to the Exacte mistery. Now that NIL levels the playing field with the Y we need to recruit again Chandler coming off his mission. I expect Wahlin to improve. I am guessing coach is depending on the portal more than HS for changes over the summer.