Some Basketball Happened Tonight

[GameForAnyFuss]

Hi guys! There was a basketball game tonight, and I’m just here to remind you that we’re still a basketball school.

Just kidding. But if you weren’t there (and judging by the crowd, you weren’t), here’s a little primer on the team this year:

Firstly – and I don’t want to jinx the whole thing – I THINK WE HAVE SOME SHOOTERS! We shot over 60% and went something like 12/22 from threepointlandia. Bajema is everything he was advertised to be. Hunter Erickson is a quietly good shooter. Even Lovering has some range to his game.

Speaking of Lovering, that kid is legit 7’1″. He’s taller than Carlson. Just like Carlson, he could use a sandwich or five, but he’s going to be a big part of whatever success we have this year. He and Carlson both start, with Keita backing both of them up off the bench. We are a tall team this year.

Our best new players – by far – are Erickson, Bajema, and Lovering. Wahlin will get some minutes. He really needs a better jumper and a better haircut.

It’s a deeper team for sure. I think we’ll be better if we stay healthy. It’s an NIT team, probably, with an outside shot at the big dance if things break right.

Oh, and of course, FREE LUCA TARLAC!

[UteBacker]

Man, I’d love for the Runnin’ Utes to climb out of basketball purgatory. We better get our shizz together before we join the SEC of basketball conferences.

[Roy Rangum]

“But if you weren’t there (and judging by the crowd you weren’t)”

That’s gold! So funny. But glad to hear there are reasons to have hope on the basketball side.

[GameForAnyFuss]

Hat tip to Bob Uecker.

[Staples]

I also was one of the few that were there (like Uecker, I was in the front row) and I agree, there are pieces there for a good team. Erickson looks like he can be a scrappy role player that can shoot it some. He also looks like he could have been the third Reid brother, how did BYU let him leave?! One downside – team free-throw shooting. For much of the second half our 3-point shooting and free-throw shooting numbers were the same (12-22 at one point I believe,) which is both good and bad. I was hoping that Lovering’s showing was just one of those nights, but looking at his numbers from Colorado, nope, he’s in Jayce Johnson territory. He has a decent looking shot, just not enough of them go in.

[GameForAnyFuss]

I’m not sure what you meant by Lovering was having “just one of those nights”. He had 15 points in 18 minutes. Maybe it was just a case of the 7-footer feasting on an undersized opponent, but it’s hard to not like 15 in 18. I do agree that his free throw shooting is a mess, but he was really good from the floor.

[The Miami Ute]

I was at the game as well and was definitely impressed by Bajema and Erickson. Bajema looked like a player when he was with the Huskies, so I was very happy to see him sign with the Utes. Personally speaking though, we won’t really know what kind of team we have until at least the third game of the season. That’ll be an away game in the Charleston Classic versus Wake Forest, which is a perennial lock to make the NIT or NCAA.

One thing that, I think, really plays against the Utes making some noise this year is that, possibly due to a scheduling quirk, Utah plays five out of the last six games away from home. Not sure who signed up for that but, to me, it’s a major impediment.

[Staples]

I was just referring to his free-throw shooting. Like I said, his form actually looks decent so I wasn’t sure if he was just off, or if he typically struggled from the line. But overall I was impressed with him, showed some flashes of athleticism and seemed to have pretty good hands. He and Carlson are going to cause some problems for teams when they’re both out there at the same time.