Who’s going to the ballgame tomorrow? My schedule is wide open and I’m penciling it in. Let’s go Utes!!!
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One glaring issue last night was rebounding. Alex pointed out in the post-game it was 27-13 at the half, after it was a point of emphasis before the game. He wasn’t exasperated or angry or anything, just pointed it out.
The final stats were Weber 52, Utes 49, so a pretty big positive adjustment in the 2nd and OT.
“Point of emphasis” under Majerus meant something completely different stylistically, and even with the transfer rules back then, we lost a TON of guys who weren’t into what Rick was selling, or how he was selling it. He could get guys out of Chicago, had a hard time keeping them here.
With the composition of the roster now, it seems obvious Alex realizes that guys with great fundamentals alone isn’t going to be enough. (See our team last year - easy to cheer for, not-quite-competitive athletically when the game was on the line.)
It’s a game of length & quickness and fundamentals, skill, mental toughness, effort and teamwork, etc. Have to have all those elements if you want to be successful.
I’m fascinated to see how Alex brings a 2025 understanding to the project.
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I was surprised about how fundamentally unsound our guys were at both rebounding, defending and taking care of the ball. Alex has repeatedly said that those are things they are working on, but those guys need a lot of work.
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Yep. And I thought Traore’s defense was particularly bad.
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I was noticing how we were getting killed on the boards. With just a few minutes left I looked up at the stat board and WSU had ten more than us. The great spurt at the end of the game made it look close in the final, but for 90% of the game Utah was awful at it.
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I used to love those old Sunday night coaches shows with Ripple. One favorite was when he had Buster on and asked him what his major was. Buster muttered, “PE,” and Marcroft followed up saying, “Is that so you can go into coaching after your career is done?” Buster’s face lit up like he’d never thought that and said, “Yeah, that’s it.”
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Similar interview after a game with Jeff Jonas and Buster. The guy asked Jonas what his major was and he said “I’m going to graduate school at Northwestern, getting a Masters in Advertising”. The guy turned to Buster, asked what his major was.
“PE”.
“Oh, want to be a coach?”.
“…yeah”
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Two of us old farts are meeting for the game. Don’t be a Darrel. Let’s go!
(Larry, Daryl and Darryl)
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I was manager of the Ogden BB team when Neil’s son Aaron played for us. He left partway through Junior year to go to Saint Joseph [because our coach wouldnt let him be a glory hog] and then ended up at Judge Memorial his senior year. I visited the McCarthy home once when he was on the team.
I can’t make it tomorrow, but I definitely make it to the next one
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So you were Walter Matthau in the original Bad News Bears…so to speak.
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Yes. It was Utah’s storied ‘76-77 team. I didn’t want to date myself.
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Basketball Commit. Utah Lands Commitment From JUCO Forward Zati Loubaki
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I noticed former Ute Kim Tillie is on the bench in some capacity. France has become a big source for basketball talent, it can’t hurt to have Tillie help ease the transition for a kid like Loubaki.
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Yeah, I remember Bruce Collins for sure.. One of my OHS BB teammates kept insisting I looked like RIchard Smith.. personally I didnt see it.
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Bruce Collins was a serious talent.
I remember looking him up way back then - “how does a player like that originate from Rock Springs?” Answer: railroad town.
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Smith was huge. I remember being at someone’s apartment and he was there. Massive man. Doleac-sized but not as talented, but in the Big Sky the combo of Collins and Smith made Weber tough to beat.
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18 point win, 5 in double figures. Looking better, keep building!
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Getting better. Better rebounding, but Utes are lacking some big thick players—who can play down low,
They play hard.
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What happened to the band last night?