Fan frustration isn’t a great place for a program to be, but it at least shows people care about the outcome.
Larry’s ineptitude has shot this program past that into complete apathy, which is a far more harmful state.
He’s gotta go, but it seems that the school can’t afford to do it. Crappy spot to be in, for sure.
As bad as the Ute’s lethargic play was, Walton made the game unwatchable for me. He just won’t shut up and is annoying beyond belief. And, OK, the Pac 12 is allegedly the conference of champions, we get it, after a hundred consecutive mentions. I eventually turned the sound off and watched (and listened) to the football game on my IPad. Loved him as a player but just can’t take him as an announcer.
Larry’s hit his ceiling. It’s as simple as that.
Krystkowiak was then asked about his team’s effort, at which point he took umbrage with the line of questioning that was unfolding.
Utah just played four games in eight days, the byproduct of the Pac-12 tweaking the schedule after its Jan. 6 game vs. Oregon State getting postponed with the Beavers having COVID-19 trouble. Of the four, Oregon and Colorado are among the class of the Pac-12, with Stanford not far behind. That unquestionably qualifies as a gauntlet.
“Not to make an excuse, but we just played four games in a week,” Krystkowiak said. “That doesn’t happen very often in college basketball. If there were a few shots that came up short, or maybe we didn’t quite have it, I’d maybe like to chalk it up to having a hell of a challenge ahead of us.”
Krystkowiak ended that defense by saying there aren’t too many teams that played four games from Saturday to Saturday.
OK, but for what it’s worth, Colorado just played four games in 10 days, including an impromptu trip to Utah, and won them all. Among those four wins were Oregon and Stanford.
In any case, Krystkowiak going with the four-games-in-eight-days defense is a tough sell. If the Utes were not in position to win those three games, one could maybe lean on the scheduling quirk, but that doesn’t play given the fact they led both Oregon and Colorado by 10, and Cal by 12 at halftime, then coughed up all three leads as part of losses.
I didn’t watch or listen, was busy doing odd jobs around the house and, well, i guess, i just really wasn’t very interested. My son reported they were up 15 late in the first half and I was pleased they were winning.
He mentioned later they had lost by 9 to a 1 and 6 Cal team missing their best player. I was disappointed but frankly not surprised.
This team is underachieving and the program is in a dismal place. They need to, but can’t afford to, fire Krystkowiak. He is clearly NOT recruiting and coaching at a level to maintain this program at any sort of acceptable level, given our history and the expectations of the long time supporters.
I’ve continued to say for the last 16 months, that I would give him until the end of this year to convince me to continue supporting the program and buying season tickets. And I intend to do so. I even had expectations that LK WOULD succeed. But the reality is that I’ve become so apathetic, that for all practical purposes, I’ve already given up.
It is now impossible for the program to accomplish anything this year that would change my mind.
There will be some very nice seats, center court, 15 rows back, available at the end of this year for season tickets. They’ll be available for the first time in decades.
I suspect they will still be available 3, 4, or 5 years from now when we change coaches, and begin rebuilding the program.
If the hire is good enough, I’ll plan to attempt to reacquire them. That is, unless the last 3-4 years, and the next 3-5 years, have turned my attitude to permanent apathy…
Utah Basketball has been my primary sporting interest, since I started attending games with my father and grandfather in the fieldhouse, as a child in the mid-sixties. This is sad…
If LK makes nearly $4 million, and you start a new coach at $2 million, that is $ 4 million of a buyout right there. If the buyout goes down to $6 mil after this year, that may be doable.
I agree with @sancho. Harlan has to find a way.
Is this a humble brag? I’ve had two kids play D1 athletics so I know first hand the work these kids put in for our entertainment. Maybe for that reason I can’t turn my back on them or the program, and pray I never get to the point of apathy. I get the argument: if we support a bad product we’ll continue to get a bad product. Fair enough. But because of our student athletes I just can’t get there with you.
Love the kids, and manifest that in my purchase of season tickets and Crimson Club membership. I just have a hard time watching poorly coached basketball. It’s too frustrating for me, and I already have enough frustrations to deal with every day and week.
I’m watching the replay of the game, Larry is right, we ran out of gas.
Our conditioning is not what it should be and I suspect it may be due to long term effects of Covid which I believe infected most of the team if rumors are true.
Everyone is doing the best they can given the circumstances. We should be happy just to be able to watch some basketball. A lot of us have been able to avoid Covid by working from home. The players and coaches did not have that option.
As many of you who knew me over at ub5 (utahsmrsports) know, I was a big time larry supporter. I defended his record against transfers. I pointed to big moments with a young core and assumed everyone would take a step forward of at least some size. But it’s time.
Since Larry is signed through 2023, next year is not technically the lame duck year that no one ever seems to see. Barring a miraculous run, the tournament is out the window this year. What would Larry have to do in 2021-2022 to earn an extension? It kinda makes me laugh thinking of it.
A salary reduction isn’t going to be on the table. Why not just start the new era now instead of waiting a year?
We should give Larry another year for the same reason we didn’t fire Kyle for only winning two games this season.
I agree it is time for a change, but I have a hard time with a buyout when the athletic department has furloughed people without pay & has also had to let go/dismiss/fire other people from their staff.
The buyout is $3M a year–so no way do it mid season. Before Monson wrote his column–I never read Monson, but did this time–so much for never–I thought he would get 1 more year to save another $3M. But my wife who loves Larry’s family read it & said it was fair & factual.
So maybe this is his last year.
Absolutely. Otherwise, just let his contract run out.
i read somewhere that the buyout is payable over time --something like $1.5 million a year for 4 years. You could pay that out of a reduced slary for a new coach. Maybe get a discount for payment upfront.
The real concern is next year–who do we have coming in? the one euro? Who might leave? Can you count on the euros coming back? We wont know until the end of the year, but i am really afraid next year could be very bad.
If true, that’s palatable.
Right. But I am worried about transfers if Larry continues as coach, similar to prior years.
Harlan faces hard choices. I think he needs to flip the switch on this one.
This set of sports seasons is a major blood-letting for revenue. That said, the Red Rocks have been outperforming MBB for a while now - and not on their living at the NCAA Finals. The only reason why WBB isn’t outperforming them is because the WBB Final Four LIVES in the PAC-12, and there is no way to out recruit U$C, UCLA, Whoregon and Stanford in WBB.
In all the years he coached us, I don’t remember Rick Majerus winning many (if any) recruiting wars. I do remember him quipping when prepping to play the Tar Heels that they were a team made up of McDonald’s All Americans, and Utah had player that didn’t have a McDonald’s in their entire country. A great coach takes good players and makes them into a great team.
Yes, I get the COVID thing, but the only way the Utes will see the NCAA Tourney in the next 5 years, sans a coaching change, is to sit their asses down and watch it on TV. Our record will not get us in. We will need to win the PAC-12 tourney and get the automatic berth to get in.
The other reason it makes sense to make the move this year is the immediate transfer option… this year.
I don’t think transfers would instantly make us competitive in the PAC, but it wouldn’t mean a complete start over with walkons.
If we get a coach who can generate enthusiasm, get some decent transfers and hit the recruiting hard… Utah hoops is a sleeping giant.