Utah Picked Ninth in Pre-season Media Poll

Bill Riley Tweet

inevitably Larry will finish 8th to keep his streak alive of finishing higher than they were predicted

Is it just me or does the hype around this years team seem as low as its ever been? I think its even lower than during the Boylen era.

1 Like

9th eh? I guess that means they’ll finish 3rd or 4th at worst again.

2 Likes

SL Trib Article

2 Likes

I love a chance to over-achieve. This one’s been served up to the Utes on a silver platter! We have a chance to be awesome in our own way.

1 Like

If one thing can be said about Larry, and we all know this, is that he overachieves in conference. My expectations are low and once again, the pre-season pick is low. Inevitably, I will watch them struggle in the non-conference but then the team will find itself and they will overachieve in the PAC12 and I will be impressed. I should have higher standards!

In the meantime, I am looking forward to Night with the Runnin’ Utes next Tuesday.

2 Likes

Seems like the trend is finish significantly higher than predicted then an early exit in Vegas. We did get a horrible draw last year drawing Oregon who was far better than the 6th best team in the league at season’s end and was on the way to the sweet 16.

With 3 sophomores being the only significant returning experienced players (along with a senior who has not played a lot and a JUCO transfer) it’s a wild guess what we’ll do this season. Hopefully some of the freshmen will be a pleasant surprise.

Nico Mannion was selected to pre-season first team. Sure would have been nice to out-bid UA on him.

My expectation is that a coach in his 8th or 9th year probably should not be the coach if the predicted finish is 9th. The team may or may not beat that mark. Regardless, if the top players again transfer, LK needs to go.

1 Like

I am afraid you are right. Anyway, regardless of what you or I think, the reality is that if good players keep leaving, He’ll be gone. The excuse that “we didn’t want him anyway, he was toxic in the locker room” is wearing thin. If we keep offering scholarships to toxic players, whose fault is that?

1 Like

On the flip side, the Utes are the only PAC team to finish in the top 4 each of the last five seasons.

I agree, being picked to finish 9th isn’t good but I’ll bet they’ll finish higher than that.

I am not there yet. I care much more about where we finish than the preseason polls. I also believe many pac schools would rather have Larry. But I am also frustrated by the transfers. Problem is I don’t know the cause and get uncomfortable calling for a head when I don’t know the reason for the problems. To your point, repetition creates more concern. I would next like to see if Daniels helps Larry like he did Rick. I think this was a welcome change and very much want to see it play out. Myself, I am hoping for the best. This young team, the guys coming next year, and Daniels together have me intrigued.

3 Likes

Yeah, I am hoping that Daniels helps the culture. Hopefully, Larry is learning how he can improve the culture as well. If there are more top-level transfers, then Larry has to be held responsible.

Yesterday, I looked at 247’s public list of Utah best recruits from the last 15 years, and six of the top ten are on the team now or will be next year. At the media days yesterday, Larry said that he does not put a lot of stock in stars but that the team has a lot of high-star players now. Hopefully, the stars will align in the next year or two.

2 Likes

I have already counted the losses against them that they will be forced to vacate as wins. Does the U go back to the record book and officially count the losses to BYU as wins? Do they add an asterisk?

I wondered the same. Those games are gone.