This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
As much as anything during Friday night's exhibition blowout of Division III Pacific, Runnin' Utes fans may have longed to see which five players would take the court first.
Their answer: Senior point guard Delon Wright, sophomore shooting guard Kenneth Ogbe, junior small forward Jordan Loveridge, sophomore power forward Chris Reyes and true freshman center Jakob Poeltl.
But don't get to used to it, cautioned head coach Larry Krystkowiak.
The lineup was based on the performance of his players in practices, and a desire to field a larger team, with the 6-foot-6 Ogbe and not the 5-foot-10 Brandon Taylor at the two.
"It's not anything to pencil in and think that it's necessarily going to last," Krystkowiak said. "There's a lot of guys that can play, and there's going to be some reward for — if starting is considered a reward — reward for having good weeks of practice, and I think we've got a little versatility with our lineup."
He said that right now, he doesn't foresee any of his players redshirting, and he wants them all believe that with a standout week of practice, they can start.
"I mean, I remember playing," he said. "I liked to start. It was cool to start. So I get that part of it. But with this team, we need to think about some combinations — some firepower, maybe, some defensive-minded guys, some bigger guys that can rebound. You can't put five guys out there that are necessarily your best offensive players, in my opinion. So, some of that's going to be deep in my thoughts the next week, before we play Ball State."
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Covering all his bass • After the game, Krystkowiak said he's still going through his mental checklist and worrying that Utah isn't ready for the start of the season.
He can check one thing off, at least: the band is following the gameplan.
Krystkowiak said he had breakfast a couple of months ago with band director Brian Sproul and suggested that the band bring a few more drums — particularly bass drums, as he's seen used to pleasing effect at NBA arenas.
"I just think there's something to a little bit of the low bass that changes the arena," he said.
He was going to follow up to see if they were warm to that idea, but heard the percussion he'd asked for during warmups Friday night.
"I've always thought the drums — it's kind of symbolic, I think, because our student section's kind of the heartbeat of the arena."
Under newly installed lights at the renovated Huntsman Center, Utah also turned the lights off for the first time during player introductions.
Loveridge said he was pleased to create the same intimidating environment for the opposing team that Utah has encountered, "because I know when we go on the road, and the team will turn off the lights and have this big intro, you're just sitting there, you can't really do anything. You just watch."
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What Larry liked • Utah made just four turnovers against Pacific. Krystkowiak said that at one point, an assistant joked to him that Utah has had more after 15 minutes in practice, playing five-on-zero.
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What Larry didn't • The Utes outrebounded Pacific 51 to 27, but the Boxers collected 11 offensive rebounds. This was probably somewhat the result of some errant Pacific shots (they finished shooting 22.6 percent), but Krystkowiak said that's "too many for them."
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Poeltl impresses • As during Utah's intrasquad scrimmage, those in the arena and sharing their thoughts on social media came away impressed with the Austrian seven-footer.
Poeltl finished with nine points, 11 rebounds and three blocks in 21 minutes, showing a mix of agility, skill and vision that exceeds the expectation from a young big.
"I have to say, it wasn't a very hard game, but I enjoyed the effort and the energy," said Poeltl, who at one point blocked a jumper without leaving the ground. He estimates his wingspan at 7-foot-3.
"He really runs. He's got a good set of hands. I just think he needs to get a little bit stronger," Krystkowiak said. "But he can block shots and do what five guys are supposed to do."
Helping him work on his strength, Poeltl said, is not so much facing Pacific's 6-foot-9 bigs, but battling chiseled 265-pound Utah senior Dallin Bachynski in practice.
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Chapman displays versatility • Of the non-starters, Roy High's Brekkott Chapman played the most minutes (20), pouring in 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting and grabbing five rebounds to go with two blocks and a steal.
Krsytkowiak described the 6-foot-8 true freshman as "absolutely paralyzed" for the first two minutes of the game.
"He was just kind of dazed and confused," he said. "And I said, 'Oh yeah, I forgot it's your first game.' And he kind of knocked the rust off and had a good evening."
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Reyes efficient • Less heralded than the freshman, by nature of being a junior college transfer, is Reyes. Still, he got the start and went 3-of-4 for seven points, seven rebounds and four blocks, showing decent range offensively and physicality down low.
He's "still figuring some things out," said Krystkowiak, but the head coach was impressed with how tough it is to knock Reyes off balance. His major need for improvement right now is conditioning, and four spurts of extended minutes will have helped him address that Friday, Krsytkowiak felt.
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Loveridge lights it up • It was a repeat of Night with the Runnin' Utes, with Loveridge missing nary a shot. The final tally: 7-for-11 for 20 points, including 4-of-4 from 3-point territory.
"[My shot's] just been more consistent, all the way around."
"He missed a couple bunnies or he's got a really, really nice night," Krystkowiak said, noting that of all the things he's been pleased with during Loveridge's transition from power forward to small forward, it's the improvement in his defense.
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Injury report • True freshman point guard Isaiah Wright was out sick, and senior center Jeremy Olsen sat because "his hip is a little bit flared up," Krystkowiak said. Olsen is expected to be back at practice after three or four days rest.
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A little late • Krystkowiak acknowledged that 8:30 is awfully late to start a game, though he felt the atmosphere — given that it was an exhibition game — was excellent.
"I know it's tough," he said. "Of my five kids, only two of them made the game, because it's a school night, and it's an 8:30 tip. I know we've had a bunch of little ankle-biters running around for a lot of our games that probably didn't show up at the game. So that's not the best thing, but that's kind of what you're dealing with, with TV."
— Matthew Piper
Twitter: @matthew_piper