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Throughout the year, Larry Krystkowiak has met with Jeremy Olsen to talk about his role on the team — and the decline in his minutes this year.
In those meetings, Krystkowiak said, Olsen's message has been unyieldingly resolute: He's accepted his role with the team, and he's ready to help if called upon.
That time came in Wednesday night's sparring session with Washington State, as the junior put in 14 minutes with eight points, five rebounds and a block in the 86-64 victory. It was a little bit of a challenge to keep up with Washington State's frenetic pace, Olsen said, but he was happy to be on the floor.
"Washington State likes run to a lot; luckily I wasn't in bad shape," he said. "Once I got my second wind, I was able to catch up with everyone."
Olsen's evening was a highlight in a mixed bag kind of night for Utah's big men: some good, some bad, some ugly. Krystkowiak wasn't fully satisfied.
The good: Olsen playing well. Outscoring Washington State in the paint by 14 points. Getting some offensive production from Chris Reyes.
The bad: being without Jakob Poeltl, who had an ankle sprain he suffered against the Wildcats. Brekkott Chapman getting a foul on a technical — thanks to a pregame warmup dunk — before the game started, and fouling out before the game ended. Getting blocked eight times by a Washington State team not exactly feared for its size.
"I'm not pleased with the fact that we got outrebounded for the third time this year," Krystkowiak said. "That was one of the focal points for us, especially getting pounded by Arizona, 'Let's get back on the glass.' I wasn't pleased, necessarily, with our inside presence."
The ugly part came in the second half, when Dallin Bachynski missed a rebound and appeared to argue with teammates on the court. Krystkowiak summoned him to the bench quickly, and the senior center did not return to the floor.
Krystkowiak acknowledged the discord after the game, saying Bachynski got caught up in frustration in his first start of the year. He finished with six points and a rebound.
"I think some of our guys expected more out of Dallin and let him have it a little bit, and he started yelling back," he said. "I just wanted to make the point that's what a team does. When someone's not doing their job, this isn't all touchy-feely, nice conversation. … If a guy that has a look in their eye like he's not part of it, part of [what a team does] is bringing them back."
Krystkowiak said he hopes Poeltl returns by Sunday and Bachynski's frustrations smooth over. The Utes' bigs know their roles.
Said Olsen: "We just got to be more physical and block our guys out."
Olsen showed some of that Wednesday. Utah's ceiling may rise if the whole frontcourt can get on the same page.
Twitter: @kylegoon