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The @LKrystkowiak Twitter account is technically still active, and fans can tweet at it to their hearts content.
But tagging Utah's head basketball coach in a tweet is no guarantee that he'll actually see the message. In all likelihood, he probably won't.
Larry Krystkowiak is on a Twitter sabbatical this season, and he has urged his players to do the same. The No. 11-ranked Utes are aware that outsiders will chime in with their own insights, opinions and criticism as they continue their 18-4 campaign, but they'll be largely ignored.
After games last season, he said, players' phones would light up in the locker room — friends, parents and old teammates wanted to give their two cents, and players sometimes sought it out. Krystkowiak wanted to change that aspect of the culture when he stopped tweeting on Nov. 2 last year.
"I was just somewhat pledging my allegiance to our guys, and I was going to try to provide more feedback for them whether it was positive or negative," he said. "I'm trying to build this rapport within our group that any feedback that counts is going to come from within."
Some players still tweet and read their feeds, but it's clear that across the board, Utah's focus has turned mostly inward. At his Monday press conference, Krystkowiak avoided speculation about how the Pac-12 race might go, even as his Utes share the top pedestal with Arizona in the conference standings.
Thursday's game against Stanford at Huntsman Center is as far ahead as he'll look, he said. He's worried about the 16-7 Cardinal and their assortment of weapons led by Chasson Randle, "a really solid basketball team," in Krystkowiak's words.
Getting into the second half of league play heats up the guesswork on how the standings shake out, but Krystkowiak said he doesn't even talk about it at home. When he's watching Pac-12 games with his family and they ask which result would most help Utah, he doesn't have much of an answer.
"I say the same thing to my kids as I say to our team: 'Let's focus on our games, just cheer for the Utes,'" he said. "For the most part, our philosophy is to take care of our own little horse track."
Going insular this year has been a key ingredient for the Utes, who punished Colorado on Saturday in their third conference road win and seventh Pac-12 victory by 20 or more points. Every college hoops team spins cliches about not caring about outside perception — it's a little more true for Utah.
Krystkowiak said he doesn't enforce a Twitter ban on his team, but many have taken part: Jordan Loveridge, Brandon Taylor and Dallin Bachynski are among the Utes who haven't tweeted since the season began. Delon Wright doesn't appear to have a Twitter account, though one using his likeness has sprung up.
It makes for a healthier, more focused culture, said Krystkowiak, who added that he isn't immune to sometimes "venomous" jabs over the Internet.
"We're trying to provide more feedback for our guys, giving them a pat on the back when they need it, and kicking them on the rump when they need it," he said. "Hopefully they're trusting us more than what more often than not is a total stranger."
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Stanford at No. 11 Utah
P Thursday, 7 p.m. TV • Pac-12