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It's mid-afternoon in the gym, and the Utah basketball team is working.
They're doing lunges with weighted vests and 50-, 60- and 70-pound weights clenched in each fist. They're lifting barbells weighing hundreds of pounds, and when they're not doing the lift themselves, they're shouting at teammates to lock out one more rep.
"Boom," Jordan Loveridge shouts over the din of metalic clanking and hip-hop, his exclamations in sync with Brandon Taylor's deadlifts. "Boom. Come on."
It's a familiar scene for the Utes, but in a new setting at the overhauled high performance center where they have twice the space they used to have, and they use equipment they never had access to before. They're also moving into a new $36 million basketball facility that officially opens Thursday, but they don't expect the culture to change. They'll still be sweating in practice and the weight room.
It's the same old work, but in a different context. After going deep in the NCAA Tournament last year, their expectations are in a whole new realm — not just from the outside, but starting from within.
"You know what it takes to get to that level of basketball," said Loveridge, one of three seniors who returns for Utah this year. "You saw what other teams did, you saw what the national championship did. You try to bring that into what you're doing."
This isn't an under-the-radar program anymore. Utah is likely to be ranked in the AP preseason top 25, returning four starters to the court from a splashy Sweet 16 run — the program's first in 10 years.
After losing to eventual champion Duke in Houston, the team came away with a new view on their potential: The Utes think they can do more.
"We had that taste last year, and losing to Duke, it helped us more than anything," Taylor said. "It was the first time we ever got to the tournament, and when you're getting used to something new, it's hard to calm yourself down. Now we've been there. We have the experience."
The Utes will start fall practices on Friday with 72 percent of their scoring production and 79 percent of their rebounding production back. There are certainly tweaks to be made after losing Delon Wright, an All-American who led the team in points, assists, steals and efficiency last year. But in Taylor's words: "The nucleus is back."
The nucleus is led by stalwarts Taylor and Loveridge, who were the second- and third-leading scorers, respectively, and bring dead-eye shooting at the guard positions (both were above 43 percent beyond the arc last year). Along with senior Dakarai Tucker, Utah has its first four-year seniors who played solely under coach Larry Krystkowiak.
The Utes also bring back 7-foot center Jakob Poeltl, beating out the NBA in their top recruiting battle last summer. The Austrian averaged 9.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game last year, and adding muscle and getting a contact lens prescription gives hope that he could be one of the best centers in the Pac-12, if not the country. Other younger players who flashed brilliance last year — Brekkott Chapman, Kyle Kuzma, Isaiah Wright among them — will look to step up into larger roles.
There are some questions to answer: In Wright, the Utes lost their best playmaker and self-sufficient scorer. To replace his production, they'll lean on their returners, but also newcomers including Lorenzo Bonam, Gabe Bealer and Brandon Miller. Players think the depth could be better than it was last year in the backcourt.
Another profound absence is in the middle: Dallin Bachynski graduated and Jeremy Olsen retired. Poeltl is now Utah's sole player who is 6-foot-10 or taller.
But champions don't make excuses — and make no mistake, the Utes aim to be in that conversation this year. In December they'll face defending national champion Duke, which ousted them last March. Becoming champions of the Pac-12 would be a start, after finishing tied for second last year to Arizona, and from there … who knows?
It's the same culture at Utah. But the Utes expect to play in a different sphere this year, one where anything is possible.
"It's a great group, they're a motivating group, and they're putting in a lot of work," Krystkowiak said. "Things are never going to be perfect, you're always going to want more, but I sure like how these kids work. We're excited to get started."
Practice starts Friday. The work has already begun.
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Utah fall practice
Last season recap • 26-9 record, 16-1 at home; first Sweet 16 appearance since 2005, first NCAA appearance under Larry Krystkowiak
Key returners • G/F Jordan Loveridge (10.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 43.5 3p%), G Brandon Taylor (10.6 ppg, 3.3 apg, 43.9 3p%), C Jakob Poeltl (9.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.9 bpg)
Key departures • G Delon Wright (14.5 ppg, 5.1 apg, 73 steals), C Dallin Bachynski (4.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg)
Newcomers • G Lorenzo Bonam, G/F Gabe Bealer, G Brandon Miller, F/C Makol Mawien —
Utah's 2015-16 schedule
Thursday, Nov. 5 » Cal State Monterey Bay (Exhib.), 6 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 13 » Southern Utah, 7:30 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 16 » San Diego State, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 19 » Texas Tech (at Puerto Rico Tip-Off), 6 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 20 » Mississippi State/Miami (at Puerto Rico Tip-Off), TBD
Sunday, Nov. 22 » TBD (at Puerto Rico Tip-Off), TBD
Friday, Nov. 27 » Idaho State, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 2 » BYU, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 5 » Indiana University-Purdue Fort Wayne, noon
Saturday, Dec. 12 » at Wichita State, 1:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 16 » Savannah State, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 19 » Duke (at Madison Square Garden), 10 a.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 22 » Delaware State, 7 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 28 » College of Idaho, 7 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 1 » at Stanford, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 3 » at Cal, 5:30 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 8 » at Colorado, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 14 » Oregon, 8 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 17 » Oregon State, 8:30 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 21 » at Washington State, 9 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 24 » at Washington, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 27 » Cal, 9 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 30 » Stanford, 3 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 4 » at Oregon State, 9 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 7 » at Oregon, 2 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 10 » Washington, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 14 » Washington State, 1 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 18 » at UCLA, 8 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 21 » at USC, 4 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 25 » Arizona State, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 27 » Arizona, TBD
Saturday, March 5 » Colorado, 7:30 p.m.