This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It's Duke this week. Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke. Isaiah Wright can't emphasize it enough. All of his focus, all of his energy is keyed on knocking off the Blue Devils.
But there is a natural tendency to look ahead.
While Wright and the Runnin' Utes are working on their game plan for Friday, he hears it from his parents, cousins, old friends, college friends: Even as Utah sets up for its big game this week, there could be even bigger things down the road.
Seeing Utah's freshmen on the court has a way of sparking imagination.
"With us getting time right now, it's going to be a good experience in the long run, with me, Brekkott [Chapman], Chris [Reyes] and Kyle [Kuzma] — with Jakob [Poeltl], if he stays," Wright said. "It's gonna be a really good experience for us where we get older than our years for sure."
That experience has come in pieces, for sure. Wright got a combined 14 minutes in Utah's first two NCAA Tournament games. Chapman got seven minutes. Reyes got six and Kuzma played only five in the Georgetown game.
Poeltl plays the biggest role of any first-year Ute, averaging 15 ppg in his two contests, but his future is clouded by potential NBA options next season.
Still, the experience of playing in the Big Dance magnifies the urgency and excitement every second the young Utes spend on the floor. After Kuzma hit a 3-pointer against Georgetown in his stint off the bench, he was flooded with texts and Twitter mentions.
"It was a great experience," he said. "The atmosphere was unreal in there. It was pretty cool."
The season hasn't been without occasional frustration. Coach Larry Krystkowiak said he's had meetings with Kuzma, Wright and some of the other players who have seen limited action this year.
Kuzma and Wright, roommates and close friends, could be found expending their energy after games on the Huntsman Center floor. They took turns matching up one on one, taking jumpers and driving in for dunks on each other after nights when they didn't have much chance to take it out on opponents.
This week finds them on a stage with other rookies — Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones and Justise Winslow among them — who have carried Duke to a huge season. All of the Blue Devils' signees were in the top 40 of the 2014 class last year, and Utah's freshmen will be going toe-to-toe with them.
"It's going to be really fun for us freshmen to see what we can do with that," Wright said. "It's exciting to play with some of the top freshmen coming in, for sure."
With the exception of Poeltl, none of Utah's newcomers are major players yet. There's still time to grow into bigger roles in the next few years, and the Utes will have shoes to fill Wright and Dallin Bachynski graduating.
Being in the tournament gives the youngsters a taste of what they can keep striving for throughout their careers.
"There's not many people in the whole world who get to experience this. It's so special to be a part of it," Chapman said. "Coach has definitely set up a strong foundation for us to build upon. We lose a ton, but we bring a ton back. We just have to have some older guys and some younger guys step up, too."
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Utah's newcomers
The Utes got instant impact with freshman center Jakob Poeltl, but other first-year players have played smaller roles so far:
Jakob Poeltl • 9.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 69 percent FG shooting
Brekkott Chapman • 5.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 48 percent FG shooting
Chris Reyes • 4.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 48 percent FG shooting
Isaiah Wright • 2 ppg, 1.8 apg, 38 percent FG shooting
Kyle Kuzma • 3.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 46 percent FG shooting