Utah forward Jay Watkins was one of the big crowd pleasers during the Utes' scrimmage Wednesday night, showing off his athleticism while going up for rebounds and dunks.
Unfortunately for the Utes, it will be several weeks before anyone sees that athleticism again.
Watkins is out 4 to 6 weeks with a stress fracture in his pelvis, the Utes announced Thursday.
The fracture was found after Watkins woke up with pain Thursday morning and was examined by a doctor.
"Jay has excelled on and off the court and we are very disappointed for him," Utah coach Jim Boylen said. "We hope he makes a speedy recovery and we will do everything we can to support him through the process."
The 6-foot-6, 200-pound junior was expected to make an immediate impact for the Utes this season because he is one of the most versatile players on the roster.
"He is a different kind of player than what we've had before," Boylen said. "He has athleticism and the ability to play with his back to the basket and get to the free throw line. He can guard five positions, too, which is important. He is very versatile on both ends of the floor."
Watkins came to the Utes in a roundabout way. He grew up in Memphis, Tenn., then moved with his mother to Phoenix when he was a teenager.
He attended the University of San Francisco in 2006 and 2007, where he averaged 6.2 points and 3.5 rebounds.
After his coach was fired, he went to the College of Southern Idaho, where he was the second leading scorer, averaging 16.1 points. He followed his coach, Barret Peery , to Utah when Peery joined Boylen's staff in May of 2008.
Adjusting to Boylen's style was going well for him, Watkins said after Wednesday's scrimmage.
"I feel like I fit in perfectly," he said. "It's one of the reasons I came here, because I can play multiple positions, which gives us freedom in making adjustments."
Those adjustments, unfortunately, are on hold for a bit.
More variety
Watkins isn't the only player Boylen anticipates playing in a variety of spots. He is experimenting with several lineups to find the best combinations and to work the newcomers into the system.
"We have about 10 different lineups, but that is a good thing," he said. "We have bodies and competition at every position. We can play big, small, quick, with a defensive lineup, a shooting lineup and an offensive lineup. We have to figure out what is best for us. We can't do too much but we have to be good at a couple of things."
A starting five
Boylen has a tentative starting lineup of returning starters Luka Drca , Carlon Brown and Kim Tillie along with return missionary David Foster and Marshall Henderson , a freshman guard from Hurst, Texas.
Also pushing for playing time is freshman Shawn Glover , another Texas product.
"It's a dog fight for positions right now," Boylen said.
No votes
The ESPN/USA Today coaches' preseason poll was released Thursday along with The Associated Press poll. The Utes failed to receive any votes. MWC opponents BYU (16), San Diego State (8) and UNLV (2) received votes, as did Utah State (3) in the coaches' poll. BYU received 21 votes in the AP poll and Utah State received two.
Illinois, Utah's opponent in the Las Vegas Invitational on Nov. 27, is ranked No. 23 in the AP poll.
Michigan, which visits Dec. 9, is ranked No. 15 in both polls and Oklahoma, which visits Dec. 12, is ranked No. 16 in the coaches' poll and No. 17 in the AP poll.
