Chris Seeley wants to make an impact for the Utah men's basketball team after sitting out last season

Very few situations during the season will call for Chris Seeley to leap directly over the heads of three people on his way to throwing down a slam dunk. But the fact that he was the only one to attempt that sort of degree-of-difficulty dunk during the “Night With the Runnin‘ Utes” event last week showed exactly what sets apart Seeley.

The 6-foot-8, 215-pound redshirt freshman from Fresno, Calif., put on a show for fans with his athleticism during the team’s slam dunk contest. He’s now looking forward to the chance to use those seemingly spring-loaded legs to give the Utes a Swiss army knife that can leave a mark in multiple ways.

“All I’m really focused on is doing whatever the coaches need me to do — rebound, defend, set good screens, be patient, play smart,” Seeley said at the start of preseason.

Seeley came into the program with an abundance of raw ability last year, but he wasn’t as polished as some of the top-rated recruits the Pac-12 Conference annually attracts. As opposed to depending on him for an immediate impact, the Utes took a big-picture approach with Seely. He sat all last season and worked on his body, game and maturity.

“He’s gotten so much stronger,” Utes junior guard Sedrick Barefield said. “He’s learning the game, learning the college game, understanding the system a lot better. He’s surprised us with his shooting from the 3-point line. He’s more so just developed a motor that if he brings to the floor, a lot of people can’t really stop what he does. That motor he has is going to be big for us as long as he brings it every single day.”

Seeley was hardly a complete start-from-square-one project. He averaged 16.1 points and 2.1 rebounds per game as a senior at Central High School in Fresno. He helped his team to a 22-7 record and made more than 60 percent of his shots from the floor. He showed the potential to have a larger impact than simply scoring the summer before joining the Utah program when he averaged six rebounds per game for his Splash City AAU team.

“That’s one of the reasons we recruited him — he wasn’t overly skilled, but he was an athlete,” Utes coach Larry Krystkowiak said last week.

Krystkowiak characterized the coaching staff as scratching the surface with Seeley and described Seeley as “probably our best athlete” at the start of preseason practices. Krystkowiak also echoed Barefield’s sentiments that the most crucial things Seeley can give the Utes right away is effort and tenacity.

“If he plays with energy — you know, that’s the thing,” Krystkowiak said. “We’ve had some discussions with Chris. Even last year, he didn’t play a lot in practice with injury — shoulder and had some knee issues — so this is his first go-round, and it’s a little bit of a roller-coaster ride.”

The Utes roster isn’t void of big bodies. Their top returners in the frontcourt include 6-10 senior forward David Collette, 6-10 senior Tyler Rawson and 7-0 sophomore Jayce Johnson. However, the Utes potentially may have a blend of length and fast-twitch athleticism in Seeley that boosts the team’s rebounding, rim protection and versatility the way Jordan Bell did for Oregon.

Seeley pointed to current Los Angeles Lakers forward and former Ute Kyle Kuzma as the person who had the most influence on him this past year while he sat out. Seeley leaned on Kuzma, a first-round pick in this past spring’s NBA Draft, as he learned the ropes of college basketball. Kuzma was the one he could go to for any reason and whatever he needed.

Seeley said the two had a “special relationship” last season, and they still talk a few times per month. Kuzma, who was often a target of a demanding Utes coaching staff when he first joined the program, played the role of sage veteran in helping Seeley prepare for the tough-love approach.

Kuzma’s work ethic also is something Seeley took to heart. Kuzma turned himself from a role player into a team leader and now a potential impact rookie in the NBA.

While Seely knows he’s got plenty of strides left to make, he’s also not shy about the fact that he feels like he falls into the Kuzma mold.

“We have the same type of skill set, except I feel like I’m more athletic than him,” Seeley said with a big grin. “Me and him go back and forth on that. Other than that, I think me and him are the exact same. Coaches compare me a lot to him, and that’s who I go to the most, so I feel like that’s just who I am.”