Four weeks from Monday, the Runnin’ Utes will officially kick off the second season of the Craig Smith era, taking on Long Island University at the Huntsman Center.
Two Utes said they were ready to play a real game now, though Smith himself wasn’t sure. not.
Sophomore guard Lazar Stefanovic said, “I feel like we were ready to play a game two weeks ago. I think we were ready to play the game, and I can’t wait.”
“I like where we are. Compared to most years, I feel like we’re probably ahead of the pace. And this means more teams this year than ever ( I think it’s a direct reflection of what we do), so I like where we go.” — Craig Smith, Utah Basketball Coach.
Smith admitted that Ute was doing more live acts than usual. But play for the keep now? not so soon
“I like where we are,” Smith said. “I feel that we are probably on pace compared to most years, and this is a direct reflection of the fact that we are[doing]more things for the team this year than ever before. I think there are, so I like where we go.”
The Utes had 14 available players at Monday’s practice, the camp’s 11th practice. This is the most since the camp started. Smith said senior forward Bostin Holt is out with a “minor injury” and hopes he’ll be back by the end of the week.
Coaches said BYU’s Gavin Baxter, who is recovering from a serious ACL injury sustained last fall, could start some teamwork next week.
“Maybe not full contact, but some things are what we want.
Stefanovic said Ute are ahead of schedule compared to last year due to better communication on the floor, playing more freely and reading better.
“I think we are in a much deeper stage than we were last year,” he said.
According to Smith, the Utes aren’t tired of pitting each other against each other yet, but they’re starting to get to that point.It was Reported by watchstadium.com Utah will host Santa Clara on October 22nd at “Secret Scrimmage.” Utah’s other non-counting game is an exhibition with Westminster on November 2nd.
Smith couldn’t confirm Utah would play Santa Clara per NCAA rules, but he didn’t dispute it either.
“I know they are good,” he said. “Last year, the last couple of years, they have been really good.
Smith said he will have a “dress rehearsal, so to speak” before the scrimmage and treat it like a regular season game.
“I think it’s important for all of our new players and the new coach[Burgess]on staff.” .”
In the final 30 minutes of Monday’s practice (which media members were allowed to watch), it was difficult to determine what kind of expected fifth start. The guys moved in and out of the team regularly. The freshman big man Keba Keita seemed to get a lot of playing time and landed some surprising dunks in a short amount of time to gather.
Asked about his starting line-up, Smith said, “I’m far from deciding.”
He said it was “really wide open” and didn’t get any jobs at all.
“I’m not afraid to play inexperienced players if it’s going to affect my win the most,” he said.
At the end of each week, Smith would ask staff if they would play a game tomorrow to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, which players would start, who would be the next four players, and the final five or six players. Rank.
“From two weeks ago to this week, it’s been very different for a lot of staff, and there’s very little continuity for all six of us,” he said. It’s exciting.”
Stefanovic said no player knows that’s how he likes it.
“The way we really do it, everybody gets a chance, everybody plays and we all get knocked out by Sabu,” he said. “Every player gets a chance to prove themselves. No one on the team is guaranteed a spot.”
