Utah Utes must replace a ton of minutes as they return just two rotation players from last season.
Utah Utes
Last season: 2nd, 13-5 in Pac-12, 27-9 overall
Predicted Pac-12 Finish: 6th
Projected Depth Chart
C: Jayce Johnson (Fr)/Tyler Rawson (Jr)/Jakub Jokl (Fr)
F: Kyle Kuzma (Jr)/Chris Seeley (Fr)/David Collette (Jr)
SG: Parker Van Dyke (So)/Gabe Bealer (Sr)/Devon Daniels (Fr)
SG: Jojo Zamora (Jr)/Sedrick Barefield (So)
PG: Lorenzo Bonam (Sr)/Tim Coleman (Jr-JUCO)
Gone: C-Jakob Poeltl, F-Jordan Loveridge, PG-Brandon Taylor, SG-Dakari Tucker, F-Brekkott Chapman (transfer-Weber State), PG-Isaiah Wright (transfer-San Diego), PF-Chris Reyes (transfer-Pepperdine), G/F-Kenneth Ogbe (transfer-Utah Valley)
Strengths:
Kyle Kuzma took a major step forward in his sophomore season while Lorenzo Bonman made a significant impact as a junior college transfer. Those two Utes are the only returning players from a year ago who saw steady minutes. As a result, head coach Larry Krystowiak needs that one-two punch to be even better this year.
Question Marks:
With all the new faces on the roster, the Utes must replace 68% of their scoring from a year ago. At least one familiar face returns in shooting guard Parker Van Dyke who spent the last two years on a Mormon mission and was used in a reserve role as a freshman in 2013-14. Other than that, there are nine new players on the roster which leaves minutes up for grabs all over the roster. Junior college transfer Jojo Zamora is probably the newcomer most ready to play third banana to Kuzma and Bonam.
The biggest hole to fill is inside where Utah tries to replace NBA lottery draft pick, Jacob Poeltl. 6-11 Jayce Johnson was the highest rated freshman and could step into the starting role but will face competition from JUCO transfer Tyler Rawson.
Player to Watch:
While Bonam didn’t quite make the impact that Delon Wright did as a JUCO transfer, he was a huge part of Utah’s success last year. With Brandon Taylor graduating, Bonam should be the primary ball-handler and will get more scoring opportunities out of necessity.
X-Factor:
The Utah Utes will receive a boost at the end of first semester when transfers David Collette and Sedrick Barefield become eligible. Collette, a former Utah State forward, averaged 12.8 points and five rebounds per game in 2014-15 as a redshirt freshman. Barefield barely saw the floor in his first few games at SMU last season but should add some needed guard depth once he becomes eligible.
Looking Ahead to 2017-18:
With a re-made roster, the Utes should have a similar makeup next season which will help given all the new pieces trying to blend together.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/28 vs. Butler
12/10 at Xavier
12/22 vs. San Francisco (Diamond Head Classic)
12/23 vs. Illinois State/Hawaii (Diamond Head Classic)
12/22 vs. San Diego State/Southern Miss/Tulsa/SF Austin (Diamond Head Classic)
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Milwaukee to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet (Yup, repeat champ… #humblebrag), and finished with the second most accurate 2013 NBA Mock Draft (nearly a three-peat.) You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.