It is a fact that Josh Grant leads the University of Utah basketball team in five major statistical categories and is second in three others. He is undoubtedly one of the best and most versatile players in
the Western Athletic Conference, able to post-up, bury the trey, rebound, block shots, dribble and drive. At times he dominates every aspect of a game.And yet these days Grant can't crack Utah's starting lineup.
When Utah takes the court for tonight's rematch with BYU (tipoff: 7:35) in Salt Lake City, Grant will be on the bench, barring any last-minute changes. He'll stay there for some five minutes before he gets called into the game, accompanied as always by his little sidekick, Jimmy Soto.
By now it's a familiar scene. The last time Grant started a game was the 65-49 blowout loss to BYU in Provo. Since then Grant has been converted into a sixth man, and Utah, 13-9, has been converted into a winner. The Utes have won four consecutive games, beating two of the WAC's top teams, Hawaii and Colorado State.
Utah coach Joe Cravens is convinced that Utah is a better team with Grant coming off the bench. Grant is uncertain what to make of the change.
"I don't know if I like it or not," he says. "Deep down everyone wants to start. There's an unspoken honor of being a starter - pride or whatever you want to call it. But if (Cravens) thinks that's what's making the team win, whether it's true or not I'll do it."
As a sixth man, Grant has been effective, but his numbers have dropped. He has averaged 14 points and 5.5 rebounds in his four games as a sub - down from his season averages of 17.5 and 8.1 - but that's partly because of a poor, foul-plagued outing against San Diego State.
Cravens originally benched Grant, as well as two other starters, against Colorado State for poor play against BYU. Cravens liked what he saw of Grant's play off the bench, and afterward consulted him about making the change permanent. "I told him I'd do whatever he thought was best for the team," says Grant.
"It speaks very highly of Josh to make this sacrifice for the good of the team," says Cravens. "There are several reasons we decided to do this."
For starters, Cravens believes that by sitting out the first five or so minutes of each half, Grant avoids picking up quick fouls (although that wasn't the case against San Diego State). He also believes it improves Grant's play during crunchtime.
"He has to be fresh at the end of the game to make big plays for us, and not necessarily just for his offense," says Cravens. "Against San Diego Stae, he comes up with two steals for buckets and passes to (Jon) Hansen for another bucket. I remember the first time we played CSU. We were there, but we didn't make the plays at the end of the game. Josh didn't take a shot in the last eight minutes, and it was because he was tired."
Grant's playing time has been tied closely with the play of two other players. Craig Rydalch, a 6-foot-3 sophomore who has the lines of a pickup and plays a heady game to boot, starts in place of the 6-foot-9 Grant.
"He sets a standard of hard-nosed, bump-and-grind defense, and then Josh comes in and gives us instant offense and rebounding," says Cravens. "It's very uplifting. If you do it the opposite way, it's not nearly as effective. Craig doesn't give you that instant scoring that Josh does, and it wouldn't be nearly as uplifting. And the way we play, we need to start the game with great defense."
When Grant goes into the game, he's accompanied by Soto, the 5-foot-9 freshman who darts around the court for layups, steals and assists. Cravens is convinced they complement each other.
"Against San Diego State, Josh came in and got three quick buckets and Jimmy got a steal and a bucket of his own," says Cravens. "Just like that we had 10 quick points. They have a good relationship. Josh is the established star. It makes the young freshman feel comfortable to come in with Josh. They work well together."
For his part, Grant still has dubious feelings about his new role: "It gives me a chance to see how people are playing and what we need to do on offense. And in a way it takes pressure off me. But it also makes me not as focused, like in warmups.
"And the way (center) Walter (Watts) is playing now, when I come in he's ready for a sub.. He's not going full bore. I think if we were playing together that would help. But with Rydalch out there (as a starter), it might be that people can't really key off me, because I'm coming off the bench. If their whole job was to stop Josh Grant, now they have to stop someone else first."
Grant is unlikely to be ignored no matter what his role. He leads the Utes in scoring, three-point shooting, rebounding, steals (38) and blocked shots (17), and ranks second in shooting percentage (51.5), free throw percentage (81.6)) and assists (67).
The repositioning of Grant is just one of several changes the Utes have made in the three weeks since they met BYU, 19-3. The Utes were thrashed in that game, but, as Rydalch notes, "We're a totally different team now."
The Utes have slowed their offensive pace, packed the ball inside to Watts (70 points in four games), backed off on the three-point shooting, and tightened up their defense.
"I don't think the first match was any judgment of our ability," said Grant. "This will be a close game. Five points."