Craig Smith’s sports fandom was on display Tuesday.
His beloved Minnesota Vikings had beaten the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night, and before his team hit the court for practice Tuesday, the Utah men’s basketball coach was relishing in the multitude of sporting events available in late October.
“I’m not sure we’re quite there yet, but certainly some things are starting to really take shape when you talk about lineups and who we are, what seems to work with this team and maybe what doesn’t work so well with this team and establishing identity.” — Runnin’ Utes coach Craig Smith
There’s the Major League Baseball playoffs, college football heading into its final month and the NFL nearing its midseason.
“It’s a great time of year,” Smith said, before going upstairs to grab a replica Vikings jersey that he wore during the opening minutes of practice.
Oh, and don’t forget — it’s nearly college basketball season.
For the Runnin’ Utes, the season opener is now less than two weeks away.
From offseason workouts to an overseas trip to preseason training camp, there have been plenty of opportunities for Utah to learn about what kind of team it has before games start counting in the win/loss column.
How this team will look — from a starting five to different rotations — is coming into form, though there’s still work to do.
“I’m not sure we’re quite there yet, but certainly some things are starting to really take shape when you talk about lineups and who we are, what seems to work with this team and maybe what doesn’t work so well with this team and establishing identity,” Smith told the Deseret News ahead of Tuesday’s practice.
Part of that process included a “secret scrimmage” recently, reportedly against Nebraska. Specifics, like a final score or individual statistics or how it unfolded, are scarce outside of some internet reports on message boards.
There won’t be an official report from the school, like there was when the team played several games in Spain this summer — that’s the nature of the secret scrimmages.
“It was exactly what we needed. Playing on the road was really, really good and getting that kind of vibe. It was a good fight and we learned a lot about ourselves. We confirmed some things,” Smith said. “Sometimes, guys have got to be put in a position, too, where it’s like, ‘Hey this is what we’ve been saying.’ It showed against a different opponent. We saw good things.”
The closed scrimmage featured two teams in similar situations; both Utah and Nebraska finished at or near .500 on the season last year and are on extended postseason droughts.
They’ve also both seen incremental gains in their win totals the past couple of years.
The Cornhuskers and Utes are close to each other in the preseason KenPom ratings as well — Utah comes in at No. 52 (seventh among Pac-12 teams), while Nebraska is 58th.
One area where Utah — from a perception standpoint — has an advantage: The Utes were picked to finish seventh in the Pac-12’s preseason poll, while Nebraska was projected to finish 12th in the Big Ten’s preseason poll.
“We learned a lot about ourselves, how we respond to adversity, how consistent we can be through entire games rather than just one or two practices in a row,” senior guard Rollie Worster told the Deseret News about the scrimmage.
“It gives our team experience through building chemistry and learning what each other can do. In practice, you see some things, but obviously games are different. You’re playing other competition. It opens up for people to be a little more creative, see what everyone can do on the floor and who gels well together.”
Added sophomore guard Wilguens Junior Exacte: “We learned a lot. We saw that we were able to compete, able to play together. We also saw what we have to work on. That’s the biggest thing for us, trying to work on our weaknesses at all times.”
The next time the Runnin’ Utes will face an opponent in a different jersey comes next week, when Utah will host Westminster in the team’s lone exhibition on Wednesday, Nov. 1.
Then it’s on to the regular season: Utah opens the 2023-24 season Monday, Nov. 6, against Eastern Washington.
That kicks off an 11-game nonconference schedule that includes a post-Thanksgiving game at Saint Mary’s (Nov. 27), a home matchup against BYU (Dec. 9) and a three-game set at the Charleston Classic, with a guaranteed game against Wake Forest (Nov. 16) and the possibility of playing No. 7 Houston the next day.
One significant personnel thing needs to be sorted out — there is still no answer on the NCAA waiver request for transfer guard Deivon Smith. “That’s always a hard thing when you get this close, how many reps do you get,” the coach said.
Also, Luka Tarlac has missed some time with an injury, but is expected back within the week, Smith said.
What the coach and players have seen through their workouts and practices, though, is consistency.
“We’ve been focusing on different lineups working together and seeing how that works out and how it plays,” Worster said. “We’ve had a lot of guys who have been producing on the floor, especially in overseas games, stuff like that, and throughout practice consistently.”
Smith said that in years past, his staff would get together and talk about who they thought was the team’s starting five or the Utes’ top nine or 10 players and come up a variety of answers, depending on the day.
“This year, there’s a lot more unity,” he said. “Things are a lot more clear and that’s a good thing because this is the most depth we’ve had in our three years here.”
