RENO — When the Utah basketball team opens the season Tuesday night against Nevada (8:30 p.m. MST, Lawlor Center), it will feature one of the youngest teams in all of college basketball with a roster consisting of 11 freshmen, one junior college transfer and four sophomores.
In fact, only three of the 351 schools that play Division I basketball have more newcomers on their teams than Utah. And those three, TCU, Nebraska and East Carolina, each have several junior-college transfers, leaving Utah as the leader in the nation with 11 freshmen, 10 of which are true freshmen.
It’s not by design that the Utes have perhaps the youngest basketball team in America. Besides losing two starters to graduation, the Utes unexpectedly lost three underclassmen, including starters Jayce Johnson and Donnie Tillman, who transferred to other programs in the offseason.
You’d think there would be some panic on the hill, but Larry Krystkowiak, starting his ninth season as the Utah head coach, is undaunted, despite the youthfulness of his team.
“We’ve got a bunch of great kids; everybody’s eager to learn,” he said. “We’re really enjoying coaching them.”
He also said his young team is more talented than past teams. While he says he doesn’t put a whole lot of credence in the “star system” that rates recruits from one to five stars, Krystkowiak insists his team has talent.
“What excites me about the team is we’ve got a high talent level,” he said. “We have more stars than we’ve ever had if anybody’s counting. It’s really a high-character group and we haven’t had any issues academically or meetings-wise. You don’t bet against these guys.”
Leading the way for the Utes are two players who started the majority of games last season — forwards Timmy Allen and Riley Battin — and one who started nearly half the games, guard Both Gach. Allen has lost more than 20 pounds and is expected to play more as a wing than an inside player.
Those three are expected to start along with two freshmen local players, point guard Rylan Jones and center Branden Carlson. Jones, is a 6-foot two-time Deseret News Mr. Basketball who prepped at Olympus High, while Carlson was an all-state player for Bingham High before going on a church mission and returning five months ago.
Others expected to see a lot of action are 7-foot-4 freshman Matt Van Komen out of Pleasant Grove; Jaxon Brenchley, a 6-5 returned missionary from Ridgeline High School; Mikael Jantunen, a 6-8 forward from Finland; and Alfonso Plummer, a 6-1 JC transfer from Puerto Rico.
“We’re obviously young, but it’s all about coming together and being connected,” said Both, the 6-7 guard from Minnesota. “We all like each other and root for each other. It’s going to be fun and we’re looking forward to it.”
On a year when the Utes have perhaps the most inexperienced team in the nation, the Utes have also upgraded their schedule this year after being criticized for soft preseason schedules in the past.
The Utes open on the road for the first time since 1995 when they played No. 2-ranked Kansas in Kansas City with Tuesday’s game at Nevada. They’ll have their annual visit from Mississippi Valley State (third year in a row), but their only other real “gimme” game might be against Central Arkansas.
Utah will also play Kentucky, San Diego State and Weber State at neutral sites, Minnesota and BYU at home and compete in the Myrtle Beach Invitational, with possible games against nationally-ranked Baylor and Villanova. The Utes, who are picked for ninth in the Pac-12, open league play Jan. 2 at home against Oregon State.
Krystkowiak acknowledges that it may take a little time for his team to jell, but he’s not writing off the season and looking ahead to next year.
“We’re in a situation where we have a lot of freshmen but I do think in terms of program-building, we’ve got a good nucleus of guys,” he said. “The best way to get better the fastest is to play when you’re young. We’ve got a lot of guys who are going to be doing that and this program can build a little bit. This is a group that has a chance.”
GAME NOTES: Tuesday’s game will be televised on the CBS Sports Network. … Nevada’s coach is a familiar face to Ute basketball — Steve Alford, who coached at UCLA for the past six years and for six years before that at New Mexico. … The Wolf Pack lost their top three scorers from last year and will return starting forward Jazz Johnson, who averaged 11 points on 48.7% shooting last year. … Utah is 7-13 all-time when opening the season on the road. … The Utes open the regular season Friday night against Mississippi Valley State at 7 p.m. … One freshman on the team is Luc Krystkowiak, the second-oldest son of coach Larry Krystkowiak, making the Utes one of 13 schools that have a father-son relationship on the team.