Like Rudy Gobert, Ute center Branden Carlson had a big day in a Utah win

SALT LAKE CITY — Maybe it was something in the thin air about 7 feet above the basketball court Saturday in Salt Lake City.

Shortly after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert had one of the best games of his NBA career in a win over the Dallas Mavericks, University of Utah big man Branden Carlson followed suit.

Carlson’s outing didn’t include the dazzling how-did-he-block-that-shot-from-behind highlight that the Stifle Tower did in the waning moments versus the Mavericks, but the 7-foot redshirt freshman had himself one heck of an all-around game in the Utes’ 76-64 win over Washington State on the other side of town from Gobert.

After it appeared evident that the Utes were going to need more than just Timmy Allen to beat these Cougars, Carlson was among a handful of Utah players who stepped up after a rough start.

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Carlson finished with 12 points, including an important flurry at the end of the first half, and also swatted three shots in a well-rounded effort.

It was the kind of game that the Ute coaching staff, no doubt, envisioned him having when they were able to convince the four-star player out of Bingham High to choose the U. over the likes of UCLA, Stanford, BYU, UNLV and Utah State in 2017.

“It’s fun to play with him. He’s such an athlete at his height,” fellow Utah freshman Mikael Jantunen said of Carlson. “They’ve been telling him to go and block shots, and he did it today, and was for sure a force in the paint today.”

They were both forces on offense at times, too.

Carlson and Jantunen, a freshman from Finland who finished with 16 points, combined to score the final 13 points of the first half as the Utes turned a one-point edge into a 37-25 halftime lead.

Both players credited their teammates for setting them up for offensive success, too.

“I think it was just the flow of the game,” said Carlson, who reached double figures in scoring for the first time since November and for only the third time all season. “We weren’t looking for one person.”

Carlson returned from his mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints this past May, and, eight months later, he admitted the transition from being a proselytizer in Manchester, England, to becoming a college player in the Pac-12 has had its challenges.

“It’s been harder than I thought it would have been, just conditioning-wise, mentality-wise. It’s been harder getting that comfortable feeling back on the court again,” Carlson said. “It’s been great with the coaches. They’ve been very understanding and a support. My team has been a great support as well.”

Coach Larry Krystkowiak isn’t letting Carlson off easy — he and his assistants push him — but the Ute coach is empathetic about his first-year player’s situation.

“Even looking back at Branden Carlson’s journeys, he played behind Yoeli Childs for a lot of time at Bingham even in high school,” Krystkowiak said, noting that Carlson had a breakout senior season when he finally got more time to shine. “He hasn’t had an extended basketball experience, and I’d like to believe he’s figuring some things out. I think he’s playing far more aggressively.”

As Jantunen noted, the coaches have been on Carlson to be more active in the paint, to be more of a defensive menace. That beast came out a few times Saturday, and the Utes responded well to it. Carlson even admitted that he was more excited about his third three-block outing of the season than the 12 points, including nine in the first half.

“We emphasize defense a lot, so that’s a big one for me knowing that our coach is proud of me for doing that,” Carlson said. “Our coach keeps telling me, ‘You’re not doing a good enough job of contesting shots and altering them, so you need to be more of a shot blocker on defense.’ So I’ve really focused on doing that. I’m trying to do what coach says.”