SALT LAKE CITY — One of the most exciting defensive plays of the day had just happened at a critical juncture late in Sunday’s game between the Utah Utes and USC Trojans, but an eerie silence permeated the Huntsman Center instead of a roar from the crowd that would usually happen at that moment.
On a positive note, Rylan Jones sacrificed his slight, 6-foot-tall body while drawing an offensive foul on USC forward Daniel Utomi in what turned out to be a huge defensive stop. The Trojans had been on the charge, cutting the Utes’ 14-point second-half lead down to five before Jones took that charge. Utah never looked back after that, finishing strong for a much-needed 79-65 win.
On a not-so-positive note, Jones laid back onto the court and winced in pain while grabbing his left leg after the hard collision. The play ended up being the last one of the night for Utah’s crafty point guard, who eventually hopped off the hardwood with help and without putting pressure on his left leg, and for the fouled-out USC senior.
The Utes didn’t give an injury report per their policy — Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak simply said, “I just don’t know” — but there were behind-the-scenes rumblings that Jones injured his left shin and that it isn’t deemed to be a serious setback.
Though Utah fended off USC without Jones for the final 3:10, the Utes could be in big trouble without one of their key players as they head to the Bay Area for two games this week before wrapping up the Pac-12 season at home against Colorado on March 7.
While the severity of Jones’ injury wasn’t discussed by his coach or teammates after they snapped a three-game losing streak, the toughness of the team’s smallest guy was definitely brought up. Jones had eight points, four assists and four steals in 34 minutes before the injury.
“It’s just the warrior play,” Krystkowiak said, referring to Jones and taking charges in general.
Krystkowiak lauded Jones for taking three charges against USC, and rightfully noted that it’s not unusual for the 175-pounder to put his body in the path of oncoming traffic. That unselfish defensive mentality is part of what makes Jones such an effective all-around player.
“He’s been doing it a for a lot of years,” Krystkowiak said. “All’s I can say is you’re never going to ask him to not do it because he’s dang good at it, but we’ve got to get a little body armor on him. We’ve got to get him beefed up, put a bit of meat on his booty and make some of those landings softer.
“But,” the coach added, “I love it. It’s an integral part of our defense.”
After telling reporters that by coincidence he’d read a book with Jeff Van Gundy’s thoughts on taking offensive fouls and the value of players who are willing to give their bodies up to the greater good, the Ute coach shared his take on the play and why he appreciates that Jones so often puts himself in the right (and oft-painful) position.
“I’ve always said I think a charge is the best play in basketball,” Krystkowiak said. “It’s a momentum play.”
Jones didn’t return to the court, but he was spotted in the tunnel gingerly putting weight on his left leg and slowly walking and bending over while being assisted by the Ute training staff.
It wouldn’t have surprised anybody on the team — or in the building, really — if the competitive freshman had tried to limp past the trainers and coaches to check himself back in. He didn’t need to, though. His teammates wrapped this one up with no problems. Jones gave them all the momentum they needed.
Shortly after Jones’ defensive sacrifice, junior Alfonso Plummer drained a 3-pointer to spark a 12-0 run in the final minutes.
“He always bounces back and helps the team,” Plummer said of Jones after his 18-point night. “We always just believe he’s going to stand up and keep playing because he’s a warrior. I don’t know the status right now for him, but hopefully he gets better soon.”
Sophomore Timmy Allen, who led Utah with 21 points and 10 rebounds, didn’t seem concerned that the Utes might possibly be without Jones on Wednesday at Stanford and/or Saturday at Cal.
“I know he’s going to be fine,” Allen said. “He’s a tough kid. That’s all I got.”
Allen said the Utes had a mindset of playing with “poise” without Jones down the stretch, and that’s precisely what they did.
“We know he has the ball in his hands a lot coming up the floor so we can’t turn the ball over with him out,” Allen said. “Basically, we can’t have a let down because he’s out of the game.”
They didn’t. Now they just hope they don’t have to try that out again.