Whether they will admit it or not, a lot of college athletes, and some coaches, pay attention to what is being said about them on social media, fan websites and even mainstream news outlets.
Utah’s Runnin’ Utes are no exception, basketball coach Larry Krystkowiak acknowledged Thursday night after his squad put together perhaps its best performance of the season to rout Washington State 71-56 at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, Washington.
The win evened Utah’s overall record at 6-6, pushed its Pac-12 mark to 3-5, and snapped its 13-game road losing streak that started after the Utes pummeled the same WSU Cougars 92-79 on Feb. 23, 2019. Twelve of those road losses were to Pac-12 foes; the other was to BYU, 82-64, back on Dec. 12, 2020.
Up next for the Utes is Sunday’s 2 p.m. MST game against the conference’s last-place Washington Huskies (2-11, 1-7) at American Airlines Arena in Seattle. If Thursday’s romp is any indication, the Utes have figured out how to play a full 40 minutes and could be a force in their last 10-12 league games of the season.
After praising his team for playing well on both ends of the court — the Utes shot 55% and held WSU to 37% — Krystkowiak waited for the fifth question from reporters during a Zoom call, a question about Rylan Jones’ season-high 10 assists and bounce back from last Saturday’s 0-for-6 outing in the 72-63 home loss to Cal, to say what was really on his mind.
“I am just worn out by some of the negativity that goes on,” Krystkowiak said. “And I think Rylan’s ability, and a number of guys, to rise above it, from knuckleheads in the cheap seats, wanting to analyze things (is impressive). These guys have character and drive. It has been an up-and-down season, but they are as solid as can be, so I am proud of them all.”
Fans’ displeasure over the way the Utes blew double-digit halftime leads in three losses last week to Oregon, Colorado and Cal didn’t escape the players’ notice, the 10-year Utes coach intoned. He was pleased with the way the Utes channeled their energy to the court.
“I know there is a lot of (things being said in social media),” Krystkowiak said. “People are hard on our student-athletes, and I don’t think they understand. (They) are not pros, where they are subject to getting ripped apart because they are not living up to somebody’s expectations. This is not an easy deal for a lot of kids, especially in light of what is going on COVID-wise and some of the disruptions.”
“I am just worn out by some of the negativity that goes on. And I think Rylan’s ability, and a number of guys, to rise above it, from knuckleheads in the cheap seats, wanting to analyze things (is impressive). These guys have character and drive. It has been an up-and-down season, but they are as solid as can be, so I am proud of them all.” — Utah basketball coach Larry Krystkowiak
Jones, the former Olympus High standout and two-time Deseret News Mr. Basketball, said he met with Krystkowiak last Monday morning “to talk about basketball, talk about life,” and he resolved to play more freely, like he did last year, and with less fear of making mistakes.
Jones had just two turnovers in 34-plus minutes, and often set up fellow Utahn Branden Carlson for easy dunks and layups. Carlson had 14 points and 10 rebounds in his first start since the loss at USC.
“We care about winning, and we care about each other,” said Jones, the catalyst for Utah’s offensive superiority, and one of the players who has been the target of fans’ ire on social media. “We just want to win and we came in this week with a focus to come up to Washington State and get our first road win, and that’s what we did. And we are going to keep that focus on our way to Seattle for Sunday.”
Until Thursday, Jones was having somewhat of a sophomore slump, failing to play as well as he did his freshman season when he looked at times like the second coming of Andre Miller.
Carlson’s season has also been up and down, although his shot-blocking prowess is something to behold. His ability to protect the rim is priceless in the Pac-12, where outstanding athletes get to the rim seemingly at will.
Carlson made his first two shots Thursday, medium-range jumpers, and that got him going, he said.
“When they fall in for you, you just got a good feeling, you get back on defense better, you are just more ready to go and ready to help your team,” said the 7-footer from Bingham High. “You feel better about yourself and what you can do to help your team win this game.”
Defensively, Utah’s aim was to slow high-scoring WSU guard Isaac Bonton, and Jones was largely responsible for the senior shooting 1 of 8 from the field and scoring just four points while committing four turnovers.
On the other end, he wanted to get Carlson going. Mission accomplished.
“I was just trying to make the play the game told me to make, and in that case it was trying to get BC some lobs and get BC going, which is much-needed for our team,” Jones said.
As of midday Friday, Utah had not addressed the status of starting forward Mikael Jantunen for Sunday’s game. The big Finn took a shot to the face, while wearing his protective mask for a nose fracture suffered last month, and was taken to a Pullman hospital for observation after the game, Krystkowiak said.
Jantunen is averaging 9.5 points and 4.3 rebounds a game and leads the Pac-12 in field goal percentage at 63.9%.