It’s a Senior Day that is a bit unfamiliar to first-year University of Utah men’s basketball coach Alex Jensen.
On Tuesday, the Runnin’ Utes will host Colorado (7 p.m. MST, ESPN+) at the Huntsman Center in the final home game of the season, and the program will honor two fifth-year seniors, Don McHenry and James Okonkwo, who played just one year at Utah.
McHenry came to Salt Lake City from Western Kentucky and his college journey also included stops at Hawaii-Hilo and Indian Hills Community College.
Okonkwo is well-traveled as well. He played at Akron, North Carolina and West Virginia before landing with the Utes.
It’s a sign of the times where transferring is far more prevalent in the modern college game, as compared to what Jensen experienced as an all-conference player at Utah in the mid-to-late 1990s and 2000.
The pair have been a part of the transition process as Jensen tries to establish a defense-first, effort culture at his alma mater.
“It’s kind of interesting having a Senior Day for guys that have just been here for a year. They’ve been great, the two fifth-year guys that we had that played,” Jensen said. “That’s what we plan on doing, is building off of this year. (There’s) a lot to build off of.”
McHenry has been a proven scorer and playmaker for the Utes this season. The combo guard has averaged 17.1 points per game, second-most on the team, while also averaging 2.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists.
He’s also made a team-high 75 3-pointers, nearly double the next-closest teammate, at a 39.9% shooting clip.
“Don at times has been really good and carried the load for us and helped the younger guys,” Jensen said.
The 6-foot-8 forward Okonkwo has been a high-energy player for Jensen’s squad, averaging 2.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. He’s delivered the rebounding effort and inside presence Utah sorely needed once another fifth-year guy, 6-foot-9 Babacar Faye, was lost prior to the season due to injury.
“James (has) been the one guy that’s been steady. Every game, you know what to expect,” Jensen said.
It’s been a season of growth for Jensen in an era where it’s become more difficult to build continuity on a roster.
“I’m still learning it all, for guys to go to another place for their last year,” Jensen said. “You always hope it’d be continuous, but that’s not the environment we’re in.”
Unlike McHenry and Okonkwo, Faye won’t be honored on Senior Day against the Buffaloes. Jensen said the expectation is that he’ll utilize a medical redshirt and have another season of eligibility remaining.
“He’s progressing well. We’ll have to see how it plays out, but Baba, even though he hasn’t played he’s been a joy to be around and great for us coaches and his teammates,” Jensen said. “So obviously, those discussions will happen after the season.”
Where Utah’s first year under Alex Jensen stands from a historical perspective
With two games left in the regular season, Utah (10-19, 2-14) is one of two Big 12 teams with only two conference wins.
Since the 1980s, there have been three other times where the Utes have finished with four or fewer conference victories in their first season under a new head coach.
In the 2021-22 season, Utah went 4-16 in Pac-12 play (and 11-20 overall) under first-year coach Craig Smith, Jensen’s predecessor.
The coach prior to that, Larry Krystkowiak, went 3-15 in Pac-12 games (6-25 overall) in his first season in the 2011-12 campaign.
And back in the 1983-84 season, Utah was 4-12 in WAC action (and 11-19 overall) during Lynn Archibald’s first year as head coach.
Jensen’s team needs one win to avoid having the program’s lowest number of conference wins under a first-year head coach in the modern era.
Both ESPN Analytics and Torvik have Utah as a slight favorite against Colorado (16-13, 6-10 Big 12).
The Buffaloes, who beat the Utes 85-73 in Boulder earlier this year, are coming off a 40-point loss at No. 5 Houston, though they had two straight wins prior to that.
The Big 12 tournament awaits
There are only two options for Utah in terms of seeding for the Big 12 tournament, which will take place March 10-14 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. The Utes will either be the No. 16 seed or No. 15.
Both Utah and Kansas State enter the final week of the regular season with 2-14 Big 12 records, and since the Wildcats beat the Utes in their only matchup, they hold the tiebreaker over Utah.
Following Tuesday’s game against Colorado, the Utes travel to Baylor for their regular-season finale on Saturday. Kansas State, meanwhile, hosts West Virginia on Tuesday before playing at No. 14 Kansas on Saturday.
Utah would need to finish one game ahead of Kansas State in the Big 12 standings to earn the No. 15 seed.
Otherwise, the Utes will be the 16th and final seed in next week’s tournament.
