Today while driving to work, I was listening to the Bill Reilly show on 1320 KFAN with University of Utah Athletic Director Chris Hill as the featured guest. Amongst other things, they discussed the outlook of the Mens basketball team. They talked about the struggles that Coach Krystkowiak had to endure this past season and the rebuilding that will have to come after so much turmoil in the program. I feel that Coach Krystkowiak has done a fairly good job with the pieces he has been given. Not only did he have to play with a depleted roster, but also had to make the tough choice to kick key players off the team to create the type of culture that you need for a successful basketball team. Dr. Hill said that he expected the rebuilding process for the basketball team to be 4-5 years. My first reaction was, "that long?!" but after thinking about it, thats about how long it really will take to rebuild to be at a position to be competitive year in and year out in the Pac-12. Yet there is one person who could have helped make the rebuilding process go a bit quicker. That person is Quincy Lewis, current Head Basketball Coach at Lone Peak High School.
It shouldn't come as a big shock that Brad and I really admire Coach Lewis. I mean his name is the basis of our blog. But aside from that homerism, Coach Lewis could have had a really big effect on the Utah Basketball program. Not only because he is a good coach, but also because he might have been able to get Nick Emery and T.J. Haws to follow him. I'm not saying it would have been a guarantee they would have followed, especially with their older brothers both being really good BYU players, but it would have been worth a try. If anything else, it would have helped in the recruitment of the local talent. If you look at the rise and fall of the Utah basketball program, and the subsequent rise of the BYU basketball program, it coincides with the best basketball players in the state choosing to go that respective school.
Speaking of which, why do I care that the U basketball program recovers? I'm a BYU fan. Carry on as you were Utah basketball...
No comments:
Post a Comment