In a basketball realm where younger players are associated with either stardom or star potential, and older, more experienced athletes have their place, much of it considered by some as secondary, Utah’s Utes are rewriting that presumed narrative. And they’ve got good reason and good company in doing so.
Namely, it works.
“Look at the Final Four last year,” says coach Craig Smith. “They were all veteran teams.”
Attempting to follow that form, among the Utes, the old guys rule.
“We felt like we had to get older,” Smith says.
Older and better.
“Experience matters,” he says. “It’s not the end-all, be-all. But it makes a difference.”
It has thus far this season, where Utah’s old guys are ruling and rolling with that additional seasoning. They began January with an 11-2 overall record and a 2-0 mark in the Pac-12. They ended last year by dusting the two Washington schools at the Huntsman Center, before turning their attention to consecutive roadies against Arizona State and Arizona.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes center Branden Carlson (35) as Utah hosts Bellarmine, NCAA basketball in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023.
The way Utah handled the Huskies last Sunday in a 95-90 victory speaks to the advantages of letting the oldsters lead out. In that game, the Utes got off to a strong start, but then, through the meat of the first half, fell into a temporary funk, allowing Washington to fire off a 26-7 run, channeled as it was by some quality play by the visitors, but also missed shots and missed opportunities by the Utes.
NBD. (For you old folks, that stands for No Big Deal.)
That’s when Utah’s veteran presence hit the throttle and reeled in the win. There’s something significant to be said for an outfit that tumbles, but then triumphs, exactly the way the Utes did. If a team has a keen interest in learning to impose its will on an opponent, redirecting the fates after they seem to be working against it is key to that education.
How did that happen on Sunday, how are the Utes counting on it to happen in the weeks ahead?
Experienced leadership, that’s how.
Branden Carlson, Utah’s 24-year-old center, its top scorer and presence on the floor, slammed the accelerator to score 34 points and share seven assists. That last number was as impressive as the first. Smith compliments Carlson, calling him “a 7-footer who can make decisions quickly,” adding that he “made all the right plays. That speaks volumes to our team. …”
The coach takes a gulp of air and continues on with his praise, mentioning the look in Carlson’s eye, the look of a winner, the determination of a competitor, the love of the game, the love of Utah’s program, the love of the school, the love of mother, country, babies and bumblebees and butterflies, the love of planet, world peace and all of humankind. Well. He said some of that, anyway.
“… He’s taken his game to the next level with his leadership. … He’s put the time in. It’s not an accident with him. It’s his fifth year, he’s been through the battles. He’s had to fight for it.”
Thing is, Carlson’s not alone in that regard.
Look at the other Utes: Gabe Madsen, senior; Rollie Worster, senior; Deivon Smith, senior; Cole Bajema, grad student; Ben Carlson, senior, Hunter Erickson, senior. Even a contributor like Lawson Lovering, a junior, started many games for Colorado last season.
“The guys are more complete players,” says Smith.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes guard Gabe Madsen (55) as Utah hosts Bellarmine, NCAA basketball in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023.
There are underclassmen tossing their talents into the mix, too, such as Keba Keita, a sophomore big who’s averaging 10 points and a biscuit shy of seven boards.
How good are the Utes? They beat 12th-ranked BYU at the Huntsman. They lost on a neutral floor to third-ranked Houston by 10.
All told, they are outscoring their opponents by more than 12 points per game. They’re scoring more efficiently by a considerable fraction overall and from deep. They are getting to the line more and rebounding at a greater rate. They’re averaging nearly five more assists than their opponents, although they do turn the ball over at a slightly higher number. They have collected more steals and doubled-up their opponents in blocked shots.
A pragmatic and realistic Smith says that it’s early yet, that the Utes have played a lot of home games thus far, with just the two Pac-12 games taken to date, but he acknowledges that his team is “coming off a great month of December” and that “we’re definitely much improved.”
With the swing through Arizona this week, a trip that historically has treated the Utes like a possum family crossing two lanes of busy asphalt, Smith says, “We just need to continue to play well.”
If they do, a national ranking might be their reward, acclaim that Smith knows beats around inside his players’ minds as they do their work and that demonstrates a general sense of achievement, but that he brushes aside, at least for the time being, as he dials in on the next game.
“You’ve got to earn respect,” he says.
That respect comes a little easier, though, to your elders, elders eager to earn it.
