Pac-12 Basketball: Preseason rankings for 2019-20 season
By Connor Hope
2018-19 Record: 17-14 (11-7 Pac-12)
Head Coach: Larry Krystkowiak (9th Season)
Key Returners: Timmy Allen, Both Gach, Jeff Pollard, Riley Battin
Big Departures: Sedrick Barefield, Donnie Tillman, Parker Van Dyke, Jayce Johnson
Top Newcomers: Rylan Jones, Alfonso Plummer, Mikael Jantunen, Matthew Van Komen, Brendan Wenzel
Last year, the Utah Utes rode a surprisingly strong offense to a Top 3 finish in the Pac-12. Powered by Sedrick Barefield, Timmy Allen, Donnie Tillman and Parker Van Dyke, the Utes finished with an 11-7 record in conference play. Unfortunately, three of those players are gone, and Allen cannot win alone.
The downfall of Utah this season, if there is any, will be the lack of experience on the roster. The most senior player on this year’s team is junior JUCO transfer Alfonso Plummer, who will provide excellent shooting but doesn’t seem to be built as a true leader for a Pac-12 team.
This youthfulness leaves the bulk of the leadership duties for the three sophomores on the roster: Both Gach, Timmy Allen and Riley Battin. All three forwards showed promise last season, but it was Allen who stepped up as the team’s defensive anchor and most efficient scoring option.
Beyond these four, there will be a lot of guesswork to determine how well the SEVEN scholarship freshman contribute to the cause. Expectations are that fringe top 100 prospects Rylan Jones and Branden Carlson (Class of 2017) will play significant roles from the start, but beyond them, there will be plenty of rotational minutes to earn.
Despite having one of the better Pac-12 forwards in Timmy Allen and the best X’s and O’s coaches in Larry Krystkowiak, there are too many unknowns on this Utes roster for me to have them any higher than 10th. Utah could very well see itself develop into a top half Pac-12 team this season, but it could just as easily fall into the bottom two if Washington State’s roster steps up.