Pac-12 Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2020-21 season
By Brian Rauf
Utah has been quietly rebuilding under Larry Krystkowiak over the last couple of seasons, and that is expected to pay off this year.
After playing virtually all underclassmen last year, the Utes will enter 2020-21 with a roster full of players with experience – and experience playing together, at that. That youth played a big role in them going winless on the road last year, and that isn’t expected to be repeated with the natural growth that comes with said experience.
Timmy Allen, Both Gach, and Rylan Jones form a very promising backcourt trio and will headline Utah’s deep, balanced attack. Allen and Gach are both testing the NBA Draft waters, but both are expected to return (and as the only players to average over 10 points per game last season, the Utes need them too). Allen gives them a legitimate go-to scorer on the wing with Bach working in a complementary role and Jones working as the facilitator, which he showed a strong knack for during his freshman campaign.
Some of this group’s weakness should improve with youth no longer playing such a significant factor, such as their propensity to turn the ball over and defensive struggles, but even improvements in those areas could still leave them as overall weaknesses. Their problems shooting from deep are there as well, and that isn’t typically something that just goes away in an offseason.
The luxury of having an entire roster return should mean that Utah finishes at least in the middle of the pack in the Pac-12 (no pun intended) and gives them a high floor. Their ceiling, however, depends on how much they improve those weaknesses.