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Pac-12 Basketball: 5 biggest storylines to watch for 2021-22 offseason

By Jason Burgess

Jan 14, 2021; Boulder, Colorado, USA; A general view of the PAC 12 logo on the floor in the first half of the game between the Colorado Buffaloes and the California Golden Bears at CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 14, 2021; Boulder, Colorado, USA; A general view of the PAC 12 logo on the floor in the first half of the game between the Colorado Buffaloes and the California Golden Bears at CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /
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Pac-12 Basketball Utah Utes center Branden Carlson Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
Pac-12 Basketball Utah Utes center Branden Carlson Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports /

Craig Smith takes over a Utah team with not much to build around

After three seasons in Ogden, Craig Smith has moved on to Salt Lake City tasked with the job of rebuilding the Utah Utes. Larry Krystowiak was let go after a 12-13 year, finishing 6.5 games behind league leader Oregon. Smith was brought in after going 74-24 in his three years with the Aggies, but the roster he inherits has more holes to fill than a game of Perfection.

The Utes’ top two leading scorers, Alphonso Plummer and Timmy Allen, led the team in nearly every category, including points (17.2), rebounds (6.4), assists (3.9), and steals (1.3). Plummer landed in the Big Ten, playing next season for Illinois and Allen was one of the big gets for Chris Beard and Texas.

In addition to those two, guards Pelle Larsson and Ian Martinez also transferred, and last week junior guard Rylan Jones entered the portal as well, leaving Brooks King and Jaxon Brenchley who averaged  8.3 minutes per game as the most productive guards remaining on the roster.

Smith does return a pair of frontcourt players to build around with 7’0 Branden Carlson and 6’8 Mikael Jantunen who combined for over 18 points and nine rebounds per game. Smith has used the transfer portal to begin to fill some of those holes, bringing in two former players from Utah State, Marco Anthony and Rollie Worster.

Anthony did a little bit of everything for the Aggies last season with 10 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.1 assists and Worster had a solid freshmen campaign with nine points and a team-leading 3.5 assists. Also joining Utah is someone Smith knows well, David Jenkins, Jr. was a mid-major star at South Dakota State when Smith coached at South Dakota, the 6’2 Jenkins, Jr. scored nearly 15 points per game and shot nearly 41% from the three-point line at UNLV. It will be interesting to watch over the summer how Smith navigates a new conference and fills the rest of his roster.

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