There haven’t exactly been many great memories around Utah basketball in recent years and life got even harder when the Utes joined the Big 12 last season. Craig Smith’s fourth season turned out to be his last, never getting this program back to the NCAA Tournament or quite getting over the hump. Instead the Utes turn their program to Alex Jensen, a former Utah player and NBA assistant hoping that this team can make noise someday soon in the Big 12.
Last year’s team finished 16-17 and in 11th place in the Big 12, though there will undoubtedly be a different flavor to this year’s squad. Nearly everyone is gone from last season, and whether that’s good or bad news it’s a lot of moving pieces. Utah bid goodbye to great players like Gabe Madsen and Lawson Lovering while also watching a mass exodus into the transfer portal, losing the likes of Ezra Ausar and Mike Sharavjamts to other schools. They did however get Keanu Dawes to return after initially putting his name in the portal.
An onslaught of new faces has come to Salt Lake City and Jansen is hoping they can mesh into a viable lineup. Seydou Traore from Iowa and James Okonkwo from Akron add some size to the frontcourt while Jahki Howard is a highly-touted talent who didn’t see much time at Auburn. A similar tale can be said of Elijah Moore, a crafty guard sliding over from Syracuse, while Babacar Faye is a power forward from Western Kentucky while Terrence Brown accumulated more than 20 points a game last year at FDU.
It’s another Hilltopper transfer that catches our eye in the form of Don McHenry. A 6-2 combo guard from Milwaukee, McHenry went the JUCO level before catching on at Western Kentucky these last two seasons. He earned First Team All-CUSA honors and was Tournament MVP in his first season before averaging 17.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per game as a senior last season.
The question of most important addition almost has no perfect answer here, as the Utes really need contributions from each of these transfers. The reason we’re looking at McHenry over someone more regarded like Howard or Moore is because of his experience and potential. McHenry’s shooting figures took a harsh slide despite those great raw numbers and if he can find his outside shooting game again he could be a phenomenal weapon for Utah this upcoming year.
From the outside looking in, it’s hard to see a potential conference champion on this roster, but the Utes have some solid pieces that could quietly put things together as the season develops. New pieces like Brown won’t have the same levels of production as at their prior schools, though Utah certainly hopes they can see a demonstrated step forward from McHenry on a bigger stage. Can he become a reliable scorer and shooter in the Big 12?