Normally waking up on a Monday morning isn’t something that tends to brighten your day, except today if you are a Utah Basketball fan. Ute fans woke up Monday morning to the news that freshman Big Man Jakob Poeltl will be returning to the Huntsman Center for his sophomore year. Here are the particulars sent out this morning from Utah Athletics.
Now that Poeltl has announced his intentions to return and work on his game, Utes fans can breath a slight sigh of relief. Head Coach Larry Krystkowiak joined the Bill and OC Show last week and discussed what Poeltl’s return would mean for the program and him personally. Here’s a link to that interview.
So what does this mean in the immediate and not so immediate future for Utah Basketball?
In the short run, it gives Utah a bonafide star player and player to build the team around next season. It also ensures that Utah will remain a force defensively with Poeltl protecting the rim. I don’t think it’s unrealistic for Poeltl’s numbers to increase to the neighborhood of 14pt and 10 rebounds a game next season. He’ll need to work on his overall strength and finishing around the rim in traffic. As much a free throws get mentioned, I think his stroke and form are good. I’d expect with a little more work to see him around 60% next season at the line.
In the long run, it gives Larry Krystkowiak and his staff an additional year to find a front court replacement. The Utah staff continues to recruit bigs overseas and have a few on their radar screen right now. Jakob’s return also gives the Utah Basketball Program and staff some real credibility when recruiting. His return shows the trust that the staff has built with it’s players – that they would pass up 1st round money to return to school to work on their game.
So what will next year’s rotation look like?
Here’s my best guess right now (way too early) at what next year’s rotation/depth chart will look like:
G-Brandon Taylor and Eris Winder
G-Isaiah Wright and Kenneth Ogbe
SF-Jordan Loveridge, Gabe Bealer, Dakari Tucker
PF-Brekkott Chapman, Chris Reyes, Kyle Kuzma, Makol Malwein
C-Jakob Poeltl and Jeremy Olsen
Remember there’s always a possibility of roster moves and additional players joining the program. If I had to venture a guess, I’d say that Brandon Taylor, Isaiah Wright, Jordan Loveridge, Brekkott Chapman and Jakob Poeltl are your first five.
