Utah Tech:
Moved up to D1 and joined the WAC as Dixie State in 2021, changed their name to Utah Tech a year or two ago. Last season were 14-19 overall, 5-13 in the WAC.
Hard to get a read on their roster and who may start, the only returning players who played much last season are 6-10 Tanner Christensen (9.5pts, 7rebs) and 6-1 guard Noa Gonsalves (9pts, 40% 3pt shooter and led them in 3ptrs made). It appears they have several JC transfers.
Last season they were fairly high scoring and relied heavily on the 3 and shot it well; hard to know if that will be the case this year given the roster turnover.
For the Broncos, as discussed in various threads, the big question is not just who starts but what the rotation and PT distribution looks like. As mentioned in the other thread, my guess on starters is: Tilly, OāNeil, Marshal, Bal and Benjamin with good minutes off the bench for Tongue, Bryan and Caffaro, plus PT for Knapper and Ensminger.
The rotation may not be set for 5 to 10 games depending on how we look and gel in the first week or two of games.
And Iāll also be looking for answers to:
Who are the one or two go-to players when we need a bucket? How is team chemistry? What is Ensmingerās role and position(s)? Who or will there be a surprise player either in terms of production or greater than expected role/PT?
Thanks for the pregame review ā92. I believe you mean Jalen Benjamin not Jennings will be a starter.
He is a 5ā11 point guard. Donāt know of a Jennings on the rosterā¦
Corrected.
Sorry, for some reason I have āJenningsā stuck in my head when thinking of Jalen Benjamin. Iāll probably make the mistake again at some point.
Iām hoping for a 10man rotation as well @ 6-8minutes min. each. I wouldnāt count someone as āin the rotationā if they only play a token minute or two while the game is in balance.
It would also be great if the game was a blowout win as it might allow for a frosh or two to get on the court and be and indicator if any of them are planning to redshirt.
Agree with these sentiments. We have such talent and everyone is eager to contribute and can contribute. The 10-man rotation would be like what Iowa did to us in 2009. They had 4 future NBA players. We might have more than one ourselves. I agree that Bal/Cam will be the first off the bench, but there is plenty of talent after them to draw upon. Most exciting team since the Nash days. And we have two other incredibly talented bigs who might be redshirted but if played would be a surprise to the world.
Iām not a big gambler to begin with but I wouldnāt touch this game no matter the line. Iām cautiously optimistic about the potential for our squad but there are too many unknowns re: both teams, 1st game of the season, no track record playing together, etc.
Agree, wouldnāt touch these lines with a 30ft pole.
I think weāll win but have no idea what to expect, which will make this season fun.
Iāll say 77-65 tonight.
Re : jerseysā¦
Gray was really overdone by college athletics like 5-7 years ago, but I like these and it seems āblack is the new grayā alternate for other teams. But like I said I was hoping didnāt happenā¦ I hate the early 00s shorts piping.
Agree betterererā¦ and I really like his quickness at both ends of the floor, doing a good job of staying in front of his man and cutting off dribble penetration and also drew a charge.
Rather ugly 2nd half with all the fouls, turnovers, etc. And the missed FTās including front end of 1and1āsā¦ugh.
But weāll take the win and move on.
A couple of other observationsā¦
-Tilly and OāNeil struggled offensively.
-Like the play of Bal, Bryan, Benjamin and of course Carlos
-Appears Ensminger will be used as the swiss army knife and played multiple positions from the 4 to the backcourt.
-Despite the hopes of the Bronco faithful here, we really didnāt play a deep rotation. Basically an 8 man rotation with Caffaro, Bryan and Ensminger getting nearly all the bench minutes. Hammond played a few token minutes to rest Benjamin in the 1st half as the 9th in the rotation but didnāt play at all in the 2nd half. Cam with a very limited 40secs. Disappoints me a bit but doesnāt surprise me as Sendek typically hasnāt gone deep in to his bench. Will be interesting to see if he opens up the rotation in upcoming games.
Solid game all around. Other than the free throw shooting, turnovers, and press break we will take an 1-0 record. Appreciate all those who tuned in on KSCU and for the person who came up to say hi after the game!
Slow starts to both halfās were a bit concerning. Like others have touched on, second half was hard to watch at times with all the fouls. A win is a win though. Better to iron out the wrinkles against a team like this.
Shoutout to the students, bigger crowd than I was expecting.
