Utah Utes basketball: Can the Utes stand tall again?

"Not only do you have to get some elite players to take the majority of the minutes, you better have some pretty good guys as backups as well," Krystkowiak said.

Many of the teams in the Pac-12, he continued, already have that.

Same goes for facilities. While the 15,000-seat Huntsman Center will be the biggest venue in the conference, Utah's practice courts (for both the men's and women's basketball programs) are in need of an upgrade. Plans have already been drawn up to take care of that.

"The price of poker goes up," Krystkowiak said of switching leagues.

The Utes, though, are joining the game with a relatively clean slate. They're entering uncharted territory with a new coaching staff and a roster overhaul.

"I would stay it's starting over for the most part," Krystkowiak said. "We've got four guys back from last year's team. There's going to be a number of new faces. We've got a new staff."

That, however, doesn't mean everything is new.

The program does have a winning tradition (UCLA and Arizona are the only Pac-12 teams to play more NCAA Tournament games than the Utes), Krystkowiak noted, plus a great arena.

It remains to be seen if the element of surprise could also be factor this season because of all the changes.

"I don't know if you would say it's an advantage. It makes you dangerous if you can win. If we've won three games in a row when we're playing somebody, they'd probably feel like we're a little more dangerous because they don't understand what we're doing," Krystkowiak said. "But you know, what with today's film and the way you can break it down pretty quick, it won't take long for staffs to figure out what you are trying to do."

As for what the Utes will do, Krystkowiak acknowledged it'll depend on the team's personnel. Once they get more familiar with the players, the coaching staff will put them into position to be successful.

In the meantime, Utah's coaches are getting a handle of what the other Pac-12 teams are doing as far as schemes and tendencies. They've divided things up and will make presentations to the rest of the staff.

Krystkowiak has hired former Ute point guard Tommy Connor (Westminster), DeMarlo Slocum (Colorado State) and Andy Hill (Montana) as his assistants. Longtime Salt Lake Community College coach Norm Parrish is the new director of basketball operations.

"I'm really excited about this coaching staff," Foster said. "They not only know how to work hard, they know how to work smart. They're very skilled in coaching. Each coach brings to the team a certain piece of experience from the past."

Getting to the good ol' days is exactly what the Utes aim to do when they join the Pac-12.

"It's a great opportunity," Foster said. "We're excited."

Utah men's basketball at a glance

Biggest advantage: The Huntsman Center is the biggest venue in the league. However, the 15,000-seat arena has been far from full in recent years as attendance has dwindled. The element of surprise, though, with a new coaching staff and a revamped roster, may be Utah's greatest advantage.

Biggest challenge: The schedule. It remains to be seen how Utah will fare against a steady diet of Arizona, Arizona State, California, Colorado, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington and Washington State.

Number: 4 Just four players (David Foster, Chris Hines, Josh Washburn, Jiggy Watkins) return from last season's 13-18 team that led to coach Jim Boylen's dismissal.

Utah athletics director Chris Hill says of Krystkowiak: "There are tremendous challenges ahead as we go into the Pac-12. We'll have a competition level at the highest we've ever had. I couldn't think of anyone better that would bring with us that toughness and discipline to make us successful."