Utah Utes basketball: Team expects better season

Now that his first year is behind him, coach Jim Boylen is ready for bigger and better things for the Utah basketball program in Year 2.

Boylen's first season was decent, with a winning record of 18-15 and a trip to a postseason tournament (College Basketball Invitational), where the Utes defeated UTEP before losing to Tulsa. More than anything, Boylen was proud of the much-improved toughness and defensive mentality the team showed last year.

With an ambitious schedule and seven of their top eight scorers back, the Utes are looking to challenge for the Mountain West Conference title this year.

"I think we have a team that can compete for a championship," Boylen said. "But there are a few things we need to do, like defend, rebound and come together as a group."

The Utes, who were picked to finish fourth in the MWC preseason media poll, are led by seniors Luke Nevill, Shawn Green, Lawrence Borha and Tyler Kepkay. Nevill and Green have been three-year starters, Borha has started for two seasons and Kepkay started 26 games last year.

This season, Boylen plans to start juniors Kim Tillie and Luka Drca and sophomore Carlon Brown along with Nevill and Borha and bring Green and Kepkay off the bench.

The second-year Ute coach said he wants more athleticism in the starting lineup and more firepower off the bench and that it makes little difference who starts, pointing out that Kepkay and Green had the most minutes in the Utes' opening exhibition win last week. Sophomore Morgan Grim is also expected to play important minutes off the bench at both the 4 and 5 positions.

The Utes have added five newcomers to the program, but only two are expected to play.

Jace Tavita, a 6-foot-4, 190-pounder from Brighton High School, can play both the point and off-guard positions, while Jordan Cyphers is a 6-4 shooting guard from Wichita, Kan., who will be expected to add scoring off the bench.

The other three freshmen — 7-foot Jason Washburn out of Battle Creek, Mich.; 6-7 Josh Sharp from Lone Peak HS, and Chris Hines out of Houston, Texas — will redshirt this season. Sharp is expected to leave on an LDS mission after the season, while Hines has been hobbled by an ankle injury for more than two months.

"Our depth has improved and our size and speed is better than it was," said Boylen, who has been stressing the Utes' transition game all fall. With better depth and faster players, Boylen wants to make the Utes more of a running team.