Utah Utes basketball: Rebuilding Utes not surprised with mid-pack pick

It's not a good recipe for success to lose your four top scorers, including your top three 3-point shooters and the league MVP, who was also the defensive player of the year.

That's what faces the Utah basketball team this year after losing Luke Nevill, Shaun Green, Lawrence Borha and Tyler Kepkay.

Still, Utah coach Jim Boylen is optimistic about his basketball team, which will mostly consist of players he has recruited over the past three years.

Boylen's team was picked for fourth in the league this year after winning a share of the regular-season championship as well as tournament championship. He talked about his team and its challenges at Tuesday's Mountain West Conference Media Day in Denver.

"We're building in the right direction," he said. "We're just trying to keep getting better and develop. "What I'm hoping is we can develop this group of guys and get better every day."

Boylen said it will be hard to replace a couple of players like Nevill and Green, who each started 100 games in their careers and Kepkay and Borha, who brought toughness to the team.

"I'm hoping we can replace some toughness with effort and playing together," Boylen said. "We have to defend and rebound, get tougher mentally as a team. I'm hoping we can be disciplined defensively and hang in games."

Boylen said his team will have to rely on its defense, rebounding and running.

"When we get into the halfcourt I have concerns," he said.

The Utes return three starters in Carlon Brown, Kim Tillie and Luka Drca and two backup guards, Jordan Cyphers and Jace Tavita. The rest of the team is new, although 7-foot-2 center David Foster saw limited action before his LDS mission and 6-11 center Jason Washburn played in the program as a redshirt last year along with guards Chris Hines and Tre Smith.

Utah has three freshmen, including Shawn Glover, Jeremy Olsen and Marshall Henderson and two JC transfers in Jay Watkins and Matt Read.

Watkins, a 6-7 JC transfer from Southern Idaho, is most likely to play, while the 6-10 Olsen might redshirt before going on an LDS mission.

After playing the toughest non-conference schedule in the league last year and perhaps in Utah history, the Utes have another strong schedule this year.

Utah plays at LSU, Pepperdine and Weber State and plays Illinois and either Oklahoma State or Bradley on a neutral floor as well as Oklahoma, Michigan and Utah State at home. Boylen feels the tough schedule has helped his team get better each year.

"We want to get this program even more battle-hardened that it has been and try to reach new heights," he said. "The only way you do that is at the edge of your comfort zone and that's what we're trying to do."

The Utes open the season with an exhibition game Nov. 7 against Findlay and their first official game is Nov. 13 against Idaho at the Huntsman Center.

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