The College of Utah ladies’s basketball staff is ranked No. 8 within the newest AP High 25, and is in a great place for a top-4 NCAA Event seed — which might imply the prospect to host two video games on the Huntsman Heart.
When you will have the kind of success the Utes are having, your head coach may very well be in demand. We’re going to begin this Utes mailbag proper there.
Do you will have a query for Utes beat reporter Josh Newman? Ship it to him through a tweet, direct message him on Twitter, e mail him at jnewman@sltrib.com, or depart it within the feedback part on the finish of this text and he’ll reply them in his weekly mailbag.
Q: “Are there considerations about Lynne Roberts leaving after this 12 months? What would Utah have to do to attempt to hold her in SLC?” — @robinsry
A: The very fact that is even a query proper now’s a testomony to the job Roberts has completed, not simply this season, however over quite a lot of seasons in getting Utah to nationwide relevance.
While you’re pretty much as good because the Utes are proper now, typically, one other program involves attempt to steal your coach. That’s to not say one thing is imminent with Roberts, nevertheless it’s simply the truth of how her occupation works typically.
If somebody tries to poach Roberts, cash would assist, and I’d be curious to see if Utah is keen or in a position to pony up extra of it after she acquired a monstrous contract extension final spring. Roberts is at the moment working beneath a five-year take care of a base wage of $679,500 with no escalators. The earlier five-year deal, which was set to run out this June earlier than the extension was agreed to, was paying her a base of $350,000 with no escalators.
The massive downside if another person desires to rent Roberts: Her buyout is at the moment within the neighborhood of $2.6 million. That’s an enormous quantity working in favor of the Utes.
Are there considerations that is going to truly occur? Not but. Is that this believable in six weeks, particularly if Utah makes a deep NCAA Event run? I feel so.
Q: “Heading into spring ball and summer season exercises, what are some main considerations Utah should handle this offseason in your opinion in an effort to recover from the hump and win a Rose Bowl subsequent season (or extra)?” — @CarterGee43
A: First, a reminder that the Rose Bowl is a Faculty Soccer Playoff semifinal subsequent season. If Utah results in a third-straight Rose Bowl, a variety of issues went proper and the Utes caught some breaks alongside the way in which.
Utah wasn’t that far-off final season. Earlier than the Rose Bowl loss to Penn State, two of its three losses at Florida and at Oregon have been by three factors every. The 2023 staff will look totally different, however there aren’t a variety of wholesale modifications at most positions.
A fast, incomplete listing of potential considerations getting into spring apply:
• QB: Cam Rising’s well being is looming over every little thing as we’ll focus on under.
• RB: Not a priority essentially, however definitely extra of a speaking level than most wish to admit.
• WR: Want extra manufacturing from the place, a story as previous as time at Utah.
• CB: Clark Phillips III is gone. Who slides in there, and what does the nickel seem like? Hey, Smith Snowden?
Q: “Going into spring ball, might we see somebody beat out Bryson Barnes with how the ending of the Rose Bowl occurred?” — @gorringe_chase
A: What occurred within the Rose Bowl with Barnes after Rising exited is irrelevant.
A couple of days prior, offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig was fairly clear in speaking to reporters that one large emphasis in spring ball can be Barnes vs. Nate Johnson vs. Brandon Rose for QB2. That notion now turns into much more vital as a result of with Rising rehabbing a torn ACL, you must work out who your most viable choice is behind him if he’s not prepared for the opener seven-plus months.
On one hand, it’s time to determine what to do with Barnes, a fourth-year junior who doesn’t venture as a full-time starter. Not this 12 months, and never subsequent 12 months. He has confirmed to be a dependable backup, however alternatively, in the event you assume Johnson has a agency command of the offense, and in the event you assume he has an actual likelihood to be the longer term starter, it’s time to get him into that QB2 spot and cease dumping reps into Barnes. Both manner, it would play itself out, perhaps not by the top of spring, however sooner or later for certain.
Q: “At what age ought to it’s unlawful for an individual to put on a staff’s jersey at a sport or put on a baseball cap backwards?” — @richblove
A: I put on baseball caps. I put on them frontwards, I put on them backwards. Flat brims, curved brims, doesn’t matter. I don’t put on them each day within the spring and summer season, however undoubtedly usually. Typically it’s for model, or if I do know I’m going to be outdoors for an extended time period, typically it’s to guard my balding dome.
That mentioned, I’m not going to get on my soapbox as I method 41 years previous and let you know you can’t do the identical factor. It took a variety of self-reflection and soul-searching to return to that conclusion. Credit score to me for being mature about it.
On the subject of jerseys, I discover it fascinating you point out that carrying them at a sport is a no-no as a result of to me, that needs to be one of many solely locations it needs to be socially acceptable.
To be clear, in case you are an grownup, let’s say 22 and/or out of faculty, strolling round in a jersey begins to really feel slightly ridiculous. I had a slew of jerseys as a child and was carrying jerseys each from time to time till most likely my mid-20s, however that’s neither right here, nor there. We’re right here to speak about you, not me.
Exceptions to the jersey rule, in no specific order:
• At an precise sporting occasion or watch occasion. You’re a Jazz fan and also you’re at Vivint Area for a sport? Rock that Walker Kessler jersey.
• Your favourite staff is on the point of play in a championship sport/sequence. If the Jets ever get to a Tremendous Bowl, catch me in my Curtis Martin jersey within the days main as much as it.
• Sporting a jersey of the school you attended. You paid $200,000 in tuition and/or you will have a level means you don’t should observe the principles. I’ve seen a Utah Kuzma jersey or two strolling across the Huntsman Heart. Do your factor.
Q: “Now that the curtain crowd acquired their want for this weekend, what ought to these 17 [fans] transfer on to subsequent? I’m going with Large 12.” — @RedSoxRooskie
A: I lined this in a earlier mailbag, however yeah, it’s been a nasty season for followers complaining about issues that in lots of circumstances simply don’t matter.
The higher bowl curtains on the Huntsman Heart are up this weekend with No. 4 UCLA and USC visiting, so congratulations to the loud minority of followers that simply haven’t stopped on this matter. Utah-UCLA is a 9 p.m. tip on Thursday evening. Good luck making a dent within the higher bowl, at the same time as Utah makes use of a few totally different mechanisms this week to offer away free tickets.
To your level, some followers are going to be fixated on the Large 12. That’s not going to finish till the Pac-12 has a media rights deal and there’s a Grant of Rights in place with Utah and the remainder of the convention membership.
Different prime candidates for complaints shifting ahead, in no specific order:
• Mike Saunders Jr.’s lack of flooring time this weekend with Rollie Worster presumed out with an ankle damage.
• Basketball recruiting and what Craig Smith wants to do that offseason to get the Utes over the hump after a productive second season.
• One thing particularly to do with spring apply, I simply haven’t been in a position to put my finger on precisely what but. I really feel prefer it’s staring proper at me. Perhaps quarterback-related with Rising injured and unavailable?
Q: “Within the occasion we get a house NIT sport, is there any likelihood the athletic division comes up with an honest technique to get folks to the sport? Ideally one thing involving the curtains up?” – @TheJugg801
A: The NIT is all the time a troublesome promote.
It doesn’t matter who’s taking part in, it doesn’t matter if Utah will get a Energy Six staff on the Huntsman Heart, it’s going to be arduous to persuade folks to care. My expertise masking the NIT as a beat author is proscribed to 3 video games throughout consecutive seasons, nevertheless it completely felt like a comfort prize, which is strictly what the NIT is.
Subsequent downside: Choice Sunday is March 12. Utah’s potential first-round residence sport may very well be performed as early as March 14, lower than 48 hours after it learns its opponent. At this level, I’d assume there’s no less than some stage of planning contained in the athletic division in case Utah does host, however not understanding who the opponent is doesn’t assist.
As for what to do with the curtains, good query. When Utah hosted NIT video games in 2017 and 2018, the higher bowl was closed, and there’s no good purpose to imagine it might be open this time round. The Utes have had bother drawing all winter. That’s not altering in three weeks.
Q: “Over/beneath .5 wins for the boys’s basketball staff the remainder of the way in which?” @el_diamante3
A: I assume we’re speaking about simply the common season right here, which is residence for UCLA, residence for USC, and at Colorado.
This query was submitted on Monday morning, earlier than we knew precisely what Rollie Worster’s standing was, though we already presumed he was out. At that time, I used to be keen to take the over. The Buffaloes aren’t good, and the Trojans aren’t ok the place you’ll be able to mark that one as an computerized Utes loss.
Since Monday morning, Craig Smith has made clear twice that he doesn’t anticipate Worster to play this weekend, which is compounded by Gabe Madsen not able to play both with the high-ankle sprain.
I would really like making this resolution loads higher after seeing what the rotation seems to be like vs. UCLA, however getting even a type of three with out Worster, not to mention Madsen feels daunting.
I’ll take the beneath, which nonetheless probably offers Utah a manageable first-round matchup on the Pac-12 Event, so there’s that.
Q: “Is it simply me (or simply the followers), however does it appear to be Utah athletics is in a strategic holding sample till the Pac-12/10 future is extra sure? Are coaches and gamers in a position to block it out whereas Mark Harlan and Taylor Randall work via the “large image” media and realignment points?” — @leftcoastute
A: I’m probably not certain what to make of this.
I can’t think about any athlete on that campus is even remotely involved with what’s happening by way of the media rights deal and realignment points. It’s not their downside and it’s simply not one thing that must be registering for them in the course of the 37 different issues all of them take care of every day.
If you wish to imagine the realignment potentialities are a part of conversations with dad and mom of recruits and recruits themselves, OK, perhaps I can see that. A category of 2024 soccer recruit may wish to know what convention he’ll be taking part in in three, 4, 5 years down the highway, certain. Till there’s some readability on the media rights deal, that can technically be up within the air.
Is Utah in a strategic holding sample? I assume, but when that’s the case, then so is each athletic division within the convention. What does the media rights deal seem like? What number of years? How a lot cash? Does it require enlargement to get completed? If not, will George Kliavkoff look to develop after the deal is completed, as was the unique intention?
There’s actually nothing else proper now past these questions.
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