The other coach K. great in his own right


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SALT LAKE CITY — Six wins or a Sweet 16 appearance, nothing will change the approach Larry Krystkowiak takes to his daily tasks, and life in general.

It’s the same thing every day, one assignment after another until the work is complete. The big difference over the past four years is the Utah basketball program that Krystkowiak directs has gone from a mere six wins in 2011-12 to this year’s breakout season of 26 wins and a date against Duke in the Sweet 16 this week.

Metaphorically speaking, Utah’s ascent from the ashes to deep into the NCAA tournament has occurred overnight. Just don’t ask Krystkowiak how he did it so quickly.

“That question is constantly asked,” he said. “The year we won six games we approached every practice (and) prepared as though we were going to win a championship. “It’s just a grind-it-out.

“I’ve always said you kind of take care of whatever list is on your desk that particular day. You try to fix what’s broken. You wake up the next morning and you do it again and you do it again.”

Taking over for the fired Jim Boylen in April 2011, Krystkowiak stepped into a program that was besieged by players transferring to other Division I schools. The talent he inherited was bad enough for the coaches to not even consider the first season as part of the rebuilding process. To them, the legitimate reconstruction of the tradition-rich program didn’t begin in earnest until after the first season, which was a miserable 6-26.

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The 2012-13 roster included touted recruit Jordan Loveridge from West Jordan High and resulted in an increase in wins to 15. The schedule was front loaded to include several easy opponents, but the Utes closed strong by advancing to the Pac-12 tournament semifinals and winning four out of their final five games.

Krystkowiak scored another recruiting coup the following off-season when he signed junior college standout Delon Wright. The maturity of the holdover players and the addition of center Jakob Poeltl helped Utah get its first NCAA tournament win in 10 years this season.

The line-upon-line concept has produced startling results. In such a short time, the former NBA power forward has built the state’s best college basketball program and has become the state’s best college coach.

“You never want to set lofty goals,” Krystkowiak said. “I never dreamed of playing in the NBA. I never talked about it or thought about it until I was there. I got to figure out a way to get a little bit better each day. I think our kids have really latched on to that concept.”

Over the last four years Utah has jumped from 11th to third in the Pac-12. By comparison, USC has finished in last place three times during Krystkowiak’s reign at Utah.

Krystkowiak, who played for the Utah Jazz in 1992-93, knew coming in that along with winning would come incredible community support. Sure enough, Utah now ranks second in attendance in the Pac-12 behind Arizona.

The strong fan support will continue to go a long way toward making Utah attractive to recruits, who want to play in a basketball-crazy community. Enjoying a stronghold on local recruiting in recent years, BYU may find it more difficult in getting players to commit to play in Provo and the West Coast Conference versus Salt Lake City and the far more prestigious Pac-12.

“There’s a lot of programs around the country that attendance is in a decline and here ours is on the upswing,” Krystkowiak said. “I feel fortunate. I think our players feel fortunate, and it helps recruiting. It’s kind of what college basketball, to me, should be all about.”

At this point, the biggest obstacle Utah faces in sustaining greatness may be in trying to keep Krystkowiak, who spent one season as the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. If Krystkowiak rejects the NBA’s big money, Utah may have another run of Sweet 16 appearances like it did in the 1990s.

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