Runnin' Utes kick off first official practice of season


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — The University of Utah basketball team opened up its gym for the first official practice of the season at the new Jon M. and Karen Huntsman Facility Friday.

Head coach Larry Krystkowiak said he's ready to start the next chapter with his new team following last season's Sweet 16 appearance.

"It's a fresh start, it's a fresh gym. This is going to be an entirely new story that we're trying to write and I don't think this is a group that's resting on any laurels that took place last year," Krystkowiak said, speaking about the team's success last year. "Whether you're bad or trying to get better or you're good and you're trying to get better, the story is the same. It's important for us to get better each day and to be trying to play our best basketball toward the end of the season."

In the offseason, Utah lost star guard Delon Wright to the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Draft and center Dallin Bachynski to a professional team overseas. However, Krystkowiak said he's not looking to replace either player as the team looks ahead to the new season.

"The slate is clean. It's not like we've got to replace Dallin. We don't have to replace Delon. We've got to create our own identity," Krystkowiak said. "We're trying to put guys in position where they can be successful — play to their strengths."

Wright was a huge part of last year's success as a utility guard that could steal the ball, score, rebound, and facilitate the ball with pinpoint accuracy. But Krystkowiak said losing Wright won't be a concern, particularly as the team looks to build on different strengths of the team.

Related:

"Nobody is going to replace Delon. It's an entirely different roster. I'd like to think that we can get 10-20 percent more out of everybody else," he said. "Delon did some things that I don't expect anybody to do. Can we be better in some other areas? Maybe we can."

Senior guard Brandon Taylor added that this year's team has gotten better and will step up with the new guys in their attempt to return to the Sweet 16.

"You deal with the hand you have. At the end of the day we don't have Delon and we don't have Dallin, which were two key prospects in our team," he said. "But now we have other guys like Zo (Lorenzo Bonam)and we have Gabe (Bealer) and guys like myself that have gotten better — the nucleus of the team has gotten better. Everyone has stepped up and everyone knows what we have to do to get back there (Sweet 16) this year."

Utah added several new players, including junior college guards Bonam and Bealer. Both are expected to contribute immediately and help add depth to Utah's guard situation.

"I just want to come in and contribute and help out in the parts that they're missing," Bonam said.

Also joining the team is freshmen Makol Mawien, a forward-center from Granger High School in West Valley City, Brandon Miller, a recently returned missionary from Brighton High School in Sandy, and Austin Montgomery, a forward from Gainesville, Georgia.

![](http://beacon.deseretconnect.com/beacon.gif?cid=325249&pid=4)

Related stories

Most recent Sports stories

Related topics

SportsUtah Utes
Josh Furlong

    ARE YOU GAME?

    From first downs to buzzer beaters, get KSL.com’s top sports stories delivered to your inbox weekly.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast