Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus No. 9-Seed Cincinnati (1st Round) on March 10, 2026 , Loss , 66, to, 73
Final Score
Men's Basketball
66
vs No. 9-Seed Cincinnati (1st Round)
73
The University of Utah Athletics
Jeff Smith Featured on CollegeChalkTalk.com
11/12/2009 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 12, 2009
University of Utah assistant basketball coach Jeff Smith will be one of several contributors from around the nation to the National Coaches' Diary Series on CollegeChalkTalk.com.
Coach Smith Diary Entry #1
This season at Utah brings with it a great deal of excitement. There is still a lingering buzz about our Mountain West Conference regular season and tournament championships from a year ago, as well as the anticipation of what our seven new players bring to the Utes' roster for 2009-10. This year we added 3 junior college players, 3 true freshmen and a returned missionary. These players bring with them a variety of skills and strengths, and will blend nicely with our returning players to create depth and competition at all positions. Today's entry will provide some insight into the classes we have here, as well as the expectations and challenges facing each group this season.
Our senior class is made up of two players, Kim Tillie and Luka Drca, who have each logged significant playing time in Coach Boylen's system. They bring experience and toughness on both sides of the ball, and we expect them provide great leadership on and off the floor. They not only understand the culture which has been created, but they are doing a great job of holding our young guys accountable to the way we do things.
Our junior class returns one player who has started and had a significant impact for two years in Carlon Brown. We again look for Carlon to have a major impact on the offensive end, and this season he will be asked to take on a bigger role on the defensive end as well. Despite an off-season broken nose and orbital bone, Carlon has improved on both ends of the floor, and he is poised for another great year! Joining Carlon are Junior College transfers Jay Watkins, Matt Read, and Ricky Shoff. Ricky was a starter on the 2009 Salt Lake Community College team which won the J.C. National Championship. Watkins and Read add depth and experience to our front line, and both are very good defenders and rebounders.
The sophomore class is made up of Jordan Cyphers, Jace Tavita, Jason Washburn, Tre Smith, and Chris Hines. Washburn, Smith, and Hines red-shirted last season, and Cyphers and Tavita played limited minutes. These players give us depth and competition at all positions. Each of them brings specific strengths and skills to the team and they are all working very hard to become more complete players at both ends of the floor.
The freshmen class comes to Utah with tremendous accolades and success on the high school level. Marshall Henderson and Shawn Glover were 2 of the top players in the state of Texas a year ago, and Jeremy Olsen was rated among the best big men in the state of Georgia. Olsen will be with the Utes this season, and then depart for 2 years for his LDS church mission. Henderson and Glover add length, shooting, and ball skills, and both have a tremendous basketball IQ. They, too, will challenge for playing time while adding depth and competition each and every day.
This year's team will be one that is fun and exciting to watch. We look for improvement each week, and the competition for positions will have our players on edge every day. Although we are new and young, the culture is established. Coach Boylen makes it very clear what is expected on and off the court, and our players have embraced that! It should be a fun season!
Go Utes!!
Players Mentioned
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Guard/Forward
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Guard/Wing
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Forward
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