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
Quotes from Larry Krystkowiak's Weekly Press Conference
1/12/2015 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 12, 2015
On moving up to No. 8 in the nation:
We¹re just looking at a bunch of film to get ready for ASU. Once you start thinking about how people perceive you, you're in trouble. We have to control the controllable. The rankings right now are irrelevant. We are not going to be sneaking up on teams. We are going to get every team's best punch. If we control what we can control, we will be fine
On what ASU offers without Jordan Bachynski:
Eric Jacobsen is a nice post player and has made huge strides. Players just don't get better when they advance year, people just assume that's going to happen. But he has really stepped into those minutes and excelled. I think he's a better back-to-the-basket player than Jordan Bachynski, but maybe not the defensive presence. Team dynamics change, look at UCLA and USC. Colorado didn't change much with no Dinwiddie this year since he was injured for most of last season. Arizona has lost guys and added guys so they're somewhat different also.
On the evolution of the program:
It's really interesting. I hoped for a few years that I'd be able to talk from a different perspective. We have tried to build a culture. It's a word that you really have to define. Google culture and there are tons of definitions. We have the Cliff Notes down for who we recruit and the type of person and player we bring in. Then how we do things here, from the new facility to the way we practice. We don't change with success. You can build championship habits with six wins or now, with the success we've had. If you came to today's practice, you wouldn't be able to tell if our record was the same as it was three years ago or now. We prepare the same way. There were times where we were not winning games and we talked about a championship culture. We don't need to reinvent the wheel. We are doing it. We may have different players but the traits have stayed the same.
On what he looks for in recruits:
Character. I think that can be the difference in games. It shines through. We have nice guys, not taking basketball into account. We have kids from other countries, laid back guys from Southern California and a bunch of Utah products. We train with leadership groups and Navy SEALs. We talk about it daily. It's not a manual or magic. You talk about life lessons and what's important. You aren't going to be perfect in recruiting. Ask our assistants, I said that on the first day I arrived here 'we aren't going to recruit any turds'. This job is hard as it is but I feel strongly in recruiting high-character kids. We aren't going to sacrifice someone who won't fit in just because they may have athleticism and skill
On areas of improvement for his team:
We need to get better in a ton of areas. I won't say our Achilles heel at the moment. I see our warts and weaknesses that we need to address. We've played three home games. The road is a different animal. That's why we scheduled the way we did in non-conference. I don't want road environments to shock our kids. We need to get stops and get out and running. Doing that on the road is the biggest challenge. After Colorado, we watched a ton of clips. If you want to be great then you have to clean up these mistakes.
On the chances of experiencing some hard times this season:
There are going to be ebbs and flows in a season. It's the most important thing to be playing the best at the end of the season. It didn't happen last year. Hopefully our graph is trending upwards. I think we can be better than how we're playing. Every team feels that way. You get to play for 40 minutes and then re-evaluate. You hope you're playing the best at the end of the day. I just want to survive today, tomorrow, Wednesday and so on.
On his team's offensive progression:
Early on, I'd say our defense was well ahead of our offense. The perception is that when you see us, production should be up due to the returners. We brought in a lot of new kids. Our defense kept us in the game at San Diego State and Kansas. Since then we've improved offensively. Our kids are learning what we are running, we've worked on skill development and running things that work effectively. Our comfort level has set in but that changes on the road. You have to be ready to go. I'm excited and so is the team. It will be good to be in the sunshine and get ready for a hostile environment.
On adjusting to the schedule:
We had four games in eight days and then nothing for a week. We were playing every other day like the NBA. Maybe it is too much for everyone. We had some practice, then took time off and now we're back practicing and preparing for two games in three days. This season, no one is playing an inordinate number of minutes. Look at the stats and our minutes are low for everyone and the kids are working hard in practice.
On the 2011-12 season:
As brutal as it was to lose all those games, I felt we maximized the talent. It was a challenge for everyone. Guys got better and we won three league games. We pushed Colorado, who won the league, to the limit. There were a lot of rewarding moments because we were building. That season was about spending time with good kids and it was all part of the process looking back. The daily grind reminds us of where we came from.
On where the program is now:
There's no magic formula or potion. Luck is involved. Kids we recruited have been better than we expected and worked hard. Our freshmen who played a lot two years ago are not juniors. Then you add guys like Delon and Jakob. We've shown persistence and patience. So far this year things have gone the way we want to go, but there are no guarantees. People say it's amazing how fast it's turned around. Not to me. We have a great group and a great team. I keep telling our guys it's a long season. It's a marathon and we are at the halfway point. There's still a lot of basketball to be played and strategy to figure out. I just want us to keep grinding and stay hungry, humble and after it.
On Arizona:
There's no focus on Saturday. I know what they did to us last year but we haven't accomplished anything. I am focused on ASU and this road trip's first game. They're dangerous and we are going to have to be focused on them.
On the Pac-12 and winning road games:
Road wins are hard to come by. Look at UCLA the first two weeks. They could not win on the road, they go home and get two wins. I think Washington state and Oregon State are exceeding expectations. I don't know what will happen down the way but everyone is a quality team. All 12 teams are dangerous on a given night.
On payback for losses last season:
We don't talk about that. We are smart enough to know anyone can be beaten. If there's anything that needs to be said, I save the strategy for the pregame talks. We have a mature group that knows they need to be on edge and ready to go. I need to be prepared. They need to be prepared to grind through the X's and O's. Their feelings can't be hurt if they're not playing. It's not a threat but we are deep. Guys need to come to play every night. I saw four top-10 teams got beat this weekend. Parity is all around
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