No NBA? No Problem (Casey)

With the news earlier this week from the NBA that the NBPA rejected the offer from the owners and that  there may be NO NBA season this year it looks like our options are limited down to watching our local college teams play (which is not a bad thing). So as we begin this year in basketball let us take a quick look at our local teams and see what we can expect.

1.  BYU: Well Cougar fans all i can say is NO MORE JIMMER! That right The Jimmer is gone so whats next? Well I think the Basketball team this year should be just fine. BYU will have to rely on there bigs to keep them in games. Brandon Davis is back for being kicked off the team and he is joined inside by Noah Hartsock. Charles Abuo will be relied on to be a leader on this team as well. The concern I have is with the Point Guard possition, right now Brock Zylstra is there point and he is not a PG. There is alot of excitement about UCLA transfer Matt Carlino a 6-2 guard who will be available after Dec 17th for the Cougs who should take over the PG position. All in All BYU should be a good team and win some games this year and with games against Baylor and Gonzaga(twice) and Saint Marys(twice) and a new conference, this could be interesting. But i expect BYU to make it into the NCAA Tournament for the 6th straight year.
2. Utah: The University of Utah is going through a rough few years. Under Jim Boylen it seemed to me that this program went from bad to worse. But at years end the Utes Fired Boylen (good move) and hired Larry Krystkowiak who was an assistant coach for the New Jersey Nets as well as a former Jazz player. The Utah version of Coach K will have a tough road ahead as he only returns 4 players from last year and welcomes in 11 new players as well as a new conference. Not to mention before the season even began there best player 7' 3" David Foster is out indefinitely. This year is going to be tough for the Utes. I expect them to have a losing record and finish at the bottom of the Pac 12.
3. Utah St: Well the Aggies are one of those teams that seem every year to play well, win the WAC and make it to the NCAA tournament only to be knocked out in the first round. And every year i pick them to win and am disappointed. Well this year will be alot of the same in my mind. Utah State under Stew Morrill is one of the steadiest programs in the state and The Spectrum is by far the craziest Arena in the state. Look for Brockeith Payne and Brady Jardine to lead the Aggies to another WAC Championship and NCAA tournmanet bid. They are young but they are good.
4. Weber St: Perhaps the Best team in the State, the Wildcats under Randy Rahe have been consistently good every year and will be good again this year. Behind Senior Klye Bullinger the Wildcats were picked to win the Big Sky and i think they should be able to do it. They play At BYU and At California which will be huge tests but after they slide into conference play i think they will do just fine and continue there winning ways.
5. UVU: Utah Valley University is a good basketball program. Last year they finished the season as the Great West Conference regular season champs and have been selected to repeat that again this year. Behind the play of returning all conference player Isiah Williams as well as Holton Huntsaker, big man Ben Aird and Forward Geddes Robinson this Wolverines team should be good and be able to hold there own against almost anyone even with a tough trip up to Logan.

So with all that being said it should be a great year for hoops in the state of Utah even without the Jazz playing Unless you cheer for the Utes but think about it this way Ute fans you will have an opportunity to see a #15 Arizona and a #23 California team come to your place. Sorry I dont know much about SUU or the other teams in the state. If anyone has info leave a comment!