Watkins out, Henderson starting

Thursday’s news that Jay Watkins will be out at least a month with a stress fracture of his pelvis, is a blow to the Ute basketball team. The Utes were planning on Watkins to fill a role similar to Shaun Green and play major minutes off the bench at the forward spot. The 6-foot-7 Watkins, who played for College of Southern Idaho, brings experience to the young Ute team and is one of the team’s best rebounders.
The other basketball news concerns freshman Marshall Henderson, who will be starting in Saturday’s scrimmage against Colorado. Coach Jim Boylen hinted about it after Wednesday night’s public scrimmage when Henderson played a strong floor game while making several outside shots and he confirmed Thursday that Henderson will start.
Luka Drca will join Henderson on the guardline with Carlon Brown and Kim TIllie playing forward and 7-3 sophomore David Foster playing center.
The rest of the lineup is in flux with transfer forward Matt Read, Jordan Cyphers, Chris Hines, Jace Tavita, Tre Smith and Shawn Glover fighting for minutes.
Boylen has been considering Tavita as a starter and says he is better defensively than Henderson, but Henderson is better than Tavita offensively.
Jason Washburn, the 7-foot center from Michigan, is nearly back to 100 percent after sitting out with a knee injury for six weeks and he is expected to practice full speed next week.