Ute BB team shows potential despite loss

For the second year in a row, the Utah basketball team has lost its opening game at the Huntsman Center. This one didn’t hurt as bad as last year, however.
Idaho was a lot better team than Southwest Baptist, plus Utah didn’t have a veteran team of seniors this time around.
The Ute team that lost Friday night is a young team that showed loads of potential despite the loss.
How about freshman Jason Washburn scoring 20 points on 8 of 9 shooting, just a couple of weeks after coming back from a knee injury?
How about freshman Marshall Henderson scoring 18 points from all over the floor and showing a mean streak that often seems missing from the Utes. Henderson got called with a technical foul for flipping the ball hard at an opponent on his way to a timeout and also had words with senior Luka Drca. He does need to tone it down, but at least he shows some fire.
David Foster also looked good, making all four of his shots and scoring 8 points in just 13 minutes. He was plagued by foul trouble all night, but he and Washburn are going to be a good tandem at the center spot.
Carlon Brown was the biggest disappointment, committing six turnovers and forcing up several poor shots on a 4 of 13 night. He vowed to come back stronger against Utah State Wednesday and he’ll need to play well for the Utes to win games.
All in all, I was quite encouraged with the Utes’ performance. They have some weapons and though they’ll lose their share of games this year, their run-and-shoot style should be fun to watch.