SALT LAKE CITY — For coaches and players, media day signals the start of their season — a new opportunity. But for the University of Utah basketball program, media day was overshadowed by the looming cloud hanging over the NCAA due to scandal.

Normally, the first questions on media day relate to new players joining the program, how the team will look compared to the previous season, how the offensive and defensive schemes will be similar or different or any other basketball-related question. But the first 10 minutes of Friday’s first opportunity to talk to players and head coach Larry Krystkowiak were all related to the scandal.

“It’s one of my favorite days of the year and that’s the first question,” Krystkowiak said, disappointed. “I think there's going to be immoral people and people that break rules in any category in any profession and we've chosen not to. And I think it's probably just the tip of the iceberg. And more than anything, I'm curious to see what the ramifications are as far as the NCAA goes.”

Krystkowiak said that rumors about players receiving payments to play basketball has been an “underlying tone” for some time and wasn’t too “shocking.” He said the NCAA hasn’t been able to control much of it. He said that over the summer he had another college coach tell him that “if you’re not cheating, you’re cheating yourself.”

“Certain conferences, I think, are notorious for doing that and if you're trying to compete in those conferences and you don't do it, you're going to be subpar,” he added. “It's a big egg on a lot of our faces. It kind of speaks for the entire entity, and we're a part of it. It's not going to tarnish what we're doing here. We're going to stay upbeat and focus on what it is we can control.”

Despite the scandal, Krystkowiak said he’s “sleeping well at night” because his team has never been involved in cheating. He re-emphasized that when he came to Utah; his two rules were that the program was not going to cheat and they were not going to “recruit turds.”

Because he knows the team hasn’t cheated, he said he jokingly questioned his coaching staff about if they had anything to tell him related to the scandal. He added that unlike many programs around the country, there will be no internal investigation because it was not necessary at Utah.

Utah’s European trip

Over the summer, the Runnin’ Utes were able to participate in a European basketball tour. As a result, media day was not the first time the players were introduced to each other in a practice setting. Players and Krystkowiak alike said the opportunity to play overseas was a great opportunity and one to give them a jump start to the season.

Several players said the European tour has given them an opportunity to see the system before the season starts and allows them to connect in a way that isn’t possible without having the opportunity.

Newcomer Justin Bibbins said joining a new program was difficult at first, but after getting to play with his teammates, the connection “became natural.”

“It helped a lot. That trip was amazing. We have a lot of new guys, a lot of new pieces and that trip was what we needed,” Bibbins said. “A lot of guys jelled together and learned how to play with each other and it’s only going to grow from here.”

Utah’s system

Krystkowiak has never been one to operate just one system and recruit to just that system. Instead, he’s been about the recruits he can get and playing to their strength. He emphasized that point again Friday with so many new faces joining the roster.

“I don't think we have a system here at Utah, short of the fact that we're going to play hard and play defense — some certain non-negotiables. But our focus right now is to try to put these guys in positions where they can be successful and we've got six weeks to sort some of that out,” he said. “But it's evolving.”

He added that for him it’s far more important that a player comes in with a good character and is willing to work hard. All the other stuff — who’s the focal point of the offense, defense, starting lineup, etc — is all ancillary to a player’s willingness to jell with the team and work together.

Krystkowiak said he feels as though the team is more connected than last year and they’re playing more in sync with each other.

“We've got a bunch of good guys, and it's really a joy to come in and coach them,” he said. “We talk about energy vampires that are going to suck the life out of people. We've got a lot of energy givers, and so it's fun.

“That's a starting point for sure, and we're kind of getting back to when we first started this program that was really important to us,” he added. “I think, maybe if I'm going to fess up, a little bit that maybe you start chasing some of the stars in their recruiting and the four stars and start thinking that's important and you lose sight of that character is a really important part of it. So we're kind of getting back to some of those basics. And as I said, it's a fun group to coach.”

New to the program

Utah welcomes seven new players to the roster this season. Here’s who they are:

• Justin Bibbins | Senior | Guard | 5’8” | 150 lbs. | Long Beach State
• Kolbe Caldwell | sophomore | Guard | 6’5” | 205 lbs. | Shawnne Community College
• Donnie Tillman | Freshman |Forward | 6’7” | 225 lbs. | Findlay Prep
• Brooks King | Freshman | Guard | 6’3” | 200 lbs. | Centennial High School
• Nata Duda | Sophomore | Guard | 6’5” | 190 lbs. | North Platte Community College
• Christian Popoola | Freshman | Guard | 6’4” | 190 lbs. | Bishop Gorman High School
• Devante Doutrive | Freshman | Guard | 6’5” | 190 lbs. | Birmingham High School

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