SALT LAKE CITY - It's tough being the new man on campus.

It's not often that the new man on campus is the new head basketball coach for the Runnin' Utes basketball program.

The players that Larry Krystkowiak inherits know that their new coach has an impressive resume.

"He played in the NBA for a bunch of great teams, he's coached at both levels, the CBA, so he's been around," said sophomore forward J.J. O'Brien.

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Krystkowiak: "I want to get the pride back in the Utah basketball program"

Three weeks after the University of Utah fired Jim Boylen, the Utes introduced Larry Krystkowiak as their men's basketball coach Monday afternoon.

"He has a nice resume, an NBA coach and I respect him. I guess we're going to meet with him later and get a better feel for him," said Utes leading scorer Will Clyburn.

"He's been to the highest level and I'm sure a lot of people on the team want to go to the highest level, I guess it's just 'see what's best for them.'"

Playing for Krystkowiak presents a problem. The current roster was not recruited by Coach K, nor did the players commit to him.

"We had plans to play for Boylen, but we have to put it in the past now and move on," O'Brien told KSL.

"We all love Boylen, but we have to make a decision that is best for us. If we have to go our separate ways... we all have to make a decision that is best for our futures. Until we talk and I find out what his plans are, what kind of system it is, I don't really have any guarantees right now. I'm gonna have to find out what his plans are for me and the team and what his plans are for the program."

Clyburn agrees that there is a possibility of roster changes. "Everybody is going to take it day by day. Think about what's best for them, to stay or go. No one is going to rush anything. People don't know what's going to go on and what the future will hold. Everybody is just taking their time."

O'Brien also indicated that a decision to play at the University of Utah or transfer to another school could depend on other teammates.

"A lot of people's decisions have to do with what other people are doing. For the most part, everybody is gonna have to do what is best for them individually. We want to stay together as a team, that would be a dream come true going to the Pac-12 with the same team. When it comes down to it, everybody is going to have to make their own decisions."

O'Brien says despite the turmoil of the past three weeks that the team is not despondent.

"We're optimistic about it, we want to stay optimistic about it. We don't want to get down, we don't want to make assumptions about anybody until we know what he's about, so we're trying to stay optimistic about it."

Krystkowiak is known as an intense individual and a hard worker. Clyburn thinks those characteristics will benefit the team. "Those are the qualities that are going to get us back to the top. We need someone to stay hard on us and hold everybody accountable on the court and teach us to be grown men."

O'Brien knows that the responsibility to return to prominence doesn't rest solely on the head of the coach.

"It's not just the coaches, but the players too. We've got to be more tough minded. I think we need a tough coach that will get on us about some stuff. Good offense, good defense, just an overall good system."

Transferring comes with its own set of drawbacks. O'Brien recognizes that the best situation would be to stay with the Utes.

"I'd definitely like to stay. That's the goal. I committed here for a reason. We have to find out the system and how he is, until then I can't make any guarantees."

Email: dnoriega@ksl.com

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