Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
CORVALLIS, Ore. — Jordan Loveridge was head coach Larry Krystkowiak's big-name recruit for the 2012-13 Utah basketball class, and so far, the freshman has not disappointed. He leads the team in scoring and rebounding — averaging 12.1 points and 7.1 boards per game — as well as minutes played, recording just under 31 minutes per outing.
But make no mistake, there are other freshmen on this Utah squad that have also made key contributions lately.
Brandon Taylor saw his first significant minutes in a loss at Washington State on Jan. 16. In the five games since then, the point guard has averaged 10.8 points and just under four assists per contest.
Taylor provided a spark off the bench, scoring a career-high 19 in a win at Washington before getting his first career start in last Saturday's victory over Colorado. He also shoots a team-best 53 percent from 3-point range.
"It was huge," Taylor said of the win over the Buffaloes. "It's a good momentum-builder to go into the second half (of the season)."
Jeremy Olsen, a redshirt freshman center that signed to be a Ute under Jim Boylen before spending two years on an LDS mission, still hasn't seen big minutes yet this season, but Krystkowiak has hinted that he soon will.
"Jeremy is going to earn more minutes," Krystkowiak said. "He already has. Certainly against our next two opponents that don't play small, it's going to bode well for Jeremy to be out on the floor."
My minutes have kept increasing and increasing since conference play started. I go out there and just play hard, and I've gotten into a lot better shape. My defense has improved a lot — it still has to get better, of course. But I've gotten a lot better.
–Redshirt freshman center Jeremy Olsen
Olsen scored 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting in just 14 minutes of playing time during Saturday's victory.
"My minutes have kept increasing and increasing since conference play started," said Olsen. "I go out there and just play hard, and I've gotten into a lot better shape. My defense has improved a lot — it still has to get better, of course. But I've gotten a lot better."
Both freshmen are doing what they can to learn from their teammates and apply new techniques to their game.
"Poise, relaxation, making the easier play," said Taylor, listing things he's picking up from fellow Utes. "Cedric (Martin) is an awesome defender. I don't know what he does, he just locks down and makes sure his man doesn't score what his season average was. I like his defensive intensity."
"Renan (Lenz) is really good at passing the ball and post-feeding," Olsen said. "(Jason) Washburn is good at making quick moves in the post; he's really crafty down there. Dallin (Bachynski) is just a monster, and strong as an ox."
The Runnin' Utes will look to continue receiving contributions from both young freshmen as they visit Oregon State Wednesday night in Corvallis.
Like the Utes, the Beavers have struggled in conference play, claiming just one victory to date. That win came on their home floor against Washington on Jan 23.
Also like Utah, OSU has finished on the wrong side of some very close outcomes this season. Three of the Beavers' last four losses have come by three points or less.
"They're a bit like us, in that there's three or four games that could have been W's that aren't," Krystkowiak said. "So I don't look at their record at all and I hope nobody else does, because they're a much better team (than their record)."
Oregon State (11-11, 1-8) boasts five players that average double figures, led by junior guard Roberto Nelson's 16.5 points and junior forward Devon Collier's 14 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
"It's a really high-powered team," said Krystkowiak. "It's as athletic a team as there is in the Pac-12. They give you a lot of different looks — full court, three-quarter court, half, just about every zone and trap known to man. So we'll have to be ready for the kitchen sink."
"They get on lots of runs, so we're going to have to get back in transition," Taylor said. "We'll need to execute to get a road win."
"We didn't turn the ball over a lot against Colorado, and we'll have to do the same thing against Oregon State," Olsen said. "And play defense for a full 40 minutes."
On the other end of the spectrum stands Oregon, against which the Utes will play Saturday night in Eugene.
The Ducks currently rank at the top of the Pac-12 conference and No. 19 nationally, but have dropped each of their last two match-ups since losing a key contributor in freshman guard Dominic Artis, who has missed the past three games due to injury.
Fellow freshman guard Damyean Dotson is the leading scorer for Oregon (18-4, 7-2) at 11.4 points per game, with four others, including Artis, averaging 10 points.
Wednesday night's game starts at 8 p.m. MST while Saturday's tips off at 6 p.m. Both will air on Pac-12 Network as well as on the radio at 700 AM.
Tyson Maddy has covered the University of Utah football and men's basketball teams as a contributing writer for KSL.com Sports since 2011. Follow his Utes coverage on twitter @Tyson_Maddy
