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SALT LAKE CITY — When Utah joined the Pac-12 it was almost exclusively for its football program. The basketball history and previous success was nice to tout as a talking point, but it was far from being a viable asset in a top conference.
Despite the excitement surrounding Utah's newfound conference, Utah basketball was an eyesore with a new coach that was fired a few years before as a head coach in the NBA. Couple that with the program's six-win season its first year in the Pac-12 and basketball had seemingly little promise or outlook.
Larry Krystkowiak, though, persevered and changed the culture surrounding Utah basketball. He found success with a 5-foot-10 guard who matured over the years and became larger than life as a valuable leader and asset to the team. He convinced a local kid from West Jordan, Utah to stay home and be a part of something special, despite any substantial evidence to back up his claim.
Krystkowiak saw potential in a junior college transfer hoping to follow in his brother's footsteps of one day playing in the NBA. He went overseas and personally recruited a 7-foot Austrian with a volleyball and soccer pedigree to uproot his life and come to college in Salt Lake City. He found several other recruits committed to the program as a piece to his puzzle that neatly fit together, improving upon the last as the years went by.
The nonconference scheduling increased in intensity as Utah welcomed the challenges of Wichita State, San Diego State, Kansas and Duke, all in an effort to groom players to be better and to be a better team in the Pac-12. Instead of gradually increasing the level of play, Krystkowiak turned it up to 11 and put his team through the refiner's fire.
Although not complete, Krystkowiak and his team have reached new heights and have seen the program grow over the years. No longer is there a sprinkling of fans in the Huntsman Center, with little thought paid to the basketball team. Now, it's a raucous environment that adds to an improved home-court advantage as Utah challenges for a Pac-12 title five years after its last-place finish.
On Saturday, Utah was able to finally check off another milestone in its upward trajectory by beating the always favorite Arizona 70-64. Senior guard Brandon Taylor lead the team with 19 points and made a clutch 3-pointer late in the game to seal Utah's first victory over Arizona since 1998.
"Let me just say this about Utah: I've been here when we came to this place and no one was at the game, and Taylor and (Jordan) Loveridge came here and not a lot of folks knew about Utah," Arizona head coach Sean Miller told media after the game. "As freshmen they took their lumps and finished in last place, and they've grown. Just to watch them as seniors in their fourth year be a part of two real good teams — this year they have a real chance to win the conference — I think sometimes as a coach you have to admire things that are happening.
"I really admire Utah and Utah's program," Miller added. "Larry Krystkowiak is not only one of the best coaches in our conference but he's one of the best coaches in our game. We're lucky to have him in our conference."
Although the victory Saturday was important in terms of conference seeding and NCAA Tournament seeding, it was an opportunity for Utah to get Arizona out of its head and focus on being a premier team to represent the Pac-12. No longer can Arizona hold the trump card and lay claim as the best team in the conference.
"It's big," Taylor said. "It took me four years, but it's better late than never. Arizona is one of those teams, I don't care who they have on their roster, it's a good win for our program. We've never beat them, and for me personally never beating them, it's just feels great to win on our home floor."
"It boosts your confidence," sophomore center Jakob Poeltl said. "I think it brings the team closer together because we experienced this win as a team. It was a team win through and through. I think we played great defense all together and were connected. It gets you in a positive way."
Poeltl, who spurned the NBA to return for his sophomore season last year, joked that he came back to play at Utah "to beat Arizona."
"I think we're having a very successful season right now, especially towards the end, and that was part of the reason why I wanted to come back to have a good season, or a great season, with the team," he added.
While easy to be hyperbolic and believe Utah's win over Arizona Saturday was the best win in Krystkowiak's coaching tenure at Utah, it's a cleared benchmark and measuring point for the players and an opportunity to give the team some added confidence heading into March.
"It's a team that we've never beat before, so I'd be lying if I said it wasn't pretty important," Krystkowiak said. "It's just about consistency to keep getting better. I'm hesitant to say this was as good as it gets because we're only going to be as good as our next game.
"We're going to enjoy it for a couple days and celebrate it," he added. "It's a pretty darn good feeling, but hopefully some of our bigger wins still have yet to come. There's things we haven't accomplished in the Pac-12 Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, so humble and hungry we will remain."
