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SALT LAKE CITY — For the last two seasons, Craig Smith has dreamed of utilizing two bigs in his starting lineup.
And while there have been instances where he's been able to put veteran Branden Carlson and another big into the lineup, it hasn't been a permanent fixture or something Smith could rely on long term — not even for a couple minutes in most instances.
But as Utah prepares to tipoff its 2023-24 season Monday night, there's a good chance that Smith has found his big-big lineup with Carlson and Colorado transfer Lawson Lovering, a 7-foot-1 junior.
"We're definitely starting with that," Smith said. "It's been a big strength of ours. We're playing through those guys in a lot of different ways. The beauty of it is these guys are very versatile, so we can just put them in a lot of different scenarios and they seem to execute it well."
That lineup has forced Carlson to switch positions from his traditional center, or five, spot to that of being at the power forward, or four, spot. And though it's not something Carlson has been familiar with over his basketball career, he's adopted the idea with open arms as he trusts Smith to put him in a position to succeed.
Carlson has long been the team's leading scorer and most impactful player in the game, but now he'll be doing it with less attention to him solely in the post — and it may even space out the defense to create more holes for the team to work with since Carlson has become a legitimate 3-point threat over the last couple seasons.
Smith maintains that his lineup will be a "fluid situation" as he goes through the season and makes tweaks and adjustments, but having the two bigs in at the same time appears to be Utah's blueprint for success to start the season. It could last one game or it could last the entirety of the season, but it's about "guys that perform and guys that play with a great competitive spirit."
Beyond his two bigs in the lineup, Smith plans to utilize around nine players each game, but isn't married to an exact number. Injuries will dictate some of that, but he's looking for players that are "ready to go" and can provide a "spark" when they get on the floor.
In Utah's exhibition game last week against Westminster, Smith primarily used 9-10 players in his rotation before unloading the bench at the end of the game. The one that had the biggest impact on the game offensively was BYU and Salt Lake Community College transfer Hunter Erickson, who finished with 16 points, including going 4-of-4 from 3-point range, in 21 minutes of action.
Erickson, as well as Lovering and Washington transfer Cole Bajema, led the team in scoring — a big upgrade from last season when Carlson and Gabe Madsen were relied upon to provide the bulk of the team's scoring. With the three transfers adding some shooting depth to the team, Smith feels confident in what his team can accomplish this season.
"I'd say every one of these guys has been even a little bit better than we anticipated," Smith said. "That's a great thing. It's about production. We said from Day 1, guys have got to produce and you've got to impact winning — some how, some way, because those are the guys that are going to earn their way on the floor."
But playing against Westminster isn't the same as playing the regular season, and most certainly not the same as playing a 20-game Pac-12 schedule against tough competition — to say nothing of what Utah men's basketball will experience next season when it jumps to arguably the toughest basketball conference in the country in the Big 12.
Smith will get a good look at what he has on the roster with a season-opening game (7:30 p.m. MST, Pac-12 Networks) at the Huntsman Center against a plucky Eastern Washington team that won the regular season championship in the Big Sky last season before beating Washington State in the first round of the NIT.
Eastern Washington will not back down against a Utah team still trying to find its footing in the Pac-12 as it pushes for a return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2015-16 season. Smith said it's a team with "elite size for the Big Sky" and shooters at every position, who will also be a menace on defense.
"You've gotta really be on point with your spacing defensively, how you're guarding their personnel, who does what — it's a big personnel game," Smith said. "Defensively, they throw everything at you; I mean, literally everything — from man to every kind of zone — they're gonna press on made free throws, so you've got to — they touch on all the senses and they try to get you off attack with what they do.
"But they're good. They're very, very talented, and this can be a very difficult game."
