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If a group of very vocal supporters in Utah's student section had their way, senior walk-on Austin Eastman could be starting for the Runnin' Utes.
Here's the thing: He's a starter ever week.
Last week, he was Washington's Dejonte Murray. Earlier in the season, he was Wichita State's Ron Baker. This week, he told the Tribune on Tuesday, he thinks he's UCLA's Isaac Hamilton.
"When we played Duke, I was Grayson Allen," Eastman said. "That was a tough one. He's a really talented player."
Behind every detail-oriented, obsessively prepared program is a great scout team. And while Utah's level of preparation could be questioned for some of the season, they haven't reached 19-7 without a dedicated group of reserves who learn opposing plays and try to give the starters a good picture of what to expect.
With four upcoming games against four new opponents, Utah's scouting group will be working as hard as ever in the coming weeks to simulate UCLA, USC, Arizona State and Arizona.
"I think the game prep is huge," coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "[We are] trying to take things that other teams are trying to do. You can't do it without a real solid team of scout team guys. They're to be commended, I think."
Eastman is the veteran of the group that Krystkowiak calls "pretty cerebral." He has more experience in the classroom than on the court: The guy known as "Montana" to his teammates was cut from the basketball team at Billings Senior High as a junior.
The 6-foot-3 guard says he bears no ill will, but simply brought his game to rec centers and pick-up contests while becoming Billings' valedictorian. He played in an intramural league as a freshman at Utah, tried out for a walk-on position as a sophomore, then became a student manager. When a spot opened up, he was in as a walk-on.
This year, Eastman's chances have been limited to 22 minutes in eight games. His first field goal of the year, a 3-pointer, came against Washington State on Sunday.
But in Utah's practice setting, Eastman and his other scout team mates study opposing plays and skill sets. Every week presents a new challenge for each player, who has to figure out a way to be the guy they're pretending to be on the scout unit: shooter, passer, rebounder, creator — whatever.
"If my guy is a left-handed driver, I have to figure out how to be a left-handed driver," Eastman said. "Normally I only have to do that once in a while, though."
The group is fairly close-knit, nicknames included. Freshman forward Austin Montgomery, an 3.94-GPA academic scholarship player whom Eastman calls "a legit genius," is "Morning" since his initials are A.M. Freshman forward Makol Mawien is M-Squared for his initials, similar to one of his partners in crime, junior wing Gabe Bealer, who is "KGB" (Eastman calls those two "The Besties" since they're often in each other's company). Sophomore guard Jake Connor is "The Red Mamba" for his shooting prowess and his fiery close-cropped hair.
Adding to the group's mystique is a host of players the general public hasn't seen much of yet: Center Jayce Johnson is a redshirting early enrollee, while transfers David Collette and Sedrick Barefield may not play until next December.
The first-team group gets to experience them plenty, however — sophomore center Jakob Poeltl says Johnson and Collette "kind of take turns to beat up on me." One could trace Poeltl's recent hot streak of 20-plus points in six of his past seven games, in part, to their presence in practice.
Assistant coach Tommy Connor said having those incoming players on the scout team allows the Utes to speed up their tempo in scout team drills. When the team does simulations — like rebounding and post defense this week — having a group of potential 2017 starters competing with this year's starters gives Utah as good a look as any.
"You talk about Collette, Barefield, Jayce and Gabe — who has been playing some scout team — that's a group that's tough to guard," Connor said. "They give a lot of support to the guys who do play a lot of minutes, and pay really close attention to understand and execute the other team's plays."
When the Utes stifle a player Eastman has spent the week simulating, he doesn't want to take any credit: He said it's the result of Utah's first- and second-rotation players "locking in" and "working their asses off" to know what they have to do and execute the plan.
Most of the time, Eastman and his scout team cohorts are content to cheer from the bench. But of course, there's an extra thrill when he Utes gain enough of the lead where he can come in the game.
It's the biggest reward of all: He can play as himself. And the student section — and his teammates — cheer loudly as the typical roles reverse.
"It's really amazing to feel loved like that," he said. "It was definitely nice."
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Utah at UCLA
P At Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles
Tipoff • 8 p.m. MST
TV • ESPN2
Radio • 700 AM
Records • Utah 19-7, 8-5; UCLA 14-11, 5-7
Series history • UCLA leads 8-6
Last meeting • UCLA 69, Utah 59 (Jan. 29, 2015)
About the Utes • Four is the magic number: The Utes are 11-0 this season when four or more players score in double figures. … Sophomore center Jakob Poeltl in third in the nation in field goal percentage, shooting 67.1 percent. … Both seniors Brandon Taylor and Jordan Loveridge are in the program's top 5 in 3-point attempts, and with 9 more 3-pointers, Loveridge can tie Keith Van Horn for fifth in 3-pointers made (206) behind Taylor at No. 4 (223).
About the Bruins • UCLA has won four straight meetings in the series at home, dating to Utah's last win in L.A. in 1961 over then-coach John Wooden. … The Bruins have beaten three ranked opponents this season: No. 1 Kentucky (Dec. 3), No. 20 Gonzaga (Dec. 12) and No. 7 Arizona (Jan. 7). … Junior guard Isaac Hamilton has scored in double digits for 21 straight games for UCLA, which is the longest such streak since the 2007-08 season when Kevin Love reached double figures in all 39 games he played.