This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Larry Krystkowiak and his staff tried to tell the players in the five weeks leading up to Friday night's 91-64 win over St. Martin's.
During scrimmages, makeshift referees called fouls frequently.
But nothing's going to prepare a team for the real thing....like the real thing.
The Utes were whistled for 23 fouls against the Saints. Many of them were of the ticky tack variety. You see, the NCAA is outlawing all hand-checking this season. For teams that don't adjust, it will leave them in foul trouble.
So Utah has nothing left to do but adjust.
"We're going to have to figure out some ways to not foul," Krystkowiak said. "There's nothing like seeing this up close, and we're going to have to adjust in some ways and figure some things out."
Utah at times got too close on the perimeter and that led to bad fouls. On the flip side, the Utes are an athletic bunch this season, and they went to the basket enough to cause 33 fouls on St. Martin's. This winter, it will no doubt be a cat and mouse game for teams. And some teams are going to be in enough foul trouble that they will have to go deep into their bench.
Tony Jones