This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Nobody could say that Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak and his staff failed to maximize their opportunity to coach an NBA first-round pick last season, as they built a team around point guard Delon Wright and advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.
The same kind of challenge is in play for Krystkowiak this season — to an even greater degree, with a sophomore center Jakob Poeltl as a likely top-10 pick. The Utes keep increasing their level of recruiting, but who knows? Poeltl could be a once-in a lifetime player for this staff, and there's a responsibility that comes with coaching such talent.
That process continues Wednesday (9 p.m., ESPNU) when the Utes meet California at the Huntsman Center. Poeltl is coming off a 29-point, 10-rebound effort in Sunday's overtime win at Washington. He also played well in a loss at Cal earlier this month with 19 points and 10 boards, but Poeltl will need more help against the Bears.
The encouraging development for Poeltl and the program is that he has improved as a sophomore — basically on the same trajectory as Andrew Bogut, who became the NBA's No. 1 overall pick in 2005.
Poeltl has gone from averaging 9.1 points and 6.8 rebounds as a freshman to 16.9 points and 9.0 boards this season. Bogut improved from 12.5 points and 9.9 rebounds as a freshman to 20.4 points and 12.2 rebounds in his second year.
Poeltl's improvement is a function of two primary factors. He's staying on the court longer by avoiding foul trouble and his free-throw shooting has gone from 44.4 percent to 69.5 percent.
"Jakob's an example of a guy that's probably taken five or six things that we talked about this summer that he was going to have to improve upon, and he's faced them head-on and done a pretty nice job," Krystkowiak said.
That's what coaching is all about. Krystkowiak's job description is to help players develop, and to get the most out of the team. The expectations obviously are much higher when the Utes have players such as Wright and Poeltl for two years each (Wright came from a junior college), creating a window for NCAA Tournament advancement.
Even so, when it comes to getting the most out of Poeltl, "I really don't think there's any more pressure than [with] any of the other guys," Krystkowiak said. "It's kind of the same thought, the same blueprint when you recruit all of these guys."
He promises players that he'll "squeeze as much out of 'em as we can and we'll address their weaknesses and have some big-boy conversations with them and not always tell them everything that they want to hear," Krystkowiak said.
The uncertainty of recruiting struck Krystkowiak recently when he was calling some prospects and recognizing, "You don't know where they're going to end up" in their development in college.
In Poeltl's case, he's definitely on the rise. And the Utes hope he'll take them a long way in March, before he's gone.
Twitter: @tribkurt