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San Francisco • In his opening statement to the media assembled at Pac-12 headquarters, Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak counted five returning players, including Kyle Kuzma, seated next to him.
None of the returners were the reason that the Runnin' Utes, coming off back-to-back seasons with 26 wins or more, were picked to finish eighth in the league's preseason media poll. It was the mystery, the intrigue of having a new-look roster and losing their best, most experienced players from last year.
But Krystkowiak, entering his sixth year at Utah, offered some counsel to those who hadn't seen his team play yet.
"I know a lot of you aren't familiar with our players other than the guys I mentioned," Krystkowiak said. "You can just rest assured we've got some guys who can play a little bit."
Of all the teams in the Pac-12, there might not be a bigger unknown than Utah, which will feature 12 players on this year's roster who didn't play a game for the team last year. That encompasses more turnover than any other program in the league.
Oregon, which brings back most of its key players, including reigning league MVP Dillon Brooks, was picked to repeat as conference champion. Perennial powerhouses Arizona and UCLA round out the league's top 3, respectively.
While Krystkowiak has built a Utah program with staying power over the past two years, including a second-place finish this spring and a second straight NCAA tournament, the poll — while dismissed by almost every coach assembled for the event — reflected skepticism that he can turn around a new crew and make it a winner.
The Utes accept that they're not as feared as they were last year, with four returning starters including a center who became an All-American and a first-round NBA Draft pick.
"Nobody's really seen our team before; we have 12 new guys, so what do people expect for the rankings?" Kuzma said. "As long as they don't start bringing out trophies for preseason awards, then I don't really take too much of it to heart."
Much has changed on the roster: Four players graduated including starters Jordan Loveridge and Brandon Taylor, seven players transferred (six on scholarship), and star center and All-American Jakob Poeltl took a much-anticipated leap to the NBA. Utah returns two starters in junior Kyle Kuzma (10.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg) and senior Lorenzo Bonam (10.2 ppg, 3 apg), but features 12 players who didn't play in a game for the Utes last year.
The first look for many of the newcomers came Tuesday night in an exhibition. Kuzma finished as the leading scorer with 20 points, but transfers David Collette (16 points, 4 rebounds) and Sedrick Barefield (13 points, 10 assists) also stood out, along with Tyler Rawson (16 points) and JoJo Zamora (13 points).
One of the few people in the conference who saw the new Utes up close was play-by-play man Roxy Berstein, who called the game for the Pac-12 Network. He was impressed by Utah's new players, particularly Collette and Barefield, and thinks they'll be featured players when they become eligible in late December.
"There's certainly talent — I knew that going in," he said. "But I didn't know how good the talent was."
It's also clear that Krystkowiak himself has some credibility after turning around the program before and winning 21 games in his previous three seasons. Colorado coach Tad Boyle said Krystkowiak "has done a terrific job" rebuilding the Utes into a competitor within the league. Bernstein said each year he's broadcasted a Utes game, the team has been "100 percent no quit."
But if one thing stood out from the day, it was this: The Utes don't care what anyone outside of the team thinks right now.
"We're going to continue to do what we've done," Krystkowiak said. "Regardless of whether we're being picked 12th or first or whatever the case may be, we're going to pretty much stay in a short-term mindset and try to grind and get better every day."
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Pac-12 men's basketball poll
Team Pts.
1 • Oregon (23) 320
2 • Arizona (4) 298
3 • UCLA 259
4 • Cal 209
5 • Colorado 199
6 • Washington 167
7 • USC 163
8 • Utah 142
9 • Oregon State 122
10 • Stanford 119
11 • Arizona State 78
12 • Washington State 30
First-place votes in parentheses