KSL
"I really thought we went out there and competed tonight. I'm proud of how we battled back after falling behind. It was kind of a bend-but-don't-break situation. I was proud of Luke for the way he hung in there and fought because they were really physical with him. I was a little disappointed in the way we played on the defensive end in the first half. We just didn't bring the intensity that we need to have to be successful. I thought we were tentative from the start and our communication was not where it needed to be. Give the guys credit though. They did a better job in the second half. Offensively, I thought we had a lot of great looks in the first half. The shots just weren't falling early. One of the things I was most pleased with was that our conditioning was great. Luke gave us 40 minutes, which is something we really needed from him to win."
It's refreshing to hear Boylen talk about defense, as that was absent last year. While the Utes did give up 96 points, it's important to note that the game had a 24 second shot clock, not the regular 35 second shot clock seen in college basketball.
It's also good to see Boylen made adjustments, as Utah was down big early on in the game. That fighting attitude is something the team lacked last season, as they were often on the other side of the comeback -- watching as the opponent erased Utah's big lead.
On Stephen Weigh:
"As a staff, we have high goals for Steve. I'm proud of the way he played, but he still needs to improve for us to be as good as we can be. Consistency will be the key."
Boylen has ridden Weigh hard during practice, but it seems to be paying off. I'm glad Weigh did well in his homeland and hopefully he can build on this and use it toward a good 2007-'08 season.
On Luke Nevill:
"I was very happy with the way Luke competed tonight. I'm glad he had the chance to come home and play in front of his family. The arena was sold out tonight and I think that made it really special for him."
Nevill struggled early, but it looked like he found his game in the second half. It's also neat to hear the arena was sold out, so hopefully there were a lot of fans cheering on the Utes.
On Utah's rematch with Perth:
"Playing Perth again tomorrow night will be a good test for us. Last season, a big problem with the team was that they didn't know how to handle success. This will give me a chance to see how we respond to a win. First, though, we have to break down the game film as a staff and see what we can do better. I plan to have the team watch the film in the morning. Hopefully we will learn a lot from it. Our goal is to get better and this is the first step in the process."
He's right about this team not handling success. They would follow up a big win with a really bad loss and it will be interesting to see if the success against Perth today carries over into Saturday's game.
Boylen and his coaching staff will be breaking down game film, interesting concept. I always wondered if Giacoletti ever did this after a loss, let alone a win. Hopefully it yields results and the Utes don't find themselves in a hole Saturday.
