BYU Basketball: A Preview Of The Runnin’ Utes

1. Jakob Poeltl
First thing that I noticed about Poeltl is that is name is pronounced Yah-cub Puer-tuhl (or something like that, I’m not a phonetics expert). It surprised me when I heard it the first few times, so don’t let that catch you off guard when you hear his name. And you will hear his name a lot.

The freshman from Austria is averaging 12 points and 10 rebounds a game, but he has a much bigger impact than even his double-double average would indicate. Wichita State played primarily man-defense on the Utes and Poeltl was a force in the pick and roll game.

Dec 3, 2014; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Utes forward Jakob Poeltl (42) goes to the basket against the Wichita State Shockers during the first half at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports

He’s not the best free throw shooter in the world, but he’s effective enough that you can’t just send him to the line all night. The kid has raw talent, but he has the ability to take over a game. In once sequence I saw him block a shot, pull down the board and go get the lay up on the other end. He’s that kind of player.

I expect BYU will play mostly a zone defense as they don’t have the athletes to keep up with Utah straight up. Even in a zone defense, however, Poeltl will be able to have his way against the BYU interior defense. That’s not a slight at guys like Austin and Worthington, Poeltl is just that good.