Utah Utes Basketball: Thanks for Coming Chris Hines, Wish We’d Have Gotten You That Nickname

Yesterday we found out a few more axes have fallen.  Javon Dawson, Kareem Storey and Chris Hines have joined Anthony Odunsi in being shown the door.  And we’re probably not done.  Larry is still actively recruiting five players that we have a shot with.  Essentially the only guys seeing minutes next year who saw minutes this year might be Jason Washburn and David Foster.  And you have to wonder, if Utah by some miracle landed Prezemek Karnowski, would we really have all that much use for Foster?

I suppose we could rehash all the same arguments, but I think I’m down to two questions really?

One, will Utah fans tolerate any level of transfers now.  I mean Larry has now lost 13 players in two seasons (we’ve lost 18 in 3 seasons if there is some kind of record for that), that is an entire team.  That number looks like it will climb higher.  Many Utah fans turned on Majerus over this issue.

Two, what keeps Larry in his job.  Utah fans have decided that Larry isn’t an outsider, so that gives him some leeway.  But here’s the rub.  Arizona has the #1 class in the nation.  UCLA will be very good and maybe great if they land Shabazz Muhammed.  Stanford’s class is excellent as is Oregon’s.  Cal will be great.  Did we really go to all the trouble to fire Jim Boylen to be sixth in the Pac-12?

So I say thanks to Hines for a couple of great game winning shots and for being one of the few bright spots this year.  Hope you see the tourney next year.  And I wish you’d gotten that nickname you so clearly earned.

As for Ute Hoops, well we’ll see.