As Utah continues its, Participation Trophy tour of Pac-12 basketball, it’s hard not to look back and maybe see how very close we were to being players again. People hate on Ray Giacolletti but as I’ve pointed out, he had a ton of close losses even in his last season and if he lands Patty Mills, A.J. Oglsby and Nathan Jawai, well that just might have put us in a final four. I mean some of our boosters would have still tried to sabotage him behind his back for not being Majerus, but we’d have been better.
When we look to the Jim Boylen era, the two names that stand out are Allen Crabbe and C.J. Wilcox, who were both headed to Utah until we lost them in 11th hour decisions to Pac-12 schools. Wilcox was almost certainly the bigger deal.
With the way Utahns almost maniacally demand to have players from Utah on their team Wilcox would have been perfect. A player with talent from the state, well it solves all of our problems. Not the least of which was the crap reputation Boylen got for not recruiting in-state kids or being bad at it. (And seriously if you believe this nonsense, I want names, talented Utah players Jim Boylen didn’t go after that turned out to be players. We’re about facts here at Hoyo’s Revenge).
Instead at the 11th hour Lorenzo Romar gave C.J. Wilcox a bunch of cash errr… C.J. decided to sign with Washington.
C.J. would have been a very big deal for us.
So if today isn’t the day that Larry’s boys prove we’re back, imagine a different world and what might have been.