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A Night with the Runnin' Utes Return vs. Westminster

by Utah Athletics
Oct 31, 2022

SALT LAKE CITY – The 2022-23 Utah men's basketball team will unofficially get a kickstart to the season this Wednesday, Nov. 2, when it plays host to Westminster as part of its Night with the Runnin' Utes inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
 
Krista Blunk will have the call on the Pac-12 Networks broadcast while former Utah basketball assistant Joe Cravens serves as the analyst for Wednesday's match-up between the Runnin' Utes and Griffins.
 
NIGHT WITH THE RUNNIN' UTES
Admission and Parking for Wednesday night's game against Westminster will be FREE for all fans and will also able to pick up a free 2022-23 schedule poster upon entry. Head coach Craig Smith will also address the fans prior to the start of the autograph session. Full details about the event can be found here.
 
SCOUTING THE GRIFFINS
Westminster once again serves as the exhibition game opponent for Utah. Eighth-year head coach Norm Parrish, who served as the director of operations for the Runnin' Utes from 2011-15, returns to the Hill once again with his squad.
 
This year's roster for Westminster features three freshmen, four sophomores, six juniors and three seniors. However, 9-of-16 players on the roster are new members on the team.
 
The Griffins went 12-16 last year and 10-12 in RMAC play. Westminster offensively enters the season having lost their top-5 scorers from last year – which accounted for 59-percent of its scoring. Senior guard Taylor Miller is the top returning scorer for Parrish, averaging 7.6 points and 3.6 rebounds last season off the bench. He's joined by Donaval Avila, who started in 20-of-28 games and averaged 7.0 points and 4.0 boards. Forward Lewis Johnson is the third and final returnee with significant impact for the Griffins from last season. The Centerville, Utah, product averaged 7.0 points and 4.2 rebounds last season.
 
FUTURE PROMOTIONS
With four double-headers this season, the Utah marketing department will be giving away collectible cups between the men's and women's basketball games.
Collector Cup Series
• Nov. 7 vs. Long Island
• Nov. 9 vs. CSU Bakersfield
• Feb. 23 vs. UCLA
• Feb. 25 vs. USC
 
MILITARY APPRECIATION GAME
Utah will once again wear its USS Salt Lake City themed jerseys this year against CSU Bakersfield on Friday, Nov. 11 – which will serve as its Military Appreciation Game. All active, reserve and retired members of the armed forces will receive FREE tickets with a military ID.
 
UP NEXT
Utah will open the 2022-23 season on Monday, Nov. 7, against Long Island as part of a double-header with the women's basketball team – who will play Idaho at 5:30 p.m. (MT) before the Runnin' Utes take the floor for a 9 p.m. (MT) tip-off on Pac-12 Networks with Krista Blunk and Mary Murphy on the call.
 
CARLSON PRESEASON HONORS
Prior to the start of the 2022-23 campaign, Utah big man Branden Carlson was named a Preseason All-Pac-12 First-Team selection ahead of league's media day session on Oct. 26. Carlson becomes the first Ute to earn preseason first-team honors since Timmy Allen earned the same honor ahead of the 2020-21 campaign.
 
The 7-0 center was also 1-of-20 players around the country named to the Kareem Adbul-Jabbar Award Watch List. Carlson is joined by three other players from the Conference of Champions in Adem Bona (UCLA), Kel'el Ware (Oregon) and Oumar Ballo (Arizona). Of the four, Carlson was the lone player that was named Preseason All-Pac-12 First-Team while Ballo and Ware earned honorable mentions. The Pac-12 leads the Power 6 conferences with four on the watch list while the rest each have three apiece and Conference USA with one.
 
NEW FACES
Utah head men's basketball coach Craig Smith has added eight newcomers to his roster for the 2022-23 campaign that features three Division I transfers [Gavin Baxter (BYU), Ben Carlson (Wisconsin) and Mike Saunders Jr. (Cincinnati)], three freshmen [Wilguens Junior Exacte, Keba Keita and Luka Tarlac] and a pair of return missionaries in Brandon Haddock and Hunter Mecum. Smith and Company will look to improve upon last season's overall record and conference mark with a much deeper roster. On the coaching side, Smith replaced long-time assistant Eric Peterson with a familiar face to Utah fans in former Runnin' Ute Chris Burgess.
 
GAVIN BAXTER
5th Year – 6-9 – 225
Provo, UT – Timpview HS – BYU

  • Graduate transfer from BYU after earning his bachelor's in global studies with a minor in entrepreneurship
  • Started in 7-of-8 games in 2021-22 before suffering a season-ending ACL injury
  • Has only played a total of 17 games the last 3 seasons due to season-ending injuries
  • Played in all 30 games for BYU his freshman year, averaging 4.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks
  • Four-Star recruit out of high school and was ranked No. 21 nationally at SF position by ESPN
  • Mother, Angela, was an All-American sprinter at BYU
  • Father, Kurt, played basketball at BYU

 
BEN CARLSON
Junior – 6-9 – 226
Woodbury, Minn. – Eastridge HS – Wisconsin

  • Transferred to Utah after spending the last two seasons at Wisconsin
  • Played 32 games for the Badgers in 2021-22, who won a share of the Big Ten regular-season title
  • Was a four-star recruit out of high school and was ranked No. 88 nationally in ESPN's Top 100 in 2020
  • Holds East Ridge HS record in career points (2,004), rebounds (1,083) and blocked shots (145)
  • Was first player in East Ridge history to be nominated to the McDonalds All-American Game (2020)
  • Mother, Sheri, is a hall of famer at St. Cloud State (Volleyball)
  • Father, Marc, played basketball at St. Cloud State before transferring to Iowa State
  • Older sister, Brynn, is a grad transfer at Missouri (volleyball) after playing at Kansas State for undergrad
  • Younger sister, Britt, is a freshman on the Washington State volleyball team

 
MIKE SAUNDERS JR.
Junior – 6-0 – 184
Indianapolis, Ind. – Wasatch Academy – Cincinnati

  • Transferred to Utah after spending the last two seasons at Cincinnati
  • Averaged 7.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists his sophomore year (2021-22)
  • Familiar to the state of Utah after spending his final two prep season at Wasatch Academy
  • Led Wasatch Academy to consensus Top-5 national ranking (No. 2 in Ball is Life, No. 3 in MaxPrep's Xcellent 25 and No. 3 by ESPN)

 
WILGUENS JUNIOR EXACTE
Freshman – 6-6 – 230
Montréal, Québec, Canada – Collège Notre Dame – NBA Academy Latin America

  • Comes to Utah after playing at NBA Academy Latin America
  • Fourth Canadian to attend NBA Academy Latin America and then attend a Division I University
  • List includes Olivier Maxence Prosper (Marquette), Bennedict Mathurin (Arizona) and Tre-Vaughn Minott (South Carolina)

 
KEBA KEITA
Freshman – 6-7 – 230
Bamako, Mali – Wasatch Academy

  • Comes to Utah from Wasatch Academy after prepping at American Heritage High School
  • Mamed NIBC Defensive Player of the Year and to the all-defensive team his senior year
  • Was second on the team in scoring (11.6 ppg) while leading team and NIBC in rebounding (9.5 rpg)
  • Was nearly a four-star consensus recruit and top-5 recruit in the state of Utah according to ESPN, 247Sports and On3 while also being an ESPN Top-100 Recruit (#84)
  • Older brother, Nourmory, is a pro volleyball player in Korea for the Uijeongbu KB Insurance Stars

 
BRANDON HADDOCK
Sophomore – 6-1 – 173
Southlake, Texas – Carroll HS

  • Returns to the Runnin' Utes after spending last two years on his mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
  • Served his mission in Las Vegas (2020-21) before moving on to Micronesia in 2021-22
  • Was a freshman on the team during the 2019-20 season

 
LUKA TARLAC
Freshman – 6-7 – 214
Belgrade, Serbia – The International School of Belgrade

  • Comes to Utah with plenty of international experience
  • Played alongside Serbian teammate Lazar Stefanovic at Partizan Basketball Club
  • Spent 2021-22 season with Dunav on loan from Partizan BC
  • Was a member of the Serbian U16 and U19 teams
  • Father, Dragan, was a second-round NBA Draft pick (1995) by the Chicago Bulls with the 31st pick overall
  • Father helped lead the former Federation of Yugoslavia to gold (2001) and bronze (1999) medals at the FIBA EuroBasket Championships and many other championships in his pro career

 
HUNTER MECUM
Redshirt Freshman – 6-8 – 215
Lakewood, Calif. – Mayfair HS

  • Returns to Utah after serving a two-year mission in Jacksonville, Fla., for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
  • Redshirted his freshman year (2019-20) at Utah before leaving on his mission
  • Went to San Juan Hills High School before transferring to Mayfair High School
  • Helped lead Mayfair HS to a CIF Southern Section 2AA Championship his senior year and advanced to CIF State Championship Tournament

SEASON TICKETS
Fans can purchase season tickets for the 2022-23 season now by calling the Utah Ticket Office at 801-581-8849 or purchase online. Fans with questions regarding season tickets that would like to have a ticketing representative call them can do so by filling out a form online.

For the latest news and information on the Runnin' Utes men's basketball program, fans can stay connected online at www.UtahUtes.com and on social media by following @UtahMBB on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
 
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