A little bit of an interesting side note from practice yesterday. Whittingham opened up his media session with a shoutout to the Runnin' Utes which proceeded with a few questions about the basketball team from the media. Here's what he had to say:
Before Whittingham wanted to talk about his team, he had to talk about the Runnin' Utes:
"First of all. Runnin' Utes tomorrow night. Shoutout to our Runnin' Utes. We're so excited about that and wish them all the best. That was on our minds all day and will be tomorrow. Go get Duke."
On how the Utes will fare against Duke's offense:
"It's a tall order, yep, but we'll be up for the challenge."
On how Whittingham thinks the Utes will do:
"No prediction but I know our guys will play hard. Coach K. will have them playing hard."
On Coach K. drawing inspiration for his team from Whittingham's team:
"Really? That's good to hear. Me and Coach K. have talked a lot and I have all the respect in the world for what he's done. What he's accomplished with those guys has been terrific to watch."
On if Whittingham is surprised at how fast Coach K. turned the Runnin' Utes around:
"Well, no. When I got to know him no. When I got to know him it was very apparent he'd get it done."
If that wasn't enough Utah Football posted this on Twitter:
Utah Football@Utah_Football · 1 hr1 hour ago
Good luck to our #BeatDuke
One thing I've been hearing a lot of lately from the student athletes when I talk to them at practices is how close knit they are with other athletic programs at Utah. For instance everyone on the football team knows everyone on the basketball team and the gymnastics team and the ski team, etc. They all know each other, they all respect each other, they hang out together on occasion and they cheer for each other. I've been told this is something rather unique to Utah. It's not like that at other schools. Typically teams will stick with their own and have no interaction with the other sports teams. I think it's cool that the University of Utah not only preaches family within a team but outside of it too.
Before Whittingham wanted to talk about his team, he had to talk about the Runnin' Utes:
"First of all. Runnin' Utes tomorrow night. Shoutout to our Runnin' Utes. We're so excited about that and wish them all the best. That was on our minds all day and will be tomorrow. Go get Duke."
On how the Utes will fare against Duke's offense:
"It's a tall order, yep, but we'll be up for the challenge."
On how Whittingham thinks the Utes will do:
"No prediction but I know our guys will play hard. Coach K. will have them playing hard."
On Coach K. drawing inspiration for his team from Whittingham's team:
"Really? That's good to hear. Me and Coach K. have talked a lot and I have all the respect in the world for what he's done. What he's accomplished with those guys has been terrific to watch."
On if Whittingham is surprised at how fast Coach K. turned the Runnin' Utes around:
"Well, no. When I got to know him no. When I got to know him it was very apparent he'd get it done."
If that wasn't enough Utah Football posted this on Twitter:
Utah Football@Utah_Football · 1 hr1 hour ago
Good luck to our #BeatDuke
One thing I've been hearing a lot of lately from the student athletes when I talk to them at practices is how close knit they are with other athletic programs at Utah. For instance everyone on the football team knows everyone on the basketball team and the gymnastics team and the ski team, etc. They all know each other, they all respect each other, they hang out together on occasion and they cheer for each other. I've been told this is something rather unique to Utah. It's not like that at other schools. Typically teams will stick with their own and have no interaction with the other sports teams. I think it's cool that the University of Utah not only preaches family within a team but outside of it too.
