Utah is getting one of its veteran frontcourt players back. What that means for the Runnin’ Utes

When the University of Utah takes the Huntsman Center court against Sam Houston on Saturday night, James Okonkwo won’t have to stay on the sideline this time.

The fifth-year transfer forward can finally suit up for the Runnin’ Utes in the regular season.

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While the 6-foot-8 forward was able to play in Utah’s two exhibition games, he missed the Utes’ first three regular-season games due to transfer rules.

“It’ll be good, because then we’ll get a better feel for our rotations, just when we were starting to get a little continuity there,” Utah coach Alex Jensen said of having Okonkwo available.

“You know, first year, all new players, all new coaches, it’s going to be discombobulated in some ways. But it’ll be good to get them out there and see different combinations with James.”

That allowed other front court guys like JUCO transfer Josh Hayes and true freshman Kendyl Sanders an opportunity to gain some valuable extended minutes they might not have gotten if Okonkwo had been available.

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“I think it is a blessing in this, (it) gives other guys opportunities they might not have necessarily had,” Jensen said. “Hopefully, it kind of puts us ahead of the curve a little bit in figuring out what’s best for us.”

Utah and Sam Houston will meet at the Huntsman in a 7 p.m. MST tip that will be livestreamed on ESPN+.

The Utes bring a 3-0 record into the matchup, while the Bearkats are 1-1, including a 98-77 loss over another Big 12 team, No. 11 Texas Tech, a week ago.

“Sam Houston, I think, is a good team. (They) did a good job against Texas Tech and they’re aggressive,” Jensen said. “I think it’s another good test to see kind of where we are. I think we’ve improved in our first three games, and hopefully we continue that trend.”

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Okonkwo is expected to play a major role in the interior for a Utah squad that is short on height and has reshaped 80% of its roster, after losing nearly every rotation player to the transfer portal or graduation.

The Utes are already short a couple of big men, with Babacar Faye out for the season due to injury and Ibi Traore having yet to play as he continues to recover from an injury that forced him to miss all of last season.

With Okonkwo unavailable for the team’s first three games, that forced Utah to make adjustments up front and play guys out of position. The Utes struggled with rebounding over the first two games before looking improved in that area in game three.

“It’s definitely going to be a big, big addition for us,” Utah forward Seydou Traore said of Okonkwo’s return. “Just being able to see the physicality that he brings to the court, especially being (around) him this whole summer, just seeing how much he improved on and off the court, that’s a big addition for us.”

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When Okonkwo played in Utah’s two exhibition games against Nevada and Oregon, he started each game at the 5 position.

“It’s going to benefit us a lot having James playing the five so me and Keanu (Dawes) can play our normal positions. (It’s) definitely gonna help us a lot,” Traore said. “But I feel like us not playing our normal position definitely helped us, too. I kind of feel like it’s 50/50 in a way, just being able to go down there, bang down with big guys, grab rebounds and stuff like that.”

Okonkwo’s absence gave Hayes, who started the first three games, and Sanders a chance to showcase their skillsets in extended minutes.

Over Utah’s first three games, Sanders averaged 24 minutes, 7.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game while shooting 52.9% from the floor. He’s also shot 4 of 10 from 3-point range, helping Utah space the floor.

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“I wasn’t expecting to really play as much as I am right now, but I think I’ve taken full advantage of the opportunity, and it means a lot to me,” Sanders said.

Hayes, who stands 6-foot-9, is averaging 13.3 minutes, 5.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks. In Monday’s win over Holy Cross, he had nine points, five rebounds, two blocks and an assist.

“There’s nothing like minutes in real games. There’s the experience. You can’t match it,” Jensen said. “You can’t get it really elsewhere. I think it was good for him. I think it gave him confidence. In a good way, (it) raised our expectations of what he’s capable of.”

Now, this front court will get some reinforcements in Okonkwo.

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“Having him back is definitely gonna help our rebounds. We could always do better on rebounds, and then obviously we could space the court even more,” Sanders said.

“We have a bigger team now with him. I don’t have to play the five as much as I have been playing, but having him and Josh, that’s gonna help a lot with rebounds, blocks and just make us look bigger on the court.”

While Jensen said there isn’t a date yet for when Ibi Traore could return and bolster the frontcourt, “he’s been doing progressively more and more with us in practice.”

The Utes could be getting some help in the backcourt against Sam Houston, too. Elijah “Choppa” Moore, who suffered a concussion in the season opener, is cleared to play, the coach said.

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Saturday’s game is the fourth straight home contest for Utah at the Huntsman Center to start the season. The Utes will also host Purdue Fort Wayne and Cal Poly next week before heading to the Acrisure Series in Palm Desert, California, during Thanksgiving week.

For Jensen, the Sam Houston game provides another opportunity to continue building a foundation that Utah hopes it can rely on moving forward.

“It took us three games, but we didn’t come in at halftime behind in rebounds the last game. I think, (this game is about) laying the foundation and preparing us, because the schedule is just going to get harder from here on out,” Jensen said.

“Hopefully we have kind of that foundation. I think that we’ve been trying to build for before we take too many steps, before we go forward and get better and give us an opportunity to win every game.”