New York to Salt Lake City

"I looked to the blackboard and received my greatest shock of a season that would contain many. My name was written in the starting lineup." Pat Conroy's take on seeing his name listed as a starter for the first time. Laurence Bohra couldn't have felt much different on Wednesday night at the Huntsman Center. Through the Utes first two games the sophomore had played a combined 14 minutes without scoring a point. His freshman season he never cracked the starting lineup and averaged under two points per game.

The Utes followed their Southern Utah loss with a loss at Santa Clara. The 9th winningest program of all time was certainly in dire straights when they hosted the CU Buffs on Wednesday night. A spartan crowd freckled the Huntsman Center and for only the third game of the season a certain sense of desperation had set in. Not quite the same desperation Ricardo Patton, Colorado's coach must have felt when he resigned at the start of the season, but still desperate and those few fans in attendance could see the desperation in the line up that Coach Ray Giacoletti put on the floor. The redshirt had suddenly been taken off a promising you freshman center from California - David Foster and Laurence Bohra suddenly found himself in the starting lineup.

Utah seems to lack a certain athleticism this year. The game is back and forth - which isn't good if you're Utah considering CU lost to Utah's conference rival Air Force by 40 points on their home floor. These appear to be two teams heading nowhere. The only problem is CU's coach has already quit while Utah's has three more years left on his contract. It's hard to believe the Coach Giac as he's known went 29-5 during his first season at the University of Utah and reached the sweet 16.

"I spent the evening, self-conscious and tentative, trying to lok like I belonged on the court." Conroy's approach to his first start. Laurence plays similarly, scoring 8 points but seeming slightly out of place at times. He's easy to root for as it's his first start of his career and he's a black student athlete all the way from New York City playing basketball in the middle whitebread Utah. How did he end up here?

Down the stretch, CU gets a couple of baskets from it's best player Reggie Roby while Utah's Johnnie Bryant counters with a couple of his own. With only five seconds left and the score tied the Utes turn the ball over inexplicably while trying to convert a fast break of their own, the ball winds up in CU's hands, in the excitement Laurence reaches and is called for a foul against a CU forward Jermyl Jackson-Wilson. Jackson-Wilson sinks the first free throw misses the second and CU steals a one point win.

Utah drops to 0-3.