Alex Jensen is well-versed in the importance of continuity, one of the valuable lessons he’s learned from nearly 20 years as a basketball coach.
“Continuity, still to this day, is underrated at any level,” Utah’s new basketball coach told the Deseret News last month in an exclusive interview.
That’s a value he’ll be challenged to build in reshaping the Runnin’ Utes, after the majority of Utah’s roster ended up in the transfer portal during the offseason following a coaching change.
While the portal is a tool that he and his coaching staff used to help retool the Utes’ roster for the 2025-26 season, Jensen also tried to focus on building a foundation for the future — and not just making this year’s roster work only for the upcoming season.
“I’m really trying to think long-term,” said Jensen, who spent the past 12 seasons at the NBA level prior to taking over his alma mater‘s program this offseason.
“The portal, it’s hard because (in) the NBA, you have your draft or free agency pool, and it’s similar to what this is now, except for (the college transfer portal) pool is huge, it’s large.”
Jensen said that a year from now he expects to have an even better plan in place.
“We’ll be a lot more organized, have a better feel for it,” he said.
What the Runnin’ Utes roster looks like for next season
On paper, the results are promising for what Jensen and his staff were able to assemble in such a short amount of time.
Part of that equation was finding a good amount of players in the portal that have multiple years of eligibility remaining — and based on the Utes’ first roster under their new head coach, consider that a success.
In early June, the school announced a 12-man roster for the upcoming 2025-26 season. More pieces are coming — the team can have as many as 15 scholarship players.
Of those 12 players, the experience and eligibility is spread out: three are fifth-year seniors, three juniors, three sophomores and three freshmen.
Auburn forward Jahki Howard (3) during a game against the South Carolina on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, in Columbia, S.C. | Scott Kinser, Associated Press
Fifth-year seniors
Guard Don McHenry — previously at Western Kentucky Forward Babacar Faye — previously at Western KentuckyForward James Okonkwo — previously at Akron
Juniors
Forward Keanu Dawes — headed into his second season at UtahGuard Terrence Brown — previously at Fairleigh DickinsonForward Seydou Traore — previously at Iowa
Sophomores
Forward Jahki Howard — previously at AuburnGuard Elijah “Choppa” Moore — previously at SyracuseGuard Jerry Huang — headed into his third season at Utah, redshirted in 2023-24
Freshmen
Forward Ibi Traore — headed into his second season at Utah, redshirted last season due to injuryGuard Jacob Patrick — previously played professionally in GermanyForward Kendyl Sanders — previously at IMG Academy
Note: While nothing’s been officially announced, two other players will reportedly be joining the Utes next season in freshman point guard Elmeri Abbey and juco transfer Joshua Hayes.
Of the seven players the Utes brought in from the transfer portal, three are rated four-star transfers (Howard, Moore and McHenry) and there are several with power conference level experience.
It’s a group that will showcase just how much a developmental coach like Jensen can get out of his players.
Assembling a roster that was well-spread out in terms of eligibility remaining is no small feat, and for the Utes, there are several pieces Utah could build around beyond 2025-26 — guys like Dawes, Brown, Seydou Traore, Howard and Moore — if Jensen and his staff can retain the majority of their players in upcoming years.
“I got the job … and that’s what I heard — the portal, portal, portal,” Jensen said. “I’m trying to be deliberate in all my decisions, and I think we did a good job.”
An example of continuity from the NBA ranks
Jensen has his own perspective on seeing continuity pay dividends on the floor. It’s something he can use to build on at Utah.
He mentioned one example of continuity he witnessed firsthand during his time with the Jazz, where he coached for 10 years, and how it benefited the franchise.
“I think back to my time with the Jazz — for instance, Rudy Gobert and Joe Ingles were good in pick-and-roll because they did it for years,” he said. “And then we got Mike Conley. It took a little while, but that really took off after he had spent time with everybody and they get a good feel.”
Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
While the Jazz are currently in rebuild mode themselves, Jensen was a part of the NBA franchise when the team made six-straight postseason appearances, with guys like Donovan Mitchell, Gobert and Conley leading the charge.
Can finding some continuity help Utah break its NCAA Tournament drought that is going on nine years now?
Vision for the Runnin’ Utes
Jensen has been working with his team during summer workouts, often in small groups to get to know the players better and have hands-on experience with them.
Jensen, who was a part of one of the most successful runs for Utah basketball in school history, has a vision for what he wants to see from this new group of Runnin’ Utes.
“I want to play fast,” he said. “I think that could be interpreted in a lot of different ways. But I want to run. I want to pass the ball. And I want guys to be confident, not be afraid to make mistakes. I think that all ties into the Runnin’ Utes.”
“I want to play fast. I think that could be interpreted in a lot of different ways. But I want to run. I want to pass the ball. And I want guys to be confident, not be afraid to make mistakes. I think that all ties into the Runnin’ Utes.”
— Utah coach Alex Jensen
Jensen further described what he envisions of the on-court product as high energy and not calling too many plays — “I want to let my players play instinctually,” he said — and that all ties into playing fast.
Jensen said as the roster came together this offseason, it became clearer for him and his staff with each commitment what the next piece needed to be.
“It was definitely a learning experience, and I love the group we have. That’s one thing about roster building and why I wanted to get a GM,” he said. “Building a roster, you’ve got to have balance, and you don’t want to duplicate positions and players. And you want to get (players) not just on the court, but guys that fit well off the court with each other.”
Time will tell if this group can be competitive in the Big 12, particularly this year.
With a strong contingent of guys who could be the foundation for the next couple of years, though, Jensen and his staff appear to have the program headed in the right direction in terms of positive continuity.
“The continuity part is huge, and I’m hoping to do that — get guys that are good, get better (and) that we have a good chance of keeping,” Jensen said.
Syracuse guard Elijah Moore (8) drives against Tennessee guard Bishop Boswell (3) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Knoxville, Tenn. | Wade Payne, Associated Press