It necessitated a trip to the hospital for X-rays, turned black and blue and swelled to the point he needed crutches to support his body weight. Somewhere between then and when his head hit the pillow that night, Collette made up his mind he’d play in the Pac-12 Tournament.
Utah’s 6-foot-10, 220-pound man in the middle who coach Larry Krystkowiak described as hobbled on the eve of the tournament, scored 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting in 19 minutes to keep his team’s Pac-12 title hopes alive until the final minute of a 68-66 loss to nemesis Oregon in the quarterfinals Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena.