I’m happy he is back, but I’m neither confused nor do I understand. Peoples individual choices are complex. If I had to guess, I would say that it appears there was a lot he liked about Utah and obviously something he didn’t like. The thing he disliked is either gone, or been put in perspective. Given the circumstance, it seems likely its the latter.
My armchair guess on K, was that he was very rigorous on the idea of the ‘team guy’, like the old Bobby Knight idea of having no name on the jersey. There is no individual, only the team, and everyone is an interchangeable part of that machine. That individuality is devisive and destructive because being an individual just naturally means that person stands out from and therefore divides and weakens the team. As a result, K continually punished players that stood out, restricted their development, and thus strong willed and exciting players felt stiffled in his system. Meanwhile steady-eddy workhorse lunchpail players, like Timmy, thrived. And mild mannered but very talented players like Kuzma did fine, but never blossomed. Overall, a recipe for tunrnover and mediocrity.
I hope Smith is more in line with the more modern (and I think true) model that a team is made up of individuals. And allowing each individual to be the best they can be by leveraging their strengths. Finally, let the game be fun.
Just my $0.02, I’m sure many will disagree.
Utah @ 
UCF .
