One of the positive developments for the University of Utah men’s basketball team that came out of its latest setback, a 73-60 loss at Arizona State last Saturday, was the return of Lucas Langarita.
The 6-foot-5 guard was a mid-year addition to this year’s roster, joining the Runnin’ Utes to help provide depth along the wing.
Langarita hails from Spain and brought plenty of international experience with him to Utah, but after playing just four minutes in his first game against BYU back on Jan. 10, he missed the next 12 contests due to an unspecified injury.
Finally against Arizona State, Langarita was elevated to a game-time decision and entered the contest early in the first half.
He ended up playing 16 minutes for the Utes, scoring two points on 1-of-3 shooting, while adding two rebounds, an assist and a steal, against two turnovers.
Those weren’t eye-popping stats by any means as Langarita shook off the rust, but having him back could prove beneficial for the Utes in the future.
“First of all, it gives us a little more depth, another ball handler and his passing,” Utah coach Alex Jensen said Monday, ahead of the Utes’ home finale against Colorado on Tuesday (7 p.m. MST, ESPN+).
“There’s always a transition when Americans go to Europe or vice versa, because it’s a different game. It’s encouraging to see the capabilities but just his passing and dribbling. He’s grown up playing the game and he’s a true student of the game and likes to play.”
In the Arizona State game, Langarita had an impressive stretch where he had a hand in three straight scores for Utah as part of a 9-0 run in the second half that helped the Utes trim their deficit to 43-39.
First, Langarita hit a long jumper with the shot clock running down for his only points of the contest.
On Utah’s next possession, he passed to Keanu Dawes, who drove to the hoop and scored on a layup.
Then, after an Arizona State miss, Langarita grabbed the rebound and pushed the ball upcourt before earning an assist when he passed to Don McHenry for a transition 3.
A transition trey from @DonMcHenry4 makes it a 9-0 Utah run and forces an ASU timeout!
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 28, 2026
📺@TNTSportsUS/@truTV#GoUtespic.twitter.com/VOn6MrLr3t
Langarita is listed as a freshman on this year’s roster after joining the team in late December.
Figuring out his future will come once the season’s over.
“Before we even get into that with him, he wants to play. What we have left of this season, I think it’ll help him for next year,” Jensen said.