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Men's Basketball Gears Up for Maui Invitational
6/21/1999 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
November 20, 1998
UTAH (1-1) VS ARIZONA STATE (1-1)
THE 1998 MAUI INVITATIONAL
Monday, Nov. 23-6:30 p.m. (HST)
Lahaina Civic Center (2,500)
Lahaina, Maui (Hawai'i)
PROBABLE UTE STARTERS
F-50 Alex Jensen (6-7, 215, Jr) 12.5 8.0 F-40 Phil Cullen (6-9, 200, Fr) 7.0 4.5 C-13 Hanno Mottola (6-10, 240, Jr) 14.0 5.5 G-32 Jeremy Killion (6-0, 197, Jr) 7.0 3.0 G-24 Andre Miller (6-2, 203, Sr) 14.0 6.0 5.5
OFF THE BENCH
G-4 Adam Sharp (6-2, 184, Fr) 2.0 2.0 G-11 Ben Heusser (5-11, 177, Fr) 0.0 1.0 F-20 Brad Crockett (6-4, 208, Fr) 0.0 0.5 F-41 Tyson Johnston (6-10, 233, Fr) 1.5 2.5
QUICKLY: The Utes suffered their first loss of the season when they fell 62-54 to Utah State in Logan Wednesday ... the loss broke a five-game win streak against the Aggies ... Utes continue their string of road games with three games in the Maui Invitational in Hawai'i ... Utah faces Arizona State in the first round on Monday ... game time is 6:30 p.m. in Hawai'i and 9:30 p.m. in Salt Lake ... the game will be televised live on ESPN2 and broadcast on K-news radio (570) and the Utah Sports Network ... Utes are ranked 9th by Associated Press in this weeks poll and 12th by USA Today/ESPN in their pre-season poll.
MAJERUS' MARK: Ute coach RICK MAJERUS is in his 10th season at the helm of the Runnin' Utes. Majerus has a 211-60 (.778) mark as Ute coach, the best record of any coach in the modern era of Utah basketball. He is in his 14th year as a major college head coach and has a 310-112 career record. His .735 career winning percentage ranks him seventh in the country among active coaches and 21st all-time. Majerus has won six WAC titles and made six trips to the NCAA Tournament, reaching the "Sweet 16" four times, the "Elite Eight" twice and the "Final Four" once.
USA TODAY/ESPN PRE-SEASON POLL
1. Duke 32-5 2. Stanford 30-5 3. Connecticut 32-5 4. Michigan State 22-8 5. Maryland 21-11 6. Kentucky 33-4 7. Temple 21-9 8. Kansas 35-4 9. Tennessee 20-9 10. Xavier 22-8 11. North Carolina 34-4 12. UTAH 30-4 13. UCLA 24-9 14. Washington 20-10 15. Cincinnati 27-6 16. Purdue 28-8 17. Indiana 20-12 18. Oklahoma State 22-7 19. Arkansas 24-9 20. Arizona 30-5 21. New Mexico 24-8 22. Syracuse 26-9 23. Massachusetts 21-11 24. TCU 27-6 25. Rhode Island 25-9
ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25 POLL
1. Duke 1-0 2. Connecticut 1-0 3. Stanford 1-0 4. Kentucky 0-0 5. Michigan State 1-0 6. Maryland 1-0 7. Temple 2-0 8. Kansas 1-0 9. UTAH 1-1 10. North Carolina 1-0 11. UCLA 0-0 12. Arizona 1-0 13. Oklahoma State 0-0 14. Washington 0-0 15. Purdue 1-0 16. Xavier 0-0 17. Cincinnati 0-0 18. Tennessee 1-1 19. Arkansas 1-0 20. New Mexico 1-0 21. Indiana 3-0 22. Syracuse 0-0 23. Massachusetts 0-0 24.Clemson 1-0 25. Rhode Island 2-1
UTES AMONG THE TOP TEAMS IN THE 90'S: The Runnin' Utes have been one of the most successful college basketball teams in this decade. Under coach RICK MAJERUS the Utes have posted a 223-72 record for a .756 winning percentage in the 1990's. Utah is ranked 8th in the nation in winning percentage and 9th in total victories during the decade.
ANDRE TIME: ANDRE MILLER leads the Ute attack this season. The 6-2, senior guard was a non-qualifier as a freshman but became one of the first athletes to take advantage of a new NCAA rule allowing non-qualifiers an extra year of eligibility if they graduated in four years. Miller received his degree in sociology last June and the Utes are the better for it this season. Andre had an outstanding NCAA Tournament. He was named the MVP of the West Region after the Utes knocked off defending champion Arizona 76-51. In that game Miller became the first player since Magic Johnson to hit for a triple double when he scored 18 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and passed for 13 assists. He also was named to the "Final Four" all- Tournament team as the Utes made it to the NCAA Championship game. For the six NCAA games Andre averaged 16.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game. This season Andre is averaging 14.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists for the season. He led the Utes in scoring with 18 points in the Utah State loss.
ANDRE HONORS: ANDRE MILLER is a candidate for the Wooden and Naismith Player of the Year Awards. He has also been named to most pre-season All-American teams including garnering first team honors on the Associated Press and Playboy Magazine pre-season teams. He is rated by most pre-season publications as one of the top two point guards in the nation.
UTES FALL TO AGGIES: The Utes suffered a rare in-state loss when they were upset by Utah State 62-54 in Logan Wednesday night. Cold shooting hurt the Utes all night as they hit just .344 from the field for the game. ANDRE MILLER led the Utes with 18 points while HANNO MOTTOLA added 12 and ALEX JENSEN picked up 11 points. Mottola led the Utes on the boards with 8 while Miller and Jensen both pulled down 7 boards. Although the Aggies shot just .408 for the game they hit .565 from the field in the second period and outscored the Utes 10-0 in the final 2:27 of the game to come away with the victory.
MAUI WOWEE: As usual, the Maui Invitational is one of the top basketball tournaments in the country. Besides Utah vs. ASU at 6:30 p.m., other first round pairings feature CHAMINADE vs. SYRACUSE (9 a.m.), CLEMSON vs MICHIGAN (11 a.m.) and INDIANA vs. KANSAS STATE (4 p.m.). The winner/loser of the Utah-ASU game will play the winner/loser of the Indiana-Kansas State game on Tuesday.
ALOHA "AL": Ute forward ALEX JENSEN will be playing in his second Maui Invitational Tournament. Normally players only get one chance to play in Maui because NCAA rules limit a team to playing in the Maui Invitational once every four years. Alex gets a second chance to play in the island due to the fact that he took two years off from basketball to serve a church mission to England. As a freshman in the 1994 tournament Alex averaged 3.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in the Utes' win over Indiana and their two losses to Maryland and Michigan.
UTES IN THE MAUI: Utah last played in the Maui Invitational in 1994. The Utes went 1-2 in the three games beating Indiana 77-72 in the first round but falling 90-78 to Maryland in the second round and 73-69 to Michigan in the third round. The Utes went on to finish 28-6 on the season, win the Western Athletic Conference title and play in the NCAA Tournament.
SCOUTING THE SUN DEVILS: ASU goes into their first round game against the Utes in Maui with a 1-1 season record. They opened the season with a 68-49 victory over San Jose State on Nov. 13 and then fell to Northern Arizona 76-60 on Nov. 17. Both games were at home. Top scorer is guard EDDIE HOUSE who is averaging 19.0 points per game. Forward BOBBY LAZOR is averaging 18.0 points per game and is leading the Devils in rebounding averaging 7.0 boards per game ... head coach ROB EVANS is in his first year at ASU. He has an 87-82 career record in seven years of coaching.
SERIES RECORD: Utah leads in the series 23-15. Last meeting was in the 1992 NIT with the Utes taking a 60-58 victory over ASU in Tempe ... when both the Utes and ASU were members of the Western Athletic Conference Utah held a 19-13 record in conference games played between the two teams.
PROBABLE ASU STARTERS
F-4 Bobby Lazor (6-9, 231, Sr) 18.0 7.0 F-14 Derrick Davis (6-4, 195, Jr) 2.0 4.5 C-25 Okeme Oziwo (6-8,215, Jr) 5.5 5.0 G-5 Eddie House (6-1,180, Jr) 19.0 4.0 G-13 Alton Mason (6-2,180, So) 5.5 3.5
UTES VS. THE REST OF THE FIELD:
INDIANA: Utah leads 1-0
KANSAS STATE: K-State leads 1-2
MICHIGAN: Michigan leads 4-1
CLEMSON: 0-0
SYRACUSE: Syracuse leads 1-0
CHAMINADE: 0-0
RICK'S REMARKS:
ON THE UTES: "I think we are playing like what we are, a very young, inexperienced team. We're not doing a very good job of prioritizing defense. I think we are playing tentative. Right now it's important for us to kind of regroup and look for some kind of offensive cohesiveness."
ON THE MAUI TOURNAMENT: " I think it is going to be a very difficult tournament there are some tremendous teams in it and we don't have a chance in Maui, or any other place, unless we learn to defend with greater tenacity."
UTE PLAYER UPDATES
#24 ANDRE MILLER, G (6-2, 203, SR. LOS ANGELES, CALIF.): Candidate for Wooden and Naismith Awards ... named first team pre-season All-American ... serves as team captain ... opened season with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals in win over Azusa Pacific ... 18 points and 7 boards in Utah State game ... averaging 14.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 4.0 steals per game.
#13 HANNO MOTTOLA, F (6-10, 240, JR. HELSINKI, FINLAND): Led Utes in scoring with 16 points in opening win over Azusa Pacific ... 12 points, 8 rebounds in Utah State game ... averaging 14.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
#50 ALEX JENSEN, F (6-7, 215, JR. CENTERVILLE, UTAH): Hit for 14 points in first game against Azusa Pacific ... went 6-8 from the field in that game ... had 11 points and 7 boards in USU game ... averaging 12.5 points and is top Ute rebounder at 8.0 boards per game ... also averaging 4.5 assists per game.
#32 JEREMY KILLION, G (6-0, 197, JR. SAN DIEGO, CALIF.): Started first game of college career against Azusa Pacific ... hit for 10 points and 3 rebounds in that game ... 4 points, 4 assists, 3 steals vs. Utah State ... averaging 7.0 points and 2.5 assists per game.
#40 PHIL CULLEN, F (6-9, 200, FR. CHELAN, WASH.): Started first game of college career against Azusa Pacific ... scored 10 points and had 6 rebounds and 3 steals in that game ... 4 points, 3 rebounds vs. USU ... averaging 7.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.
#52 NATE ALTHOFF, C (6-11, 245, SO. DELANO, MINN.): Suffered broken index finger in pre-season drills ... first game back was Azusa Pacific where he scored 10 points and grabbed 7 rebounds ... played well against Utah State with 4 points and 2 rebounds in 15 minutes ... averaging 7.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.
#4 ADAM SHARP, G (6-2, 184, FR. SALT LAKE CITY)-Redshirt freshman ... hit for 4 points and 4 rebounds in first college game against Azusa Pacific ... averaging 2.0 points per game ... averaging 15.0 minutes per game playing time.
#41 TYSON JOHNSTON, F (6-10, 233, FR. STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, COL.): Had 2 points and 3 rebounds in first college game against Azusa Pacific ... had 2 rebounds, 1 block in USU game.
#11 BEN HEUSSER, G (5-11, 177, FR. PRESTON, IDAHO): Played 11 minutes in first college game against Azusa Pacific.
#20 BRAD CROCKETT, F (6-4, 208, FR. CENTERVILLE, UTAH): Played 14 minutes in first college game against Azusa Pacific ... played 11 minutes in USU game.
RICK MAJERUS
HEAD BASKETBALL COACH
Nine years under Head Coach Rick Majerus has entrenched the University of Utah in the nation's basketball power structure. Majerus, the winningest Utah basketball coach in modern times (210-59, .781 winning percentage), has led the Utes to unprecedented success. That fact was crystallized when Majerus led his 1997-98 Utes to the NCAA "Final Four" where they beat number one ranked North Carolina in the semifinals to advance to the final game. It was the first time since 1944 a Ute team had made it to an NCAA Championship game.
In the 90-year history of Utah basketball, the Utes have never enjoyed a nine-year stretch like the Majerus tenure. Despite the fact Majerus coached just six games in his first season, due to heart surgery, his clubs have averaged 23 wins per year during that time. His seven postseason appearances (six NCAA) is a school coaching benchmark. Never before has a Ute team advanced to the Sweet 16 four times in a seven-year span. Majerus' teams own six Western Athletic Conference championships, including the last four, a feat never before achieved at Utah. In 1996-97, his Utes captured both the Mountain Division crown and the WAC Tournament title. Last year, Utah repeated as the WAC Mountain Division champion with a 12-2 record.
Majerus' success goes far beyond the conference level. In six trips to the NCAA as Utah's coach, he has yet to lose a first round game. Utah, Kentucky and Arizona are the only teams to make the Sweet Sixteen in each of the last three years. For the second straight year, Majerus led his team into the Elite Eight. For the last two years, his teams have taken up permanent residence in the Top-10. He coached last year's team to Utah's first Final Four berth in 22 years. Actually, it is his second "Final Four" of some sort at Utah.
In 1992, Utah made the Final Four of the National Invitational Tournament. In terms of wins and losses, Majerus has few peers. His .736 career winning percentage is seventh among active NCAA coaches and ranks 21st all-time. Majerus' feats have earned him national recognition and respect. The three-time WAC Coach of the Year (1991, '93, '95), was tapped for national honors in 1991 (Basketball Times' and UPI Coach of the Year) and 1992 (Playboy Coach of the Year). He received Playboy National Coach of the Year honors again in 1998. He is also a six-time District Coach of the Year. In a previous two-year stint with Ball State, Majerus received The Hoop Scoop Coach of the Year honors in 1988-89. Most recently, the WAC media voted him Mountain Division Coach of the Year in 1996-97. He also was voted the John Wooden National Coach of the Year for 1997-98 by the Utah Tip Off Club. Success has followed Majerus at all of his stops. His head coaching career began at Marquette, where he compiled a 56-35 record from 1983-86 and took his teams to three NIT Tournaments. He preceded his Utah tenure with a successful two-year stint at Ball State, where he logged a 43-17 mark, including a 29-3 record and an NCAA 2nd Round berth in 1988-89. Majerus has an international resume, as well. He served during the summer of 1997 as the head coach of the USA Basketball Men's 22 and under team that competed in the World Championships in Melbourne, Australia. He spent the summer of 1994 as an assistant coach to Don Nelson for the USA "Dream Team 2, which featured the top NBA players in the Men's World Basketball Championships in Toronto. Majerus' reach extends into the classroom.
In his time at Utah, 86 players have made the honor roll, including nine winter quarter and seven spring quarter. Michael Doleac was named to the 1998 GTE Academic All-America first team, while Drew Hansen made the third team. The Utes were the only school with two players on the 1998 GTE Academic All-America squad. Hansen also won the 1997 Playboy Magazine Anson Mount Scholar/Athlete Award for basketball, was a Rhodes Scholar candidate, an NCAA Post Graduate Scholarship winner and was a finalist for the Walter Byers Award, the highest academic award given by the NCAA. The 1997-98 Utes racked up an excellent 3.31 team GPA spring quarter.
RICK'S RECORD
YEAR TEAM RECORD WAC FINISH POSTSEASON 1998-99 UTAH 1-1 1997-98 Utah 30-4 1st NCAA Championship Game 1996-97 Utah 28-3 1st NCAA "Elite Eight" 1995-96 Utah 27-7 1st NCAA "Sweet 16" 1994-95 Utah 28-6 1st NCAA 2nd Round 1993-94 Utah 14-14 5th (tie) 1992-93 Utah 24-7 1st NCAA 2nd Round 1991-92 Utah 24-11 4th NIT "Final Four" 1990-91 Utah 30-4 1st NCAA "Sweet 16" 1989-90 Utah 4-2* 6th (tie) 1988-89 Ball State 29-3 NCAA 2nd Round 1987-88 Ball State 14-14 1985-86 Marquette 19-11 NIT 1984-85 Marquette 20-11 NIT 1983-84 Marquette 17-13 NITUtah Total 211-60 (.778), 9 years Career Total 310-112 (.735), 14 years (7th in the country)
ANDRE ON CAREER SCORING CHART: ANDRE MILLER is ranked 23rd on the Ute career scoring chart with 1,126 points. He needs 5 points to pass CHAS MENATTI (1972-76) to move into 22nd place on the list.
ANDRE'S ASSISTS: Miller is in third place on the career assist list with 542. He needs 58 assists to pass SCOTT MARTIN (1978-81) to move into second place on the list. Current Utah radio color man JEFF JONAS (1974-77) is the Utes' career assist leader with 736 during his career.
RADIO: The Utah-Arizona State game will be broadcast live on K-news (570 AM) radio and the Utah Sports Network. Stations on the network are KOAL (Price), KVEC (Vernal), KSVC (Richfield), KSGI (St. George), KUTA (Blanding) and KSHP (Las Vegas). BILL MARCROFT will call the play-by-play with JEFF JONAS adding color commentary. BRAD STONE handles pre and post game and halftime duties. Tipoff time in Salt Lake is 9:30 p.m.
TV: The Utah-ASU game will be televised live on ESPN2. BOB CARPENTER will call the play-by-play with BILL RAFTERY doing color.
UTES IN THE HUNTSMAN CENTER: The Utes have won 22 straight games in the Jon M. Huntsman Center dating back to the 1996-97 season. Last year the Utes were 13-0 in the JMHC. Last loss in the building was to Wake Forest (70-59) on Dec. 31, 1996.
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