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The University of Utah Athletics
Men's Hoops Takes on Wake Forest, Dec. 28
6/21/1999 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
December 24, 1998
UTAH (7-4) VS. WAKE FOREST (9-3)
Monday, Dec. 28 - 7:35 p.m.
Huntsman Center (15,000) - Salt Lake City
QUICKLY: The Utes picked up two pre-Christmas wins in the Huntsman Center knocking off Loyola Marymount (89-55) on Dec. 19 and Saint Francis (74-49) on Dec. 22 ... Utah now plays three games in a week in the Huntsman Center, facing Wake Forest, Dec. 28, High Point University Dec. 30 and Ripon College Jan. 2 ... all three games start at 7:35 p.m. ... all three games will be broadcast on K-news radio (570) ... The Wake Forest game will also be televised live on KJZZ-TV ... Utah has the fifth longest home court winning streak in the nation with 25 straight wins in the Huntsman Center.
MAJERUS' MARK: Ute coach RICK MAJERUS is in his 10th season at the helm of the Runnin' Utes. Majerus has a 217-63 (.775) mark RADIO: All three games 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.
1998-99 SCHEDULE/RESULTS (7-4)
Nov. 6 AZUSA PACIFIC W--76-47 Nov. 18 at Utah State L--54-62 Nov. 23 Arizona State (Maui) W--65-48 Nov. 24 Indiana (Maui) L--49-52 Nov. 25 Michigan (Maui) W--71-54VS. HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY (3-5)Dec. 2 Rhode Island L--63-70 (at Great 8 Tourney-Chi) Dec. 5 at Long Beach State W--61-54 Dec. 9 WEBER STATE W--87-74 Dec. 12 at Texas L--68-73 Dec. 19 LOYOLA MARYMNT W--89-55 Dec. 22 ST. FRANCIS, PA W--74-49 Dec. 28 WAKE FOREST 7:35 p.m. Dec. 30 HIGH POINT 7:35 p.m.
Jan. 2 RIPON 7:35 p.m. Jan. 9 BYU 7:35 p.m. Jan. 16 at San Diego State 7:05 p.m. PST Jan. 18 at Hawai'i 7:00 p.m. HST Jan. 23 SAN JOSE STATE 7:35 p.m. Jan. 26 FRESNO STATE 10:00 p.m. Jan. 30 at UTEP 7:05 p.m.
Feb. 1 at New Mexico 10:00 p.m. Feb. 6 at BYU 10:00 p.m. Feb. 11 SAN DIEGO STATE 7:35 p.m. Feb. 13 HAWAI'I 7:35 p.m. Feb. 18 at San Jose State 7:30 p.m. pst Feb. 20 at Fresno State 12:30 p.m.pst Feb. 25 UTEP 7:35 p.m. Feb. 27 NEW MEXICO 2:00 p.m.
Mar. 2-6 at WAC Tournament TBA (Las Vegas)
Wednesday, Dec. 30-7:35 p.m.
Huntsman Center (15,000)- Salt Lake City
VS. RIPON COLLEGE (4-1)
Saturday, Jan. 2-7:35 p.m.
Huntsman Center (15,000) - Salt Lake City
PROBABLE UTE STARTERS
F-50 Alex Jensen (6-7, 215, Jr) 11.5 7.0, 3.8 F-13 Hanno Mottola (6-10, 240, Jr) 15.4, 6.4 C-52 Nate Althoff (6-11, 245, So) 5.4, 3.7 G-32 Jeremy Killion (6-0, 197, Jr) 9.2, 2.7 G-24 Andre Miller (6-2, 203, Sr) 17.5, 5.9, 5.7OFF THE BENCH
F-40 Phil Cullen (6-9, 200, Fr) 4.5, 3.2 G-4 Adam Sharp (6-2, 184, Fr) 2.8, 1.7 F/G-5 Tony Harvey (6-5, 188, Jr) 8.5, 5.0 F-20 Brad Crockett (6-4, 208, Fr) 0.7, 0.5 F-41 Tyson Johnston (6-10, 233, Fr) 0.3, 0.8 G-11 Ben Heusser (5-11, 177, Fr) 0.0, 0.3TV: KJZZ-TV will televise the Utah-Wake Forest game live on Monday, Dec. 28. STEVE BROWN will call the play-by-play with Utah Starzz Head Coach FRANK LAYDEN handling color commentary. The game will also be televised back to North Carolina.
SATELLITE COORDINATES: Telestar 5, Transponder 3 (KU Band)
INTERNET: Online, Utah basketball information can be found at www.UtahUtes.com.
UTES IN THE HUNTSMAN CENTER: The Utes have won 25 straight games in the Jon M. Huntsman Center dating back to the 1996-97 season. That is currently the 5th longest home winning streak in the country. 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.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 316-115 career record. His .733 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.
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 229-75 record for a .753 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. Currently Andre is leading the Utes in scoring averaging 17.5 points per game. He is also averaging 5.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists for the season. Miller's floor game is excellent this year. He is averaging 5.7 assists to 3.3 turnovers per game.
ANDRE HONORS: ANDRE MILLER is a The Utes signed three players during the early signing period. They are:
LANCE ALLRED, F/C (6-10, 220, SALT LAKE CITY/EAST HIGH SCHOOL):
Averaged 9.8 points and 5.8 rebounds a game as a junior ... shot 68.5 percent from the field ... 39 blocked shots ... academic honor roll.
CHRIS HUBER, G (6-1, 188, GARLAND, UTAH/BEAR RIVER HIGH SCHOOL):
Started since freshman year ... averaged 17.0 points, 4.0 steals and 5.0 assists a game for his career ... shot 40 percent from three-point range ... first team all-state two years ... academic honor roll ... 3.8 GPA.
NICK JACOBSEN, F (6-5, 188, ROSEVILLE, MINN./ROSEVILLE HIGH SCHOOL):
Played three years at Shanley High School in Fargo, North Dakota before moving to Minnesota ... all-time leading scorer with 1,598 points in Shanley High School ... as a junior averaged 30.7 points per game ... shot 50 percent from the field and 47 percent from three-point range ... all-state two years ... MVP of state tournament two years ... Shanley won state championship two straight years .... academic honor roll ... 4.0 GPA.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. This year he has been named to the all-tournament team at the Maui Invitational and the MVP of the Great Eight Tournament as well as WAC Player of the Week for his games against Rhode Island and Long Beach State when he scored 57 points in the two games.
UTES WIN A PAIR: The Utes got back on the winning track with a pair of victories in the Huntsman Center. Saturday, they beat Loyola Marymount 89-55. All five Ute starters were in double figures led by JEREMY KILLION who tied his career high of 18 points. HANNO MOTTOLA scored 16, while ANDRE MILLER scored 14 points and passed for 8 assists. NATE ALTHOFF scored a career-high 13 points while ALEX JENSEN netted 12 points. Utah shot a season-best .574 from the field for the game. PHIL CULLEN played well off the bench with 5 points and 5 blocked shots ... Tuesday, Utah downed Saint Francis (PA.) 74-49 as ALEX JENSEN led the way with 16 points and a season-high 12 rebounds. TONY HARVEY scored a career-high 15 points and had 7 boards while ANDRE MILLER scored 12 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and passed for 5 assists. Utah shot .566 from the field while holding Saint Francis to .327 shooting from the floor.
HARVEY RETURNS: Utah junior college transfer TONY HARVEY (6-5) made his first appearance in a game this season after being suspended for the first nine games. Harvey, who played at Cerritos Junior College in California last season, logged 20 minutes of playing time against Loyola Marymount. He scored 2 points, had 3 steals, passed for 5 assists, grabbed 3 rebounds and played good defense. Against Saint Francis, ANDRE ON CAREER SCORING CHART: ANDRE MILLER is ranked 17th on the Ute career scoring chart with 1,289 points. He needs 3 points to pass KEN GARDNER, 1968-71, 1291 points) to move into the 16th spot on the list.
ANDRE'S ASSISTS: Miller is in second place on the career assist list with 598 . Current Utah radio color man JEFF JONAS (1974-77) is the Utes' career assist leader with 736 during his career.
MAJERUS RADIO SHOW: The weekly Rick Majerus radio show can be heard every Tuesday night from 6:05 -7:00 p.m. on KALL RADIO (910). BRAD STONE is the host.
MAJERUS TV SHOW: The weekly Rick Majerus television show can be seen every Saturday at 10:00 a.m. on KJZZ-TV, channel 14 (channel 3 on cable).UP NEXT: The Utes open 1999 Western Athletic Conference play by hosting in-state rival Brigham Young, Saturday, Jan. 9 at 7:35 p.m. in the Huntsman Center. That game will be televised live on KJZZ-TV.
Harvey, who played both guard and forward, netted 15 points, grabbed 7 boards and passed for 3 assists.
HOME SWEET HOME: The Utes continue their stretch of six straight games in The Jon M. Huntsman Center with their games against Wake Forest, High Point and Ripon. The Utes will also start the Western Athletic Conference season at home when they face BYU on Jan. 9. The next road trip for the Utes takes place in mid-January when they head to San Diego State (Jan. 16) and Hawaii (Jan. 18).
A LOOK AT WAKE FOREST: The Demon Deacons are 9-3 on the season coming off a 75-59 loss Wednesday (Dec.23) to Arkansas in Winston-Salem ... all three Wake losses have been to nationally ranked teams, Temple, Maryland and Arkansas ... Wake Forest coach DAVE ODOM is 191-96 in his 10th season at the school ... he has posted a 229-138 career record in his 13th year as a head coach.
SERIES RECORD WITH WAKE: The Demon Deacons lead in the series with the Utes 2-1. Wake Forest won the first two meetings, 60-56 in Winston-Salem in 1995 and 70-59 in the Huntsman Center in 1996. Those games featured the matchup of Wake's TIM DUNCAN and the Utes' KEITH VAN HORN ... last year the two teams played in Winston-Salem with the Utes picking up a 62-53 win, their first victory over the Demon Deacons.
PROBABLE WAKE FOREST STARTERS:
F-11 Joseph Amonett (6-5, 195, Sr) 4.9, 2.1 F-44 Josh Shoemaker (6-9, 235, So) 4.5, 6.5 C-25 Darius Songaila (6-9, 239, Fr) 11.8, 6.7 G-4 Robert O'Kelley (6-1, 185, So) 16.0, 1.8 G-3 Broderick Hicks (6-1, 160, Fr) 5.6, 2.7UTAH VS. THE ACC: Utah is 7-13 in games against the Atlantic Coast Conference over the years.
A LOOK AT HIGH POINT: High Point University is located in High Point, North Carolina. The Panthers are a member of the Big South Conference ... High Point is 4-2 on the season ... they are coached by JERRY STEELE who is in his 26th season at the school and has posted a 426-337 record.
SERIES RECORD WITH HIGH POINT: This will be the first meeting between the Utes and the Panthers.
PROBABLE HIGH POINT STARTERS:
F-5 Geordie Cullen (6-9, 230, Fr) 13.0, 4.5 F-15 Derek Van Weerdhuizen (6-4, 210, Fr) 12.8, 6.3 C-45 Valdas Kaukenas (6-8, 240, Fr) 11.4, 5.4 G-4 Mantas Ignatavicius (6-3, 190, Fr) 16.8, 5.9 G-30 Scotty Hall (6-2, 180, Sr) 14.0, 3.8A LOOK AT RIPON: Ripon is located in Ripon, Wisconsin ... they are 4-1 coming into the game with Utah ... Ripon is a member of the Midwest Conference ... The Red Hawks are coached by Bob Gillespie who has a post a 313-117 record in 18 years at the school ... the Red Hawks come into the Utah game with one question mark. Starting guard JEFF LUCAS is questionable because of a knee injury.
SERIES RECORD WITH RIPON: This is the first meeting between the Red Hawks and the Utes.
PROBABLE RIPON STARTERS:
F-32 Andy Van Wie (6-3, 200, Sr) 10.0, 3.8 F-44 Bret VanDyken (6-7, 205, Sr) 12.4, 6.4 G-10 Adam Zakos (6-0, 170, Sr) 19.2, 5.0 G-20 Matt Becker (6-4, 185, Sr) 10.4, 4.4 G-30 Jeff Lucas (6-3, 180, Jr) 9.5, 3.2RICK'S REMARKS ON WAKE FOREST: "I think we are going to face one of the traditional basketball powers in the ACC and a team that plays somewhat like ourselves. They play especially hard, they are very sound defensively, have a lot of precision to their patterns and really like to grind it out in the halfcourt. They are a very disciplined team and very well coached and a team that has one of the premier guards in the ACC and the country in Robert O'Kelley. We expect the Wake Forest game to be a real dogfight and we are hoping that our fans will respond in kind." ...
ON THE UTES: "We are getting better. We are trying to integrate Tony Harvey back in the lineup and trying to find our way through some defensive schemes. We can't seem to get enough practice time. Christmas will be a little bit of a setback but we do plan to practice Christmas Day. I'm excited for the guys in terms of them coming back from Christmas renewed and charged and really on top of the situation. Each one wants to get better on an individual basis and then work together to become more cohesive in our team defense."
UTE NOTES: PHIL CULLEN's 5 blocks against Loyola and NATE ALTHOFF'S 5 blocks against Saint Francis ties them for the second most blocked shots in a game ... Utah's team total of 9 blocks vs. the Lions is tied for the second most blocks by a team in a game. 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 ... is now Utes career steals leader ... is also in 17th place on career scoring chart and third place on career assist list ... 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 ... 24 points in win over Arizona State in Maui ... had 15 points and a season-high 12 assists in Ute win over Michigan ... went 9-10 from free throw line in that game ... 28 points in Great Eight loss to Rhode Island ... also had 6 steals to tie career-high and set Great Eight single-game record ... career-high 29 points in win at Long Beach ... named to Maui Invitational All-Tournament team and MVP of the Great Eight ... named WAC Player of the Week for games against Rhode Island and Long Beach State ... 19 points in win over Weber State ... 5 steals in that game broke career steals mark ... had 14 points and passed for 8 assists against Loyola Marymount ... season-high 8 rebounds vs. Saint Francis ... leads Utes in scoring (17.5), assists (5.7) and steals (2.9) ... also hitting .525 from the field ... averaging 5.7 assists to 3.3 turnovers 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 ... led Utes in scoring in Indiana game with 17 points ... top Ute scorer and rebounder in Michigan win with 21 points and 6 rebounds ... 13 points against Rhode Island ... career-high 12 rebounds vs. Long Beach State ... 17 points in Weber win ... career-high 28 points in Texas game ... 16 #points, 8 rebounds vs. Loyola Marymount ... averaging 15.4 points and #6.4 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 ... career-high #8 assists vs. Weber State ... passed for 7 assists against Azusa Pacific and Arizona State ... had 9 points in Ute win over Michigan ... season -high 15 points and 10 rebounds in win at Long Beach ... #15 points and 8 boards in Weber win ... 11 points 7 rebounds and 4 #steals vs. Texas ... 12 points 4 assists, 6 boards vs. Loyola #Marymount ... season-highs in points (16) and rebounds (12) vs. Saint Francis ... averaging 11.5 points and 7.0 boards per game ... also averaging 3.8 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 ... 7 points, 6 rebounds in Indiana game ... career-high #18 points against Michigan on 6-12 shooting from three-point range #... 13 points against Weber State ... 11 points against Texas ... tied career-high 18 points vs. Loyola Marymount ... went 5-6 from three-point range in that game ... third best three-point shooting #percentage (.833) in Ute history ... averaging 9.2 points and 2.7 #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 ... first start against Arizona State ... had 3 points and 4 rebounds ... had 6 rebounds and career-high 4 blocks against Indiana ... had 6 points #against Michigan ... 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals in Long Beach win ... 7 points and 5 rebounds vs. Weber State ... career-high 13 points in win over Loyola Marymount ... 5 blocks vs. Saint Francis is tied for second most in a game in Ute history ... top Ute field goal shooter (.550) ... averaging 5.4 points and 3.7 rebounds 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 #... 4 rebounds vs. Arizona State and Indiana ... career-high 7 rebounds in win at Long Beach ... career-high 14 points in Weber State win ... 5 blocks vs. Loyola Marymount ties for second most in a game in school history ... averaging 4.5 points and 3.2 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 ... 5 points and 4 rebounds in Arizona State win ... 3 steals and played excellent defense against Indiana ... had great defensive game against Michigan with 3 steals ... played well in Rhode Island game with career-high 7 points ... also had 4 rebounds in the game ... 5 points vs. Loyola Marymount ... 4 points, 3 assists vs. Saint Francis ... averaging 2.8 points per game.
#20 BRAD CROCKETT, F (6-4, 208, FR. CENTERVILLE, UTAH)-Played 14 minutes in first college game against Azusa Pacific ... 2 points against Arizona State ... played good defense vs. Indiana ... did excellent defensive job in Rhode Island game ... had 2 points and played good defense against Weber State ... career-high 4 points vs. Loyola Marymount.
#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 ... played in 9 games this #season.
#11 BEN HEUSSER, G (5-11, 177, FR. PRESTON, IDAHO)-Played 11 minutes in first college game against Azusa Pacific ... played in 6 games this season.
#5 TONY HARVEY, F (6-5, 188, JR. CARSON, CALIF.)-Played first major college game against Loyola Marymount after serving nine game suspension ... had 5 assists and 3 steals in first outing and played good defense ... career-high 15 points and 7 rebounds in Saint Francis win ... averaging 8.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per 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 (217-63, .775 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.
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