Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus No. 9-Seed Cincinnati (1st Round) on March 10, 2026 , Loss , 66, to, 73
Final Score
Men's Basketball
66
vs No. 9-Seed Cincinnati (1st Round)
73
The University of Utah Athletics
Majerus Back At Work With The Utes
11/3/2001 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 3, 2001
By TIM KORTE
AP Sports Writer
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Rick Majerus is spending plenty of time on the basketball court these days.
Plenty of time in the swimming pool, too.
The Utah coach, who missed most of last season after a series of health problems and his mother's cancer diagnosis, is back at work and preparing his team for the 2001-02 season.
Check him out, strolling the floor in baggy gray athletic shorts, white sneakers and a black "Utah" T-shirt. He's got a basketball tucked under his elbow as he runs his team through drills.
"I'm really happy," Majerus said. "I couldn't get any sleep the other night because I was so excited, thinking about practice. It's nice to be back and I know I'm fortunate. Some guys are fortunate and they don't realize it."
Assistant Dick Hunsaker stepped in and did a commendable job last season under difficult circumstances, leading the Utes to the Mountain West regular season title and a 19-12 record in a season that ended with a first-round NIT loss.
But one look at the Utah bench was all it took to know something was missing, that Majerus took more than his trademark sweater with him. Phil Cullen, a senior this season, described it as being "like an Army without a general."
"We still had a general but it was a different type, a different style," Cullen said.
Majerus has made Utah a fixture in the NCAA tournament during his 12 seasons, leading the school to the national title game in 1998. The Utes have won seven straight conference titles.
"Coach Majerus is Utah basketball, the style, the hustle plays, the team-oriented basketball," Cullen said.
Among active coaches, only Jerry Tarkanian at Fresno State, John Kresse at College of Charleston and Roy Williams at Kansas have better winning percentages than Majerus, who has won 74 percent of his games.
His friends, and there are many, are happy to see Majerus back.
"He's ready to do what he does best," Milwaukee Bucks coach George Karl said. "Last year, we all worried about him. His mom's situation didn't help, although it was a blessing because we saw him a lot back in Milwaukee."
It was an unimaginable season last year for the head coach, and what happened had nothing to do with wins and losses.
It started with arthroscopic knee surgery. The procedure went fine, but Majerus worked too hard on recruiting and coaching instead of rehabilitation and he eventually needed time away to heal.
He turned his program over to Hunsaker, and planned to spend six weeks getting better. Just as Majerus was about to return on New Year's Day, he was hospitalized to have two blocked arteries cleared.
At the same time, Majerus learned his mother had a tumor and he announced he would leave the team for the entire season. He returned to his boyhood home in Milwaukee to care for his mother.
That wasn't all. While in Milwaukee, Majerus spent time with his mentor, former Marquette coach and college basketball broadcaster Al McGuire, in the weeks leading up to McGuire's death.
As if that wasn't enough, Majerus needed 26 stitches last summer after falling inside a shuttle bus at Los Angeles International Airport.
No wonder then, Majerus takes such pleasure in punching the clock again. He grew up a basketball junkie, and there's comfort in the familiar environment of a gym as it echoes with bouncing balls and squeaking basketball shoes.
"It's good. It gives some meaning to my day," he said.
Majerus wouldn't have returned if things weren't looking up.
He's recovered from his ailments and his mother has responded to her treatment. To maintain his health, Majerus swims a mile each morning at a campus-area pool and eats vegetable-bean soup for lunch.
"I love to work out," he said. "I'm really feeling good."
On a recent afternoon, as Majerus put the Utes through a workout, he clearly was back in his element. He showed newcomers their spots on the court. He let his older players know when they failed to defend properly.
"He's a basketball coach," Karl said. "He deserves to be in the gym, and that's probably where he's going to be for a long, long time."
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