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
Transcript From Rick Majerus' Chat On ESPN.com
11/6/2001 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 8, 2001
Rick Majerus: (6:30 PM ET) Hello everyone. I'm ready for your questions!!
Salt Lake City: Is Chris Burgess going to be a more of a presence this season?
Rick Majerus: (6:31 PM ET ) He has the capability of becoming real presence. I expect some inside scoring from him and I'm excited about the condition he is in. He has worked very hard.
Brian, Seattle: Has Phil Cullen playing pro baseball in the summer set him back at all or is he ready to get after it?
Rick Majerus: (6:32 PM ET ) Everybody knows golfers and baseball players aren't in great condition. He has never had a strong body. Alot of it has to do with baseball but he knows what is going on. Baseball is paying his bills and he wants to make that his life.
Jimmy (Salt Lake): What type of a role will Martin Osimani play on the team this year? Is it your plan to back up Spivey with Martin at the point?
Rick Majerus: (6:34 PM ET ) Yes, I plan to do that. Osamani just has to understand and get rid of the Eurpean aspect of him game which he plays a little to fast and reckless. It is important he Americanizes his game. He is very dedicated. He is overwhelmed with being away from home and his family.
doug richards: Good to have you back Coach Majerus. Good luck this year with the Utes. My question is how are you going to stop players like Wyoming's Bailey and BYU's Hansen and Bigelow, New Mexico's Parmer and Douglas? Do you have the defensive players?
Rick Majerus: (6:35 PM ET ) We have never been someone who has really had a defensive stopper. We rely on team defense. If it was mano a mano we would be at a loss but we are team oriented and will devise gameplans for that. Jacobsen is trying to develop into a good defensive player.
Doug Lora: What is the status of Freshman Center Chris Jackson? Player or Redshirt this year?
Rick Majerus: (6:35 PM ET ) I'm leaning towards redshirt but I haven't decided yet.
Salt Lake: You have said that Britton Johnsen must derive more passion for the game on both ends of the court. To what extent has Britton done this thus far, and what plans do you have to help motivate and inspire him for the remainder of the season?
Rick Majerus: (6:36 PM ET ) He played poor in the first exhibition outing but since then he has really practiced hard and seems more committed. I like his attitude. Britton has done well over the last 5 or 6 days though.
Nate (Salt Lake City): Coach, If I could ask you one more question...I like to look at our schedule one game at a time, I'm sure you do as well...but how important is the Nov 26 game at Alabama to give our team some confidence moving on with some of the other tough non-conference opponents, and put ourselfs in a good position for the rest of the tough conference season.
Rick Majerus: (6:38 PM ET ) I''ll go to coach speak, I'm more worried about Saint Francis this Friday. We've established an expectation of winning here. Anytime you place more significance on one game, you get into trouble. Any game is important, and any opponent can beat you. The worst thing we can do is point to one game.
Salt Lake City: What do you feel the main reason was for the high turnovers against the London team last night? Could this be a concern for this year's team?
Rick Majerus: (6:39 PM ET ) We had 18 TO's and three were illegal screens. I thought they were good but the officials didn't. We really had about 12 turnovers. There really is no continuity with me missing time last year.
Ted (Salt Lake City): How is your mother doing?
Rick Majerus: (6:40 PM ET ) Thank you for asking .. she is cancer free as we speak. I told her I'm probably not really her son because my mother has a problem not wanting to eat and I eat everything in sight!!
Dave in Ventura: Coach how is your knee, your leg and your heart.
Rick Majerus: (6:41 PM ET ) My knee is good. My heart is really good and I"ve actually lost some weight. I just got a physical and I checked out OK. I appreciate you asking. I jogged today for the first time in a year.
Adam: Who do you think the team's "go-to" scorer will be this year?
Rick Majerus: (6:42 PM ET ) I don't know. Obviousley offensively Britton has some potential and Burgess can give us a low post presence. Spivey played a great game the other night. It isn't always about the scoring guy, it's about the guys who make the team go. Spivey is sharing the ball and really being a leader right now.
Brad in Salt Lake: How can you get your big men more involved down low? It seems like they spend a lot of time on the perimeter?
Rick Majerus: (6:43 PM ET ) Right now I am giving them too much freedom. That's a great observation. We are trying to get Chris to be more inside oriented. We have to do a better job with our spacing. We do plan to address this.
Al (Salt Lake): We're all very excited to have you back, coach. I loved your book, My Life on a Napkin. Do you have any other books out or any other plans for a book? (Maybe after this year's team gets to the Final Four?)
Rick Majerus: (6:44 PM ET ) This year's team isn't going to the Final Four. We don't have the firepower but I like where we are headed in the future. Our nucleus is back and I am very excited about that.
I don't think I will write another book until we have some success .. but I appreiciate the interest. All the proceeds go to cancer reasearch, it's a great cause.
David in So Cal: Coach I may be going to Law School at Marquette, what are some resturants I can't miss in Milwaukee
Rick Majerus: (6:46 PM ET ) Bartolottas. Barbiere's. There are so many good ones. Those are two good ones though. The Brothers Three Old Town. Go to Palermo Pizza also.
Mike, Salt Lake City: Nick Jacobsen has the nicest shot I have seen in a long time. He seems to have trouble getting shots off, though. What do you plan on doing to get him some open looks?
Rick Majerus: (6:47 PM ET ) We want to set more screens for him. He has been playing with a bad back so we want him to heal right now. He wants to play but we have to rest him. We are dinged up right now. I think we will get him some shots though. He has to do a better job of getting his own shots though.
Garth, Salt Lake: How good can this Utah team really be this year?
Rick Majerus: (6:51 PM ET ) I struggle with that. I have never anticipated the success we have had in the past. The unfamiliarity has been tough. We are trying to get familiar with each other now. I don't know much about the league right now. We will probably struggle early with what we are trying to do. I'm trying to get a handle on some of teh new guys. Spivey is trying to please me but he struggles with doing things differently from last year. I have to get us back to a defensive presence here and more familiar to my expectations.
Thanks for the questions and the concern for me and my family. I'm really touched to know you guys are thinking about us and care for us so much. Sorry I couldn't get to every question but we'll try and do this again.
Thanks everyone!!
Players Mentioned
C
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