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
Runnin' Utes Begin 2002-03 Preparations On Saturday
10/9/2002 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 9, 2002
SALT LAKE CITY - Rick Majerus will start molding his team for the 2002-03 season on Saturday as the Ute men's basketball team opens practice.
Utah has some rebuilding to do, losing two starters and seven lettermen from last year's team than went 21-9 overall, placed second in the Mountain West Conference and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. However, the returning veterans should serve as excellent cornerstones to build around.
Of the four returnees from last season, three are seniors. Britton Johnsen (F, 6-10, 210), a Wooden Award candidate this season, was the Mountain West Player of the Year and the USBWA District VIII Player of the Year in 2001-02. The Murray, Utah, native was second on the team in scoring (12.6 ppg) and first in rebounding (6.3 rpg). He shot 49.6 percent from the field and 35.6 percent from beyond the arc. Junior Nick Jacobson (G/F, 6-4, 200) was named second team NABC all-District 13 and third team all-Mountain West in 2001-02. The Fargo, N.D., native started every game last season after being in the line-up for all but four contests his freshman year. Jacobson led Utah in scoring (13.0 ppg). He also ranked 23rd in the NCAA in three-point field goal percentage (44.4), averaging 2.37 treys per game.
Trace Caton (G/F, 6-4, 211) played in all 30 games last season, starting four. Caton, a native of Alamosa, Colo., averaged 4.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. He is a well-rounded player who can defend four positions. Cameron Koford (C, 7-0, 227) became the day-to-day starter in the post the second half of the season, getting the nod in 13 of the last 15 games. A native of Plain City, Utah, Koford averaged 3.7 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. He also had a team-best 18 blocked shots. After starting his college career as a partial qualifier at Weber State, Koford regained his fourth year of eligibility after completing his undergraduate degree in four years.
Utah will gain the services of two transfers, one who is already familiar with the program. Junior Tim Frost (C, 6-10, 236) sat out last season after transferring from Portland. Frost was a first team all-West Coast Conference pick in 2000-01, leading the Pilots in scoring (14.9 ppg), rebounding (7.0 rpg) and blocked shots (1.9 bpg). Marc Jackson (G, 6-1, 177) rejoins the Utes after a year away. The Salt Lake City native and product of Olympus High School played in 21 games for the U. in 2000-01, getting 25 points, 18 rebounds and 14 assists in an average of 6.0 minutes per game. When he returned early from an LDS Church mission last fall and a scholarship was not available at Utah, Jackson joined the program at Utah Valley State College and sat out the season as a redshirt. He has three years of eligibility remaining.
The Utes will have a youthful look this season with four of the 10 scholarship players being freshmen. Chris Jackson (C, 6-11, 242) sat out last season as a redshirt. Jackson was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in New Mexico in 2000-01. He averaged 20.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 4.9 blocked shots per game as a senior.
A trio of freshmen from California have come into the fold. Richard Chaney (G/F, 6-4, 186), a product of Verbum Dei High School in Los Angeles, was a first team all-CIF and all-conference selection as a junior and senior. Tim Drisdom (G, 6-3, 203), a point guard out of Calvary Chapel High School in Artesia, was named the California Player of the Year in his division twice. He is also a three-time first team all-state selection. Bryant Markson (F, 6-6, 182), who is a graduate of Monrovia High School, was the San Gabriel Player of the Year and a two-time first team all-state selection.
"The strength of this year's team will hopefully be the fact that there's a carryover value from the previous season," says Majerus. "Last year I thought our team handled adversity very well, given the loss of Kevin Bradley and Chris Burgess. Last year's team did not have an inside presence. This year's team, with Tim Frost coming on board, certainly will. Hoping to join Frost in that inside presence should be a much-improved Britton Johnsen. We now need to for Cameron Koford to step forward and be the player he is capable of becoming. Chris Jackson has a huge upside, as well. Both of those guys, given their size, have to rebound the ball.
"One of our challenges is that we will be playing with two inexperienced point guards in Tim Drisdom and Marc Jackson. Both of them will play at the point, and Marc will additionally play some two guard. We also have to prove that we can rebound the ball on both ends of the floor. I am counting on us going to the foul line and being much more productive. Tracking our history, we have always been a good foul shooting team, with the exception of last year. I am optimistic of a positive change in that regard. I am looking forward to this group because they have a defensive potential. We have the size and depth to be a decent rebounding team, at the very least, and perhaps much better team if everyone will commit to a block out.
"I'm energized by their enthusiasm to date and I feel that Trace Caton provides us with a captaincy that will be among the best during my tenure at Utah. Senior leadership, provided by Britton and Trace, and Trace's captaincy are imperative to our success. I think those facets are in place. I think that we will have a more balanced scoring attack with at least some semblance of an inside game. That was sorely missed last season."
Ute Notebook
Majerus' Mark: Rick Majerus needs 18 more victories to reach the 400-career wins mark. Entering this season, only 10 coaches have recorded 400 wins in 19 seasons or less. Majerus has a 382-134 record as he begins his 19th season. His career winning percentage of .740 ranks third among active coaches and 16th all-time.
Milestone Season: Utah, entering its 95th season of men's basketball, is striving to join just 12 other Division I programs with 1,500 wins. One of the most successful programs in the history of college basketball, Utah enter the season ranked 13th in the NCAA in all-time wins with a 1,492-776 record and ranked 10th with a .658 winning percentage.
Facility Improvements: The Utes will have a new floor to break in on Saturday. The original floor in the Jon M. Huntsman Center, which opened its doors in November 1969, was replaced over the last month and a half. The floor graphics were completed this week. The scoreboard video display system has also been upgraded. Eight high-output dual-stacked Sharp LCD projectors were installed with a brightness two-and-a-half times better than the previous system.
Players Mentioned
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - Former Runnin’ Ute Branden Carlson
Tuesday, May 19
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - College football analyst Yogi Roth
Wednesday, May 06
Utah Basketball Media Availability | 3.2.26
Monday, March 02
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - Utah Basketball General Manager Wes Wilcox
Wednesday, February 25