Utah Men's Basketball Notes - Exhibition Game #1

Nov. 2, 2004

Exhibition Game #1

Utah Runnin' Utes vs. Carroll College Fighting Saints
Nov. 6 ? 4:04 p.m. (MST) ? Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,000) ? Salt Lake City

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Game Data
Utah opens its exhibition season against Carroll College on Saturday at 4:04 p.m. (MST) in the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

What's Ahead
Utah plays its final exhibition game against Western State College on Saturday, Nov. 13 at Noon (MST). The Runnin' Utes open their regular season against Stony Brook on Friday, Nov. 19 at 7:04 p.m. in the Huntsman Center.

Who's Back
First year head coach Ray Giacoletti has three returning starters and five other lettermen on his 2004-05 roster. Last season, Utah went 24-9 overall and placed third in the Mountain West Conference during the regular season with a 9-5 record. Utah won the Mountain West Conference Tournament title and received the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The only senior on the roster is guard Marc Jackson (6-1, 175), who is back with the Utes after taking off last season. Jackson earned second team all-Mountain West Conference honors as a sophomore in 2002-03. He averaged 9.3 points, 2.8 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 22.0 minutes per game as a non-starter. Jackson also shot 44.8 percent from three-point range and 84.2 percent from the free throw line in 29 games, missing four because of an ankle injury.

Sophomore forward/center Andrew Bogut (7-0, 240), the 2003-04 Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year and a second team all-league pick, is one of the three returning starters. Bogut was second on the team in scoring (12.5 ppg), and first in both rebounding (9.9 rpg) and blocked shots (44) last season. The native of Melbourne, Australia, had 14 double-doubles on the year and shot 57.7 percent from the field. Junior forward Richard Chaney (6-4, 195) started 31 of 33 games last season. The Los Angeles, Calif., native was third on the team in scoring (9.5 ppg), shooting 49.4 percent from the field, 41.5 percent from three-point range and 82.2 percent at the line. Junior Tim Drisdom (6-3, 210) has started all but one game the last two years at point guard. The Artesia, Calif., native led the Utes in assists (3.6 apg) and steals (35) last season. He also averaged 6.1 points, shooting 34.0 percent from three-point range and 78.9 percent from the free throw line, and 3.7 rebounds.

The Utes also return four other lettermen from last season. Sophomore forward Justin Hawkins (6-5, 220) was the Utes' most productive player off the bench, averaging 19.0 minutes in 32 games. Hawkins, a native of Anaheim, Calif., who also started three games in 2003-04, averaged 5.3 points and 3.2 rebounds. Junior center Chris Jackson (6-11, 245) missed the final 10 games of last season after having surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back on Feb. 25. The Los Alamos, N.M., native is close to full strength as practice begins. Jackson played in 20 games last season, averaging 3.4 points and 2.6 rebounds in 12.5 minutes. He made 70.5 percent of his field goal attempts. Junior forward Bryant Markson (6-6, 190) played in 32 games with two starts last season. Markson, from Monrovia, Calif., averaged 2.2 points and 1.7 rebounds in 12.0 minutes per game. Sophomore forward Jonas Langvad (6-9, 230), who came to the U. from Skovlunde, Denmark, averaged 1.6 points and 1.8 rebounds while appearing in eight games.

Who's New
Three scholarship freshmen and two non-scholarship players have joined the Utes. Point guard Jermaine Calvin (5-9, 177) from Tempe, Ariz., and forward Jake Schmidt (6-7, 247) from Thermopolis, Wyo., signed letters of intent with Utah during the early signing period. Center Luke Nevill (7-0, 240) from Perth, Australia, signed with the Utes during the late signing period. Joining the team as non-scholarship players this season are junior guard Casey Iverson (6-1, 190) and freshman forward Austin Robison (6-6, 185).

Calvin earned first team all-state honors as a senior and second team all-state recognition as a junior. In 2003-04, Calvin averaged 20.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game while leading McClintock High School to a state runner-up finish.

Schmidt was the 2003-04 Gatorade Player of the Year in Wyoming. While leading Hot Springs County High School to the state championship for the second year in a row, Schmidt was an all-state and East 3A all-conference selection. He averaged 17.4 points, 12.7 rebounds, 5.3 blocked shots, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game as a senior.

Nevill lived in Marietta, Ga., last year as an exchange student. While playing for Kell High School, Nevill averaged 17.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.7 blocked shots and 2.5 assists per game. He shot 70 percent from floor and 68 percent at the free throw line. Nevill earned honorable mention all-state and second team all-region honors.

Iverson was an honorable mention all-conference selection at the College of Eastern Utah in 2003-04, averaging 12.0 points, 2.0 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game. Robison was a Salt Lake Tribune first team all-state performer as a senior at Jordan High School (Utah). He averaged 18.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.9 blocked shots and 2.6 steals per game in 2003-04.

Utes Receiving Votes In ESPN/USA Today Preseason Poll
Utah received six votes to rank 34th in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Preseason Poll. Washington, Utah's first round opponent in the Great Alaska Shootout, is ranked 24th. Two other teams in the Great Alaska Shootout field, Alabama and Oklahoma, are ranked 18th and 30th, respectively. Arizona, which will host the Utes in Tucson, Ariz., on Dec. 11, is ranked 11th. UNLV of the Mountain West Conference is receiving nine votes to rank 33rd.

Scouting Carroll College
Carroll College is an NAIA Division I school with an enrollment of 1,430 in Helena, Mont. The Saints compete in the Frontier Conference. Gary Turcott is in his 15th year at the helm for the Fighting Saints basketball team.

Carroll College was unable to exceed the 20 win pinnacle for the first time in over three years in 2003-04. The Saints ended the `03-04 regular season with a 19-11 record and missed out on the NAIA National Tournament for the first time since 1999. They placed sixth in the Frontier Conference.

Lone senior and all-conference honorable mention honoree Andy Brown will lead this year's team. Brown shot a team-high 55 percent from the field and averaged 5.0 rebounds a game last season.

The Saints have a talented junior class in returnees Ross Gutsafson, Jeff Hays, and Kurt Paulson. Gustafson averaged 3.0 boards and 5.0 points in 10 minutes per game last season. In his first year as a Saint, Hays had a standout year. Hays shot 54 percent from the field, 49 percent from behind the arc, and 83 percent from the foul line. Hays led the team in rebounding with 5.7 a game, and was second in scoring with 12.2 points per game. Paulson has earned a reputation for being one of the Frontier Conference's best defenders. This season Paulson will look to add to his game and establish himself at the point guard position for the Saints. In 2003-04, Paulson averaged 17.0 minutes, 5.0 points and 2.3 assists a game.

From The Training Room
Junior guard Tim Drisdom sprained his right ankle during the team's "Night with the Utes" scrimmage last Thursday night. He is expected to be out a possibly week to 10 days and is questionable for the exhibition game Saturday against Carroll College.

They've Got The License To Shoot
Want to have the go-ahead to shoot a three-pointer if you play for the Utes? You have to earn your license first. A Ute player earns his "License to Shoot" from the coaching staff by making 35 of 50 three-pointers from all over the floor during a drill that can be attempted once a day. It must be completed five times before the season.

Utes who have earned their "License to Shoot" for this season are Andrew Bogut, Richard Chaney, Tim Drisdom, Casey Iverson, Justin Hawkins, Marc Jackson, and Bryant Markson.

Runnin' Utes Second In MWC Preseason Poll
Utah was placed second in the Mountain West Conference preseason media poll. Runnin' Ute sophomore center/forward Andrew Bogut was named to the preseason all-MWC team.

The league media selected UNLV to claim the Mountain West Conference title, marking the first time the Runnin' Rebels were picked first in the MWC preseason poll. UNLV tallied 182 total points and 14 of 25 first-place votes. Utah, the defending MWC Tournament champion, earned seven first-place votes and finished second in the poll with 169 points. Defending MWC regular season champion Air Force came in third--its highest-ever pick in the MWC poll--with 142 points and four first-place votes. New Mexico placed fourth with 122 points, followed by BYU (92), Colorado State (87), San Diego State (71) and Wyoming (35).

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