Utah Men's Basketball Notes

Nov. 9, 2005

Exhibition Game #2

Utah Runnin' Utes (1-0) vs. Northwest Nazarene Crusaders (0-0)
Nov. 14 ? 7:05 p.m. (MST) ? Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,000) ? Salt Lake City

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Utah Probable Starters

No. Pos. Name              Ht.  Wt.  Cl.  Hometown1   G    Johnnie Bryant    6-0  190  So.  Oakland, Calif.11  G    Tim Drisdom       6-3  215  Sr.  Artesia, Calif.30  C    Chris Jackson     6-11 245  Sr.  Los Alamos, N.M.20  F    Bryant Markson    6-7  198  Sr.  Monrovia, Calif.21  F    Shaun Green       6-8  208  Fr.  Salt Lake City

Game Data
Utah (1-0) plays the second of its two exhibition games against Northwest Nazarene (0-0) on Monday at 7:05 p.m. (MST) in the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

Scouting Northwest Nazarene
Northwest Nazarene University is an institution of 1,352 located in Nampa, Idaho. The Crusaders are an NCAA Division II program and a member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Northwest Nazarene opens its exhibition schedule against Albertson College in Idaho Center, Idaho, on Wednesday before facing Utah. The Crusaders open their regular season against Cal State San Bernardino on Friday, Nov. 18. Last season, the Crusaders went 17-10 overall and placed fourth in the GNAC with an 11-7 record. They also placed ninth in the West Region. It was their highest conference and regional finish since joining the NCAA Division II ranks in 2000.

Tim Hills, who has 567 career wins, was named Northwest Nazarene's head coach in May of 2005. He was the head coach at Western Oregon University the past three seasons, compiling a 47-34 record and earning GNAC Co-Coach of the Year honors in 2005. Hills has 567 career wins.

What's Ahead
The Runnin' Utes open their regular season versus Texas State on Friday, Nov. 18 at 7:05 p.m. in the Huntsman Center.

Utah Wins Exhibition Season Opener
Senior forward Bryant Markson scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Utah to a 77-54 victory over Whitman College in its exhibition season opener last Saturday.

Both of Utah's centers also scored in double figures. Senior Chris Jackson had 12 points and redshirt freshman Luke Nevill posted 11. Freshman forward Shaun Green pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.

Markson, a preseason all-Mountain West Conference selection, made 10-of-13 shots from the field. He also hauled in seven rebounds and had three steals.

The Utes shot 52.5 percent from the field and had a 47-30 advantage on the boards. Utah also had 18 assists and 10 steals. Senior point guard Tim Drisdom led the Utes with six assists and scored eight points. Sophomore guard Johnnie Bryant had five assists.

Whitman College, and NCAA Division III program, shot 32.3 percent from the field and converted 10-of-29 three-pointers. Ian Warner led the Missionaries with 13 points, sinking 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. Matt Kelly scored nine points, while Greg Ricker had eight points and eight assists.

From The Training Room
Junior forward Misha Radojevic, who joined the Utes this season as a transfer from Polytechnic Academy in Belgrade, Serbia, tore the ACL in his right knee in pre-season workouts and had surgery on Sept. 30. He will redshirt this season.

Who's Back
Utah has two starters and four other lettermen returning for the 2005-06 season. Last year, the Runnin' Utes went 29-6 overall, won the Mountain West Conference regular season championship with a 13-1 record, and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Both of the returning starters for the Utes are seniors. Point guard Tim Drisdom (6-3, 215) has started 94 of the 100 games he has played in the last three years. In 2004-05, the Artesia, Calif., native averaged 4.7 points, 3.2 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game. He led the Utes in assists in 13 games and shot 39.1 percent from three-point range and 81.5 percent from the free throw line. Bryant Markson (6-7, 198) started 22 games at small forward last season, earning third team all-Mountain West Conference recognition. Markson is Utah's top returning scorer (10.4 ppg) and rebounder (3.9 rpg). The Monrovia, Calif., native also shot 35.8 percent (24-for-67) from three-point range last season while scoring in double figures in 23 games. He also had 27 steals.

Center Chris Jackson (6-11, 245) returns for his final season with the Utes. The fifth-year senior averaged 2.0 points and 1.4 rebounds in 9.8 minutes per game last year, playing in 28 contests. Junior forward Jonas Langvad (6-11, 236) averaged 4.0 points and 1.6 assists last season. A shooter who is capable of getting hot from three-point range, Langvad made 15-of-45 (.333) from beyond the arc. He played in 34 of 35 games, averaging 12.6 minutes per contest. The Utes also return two non-scholarship players who lettered last season in senior guard Casey Iverson (6-2, 200) and sophomore guard Chris Grant (6-3, 200).

Who's New
One redshirt freshman and five first-year players will be looking to contribute for the Utes in 2005-06. Redshirt freshman center Luke Nevill (7-1, 250) signed with the Utes during the spring of 2004. The native of Perth, Australia, lived in Marietta, Ga., and attended Kell High School as an exchange student in 2003-04. Nevill averaged 17.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.7 blocked shots and 2.5 assists per game at Kell. He earned honorable mention all-state and second team all-region honors.

Four players signed with the Utes last November. Freshman guard Lawrence Borha (6-3, 205), originally from Staten Island, N.Y., played during the 2004-05 season at Stoneridge Prep in Moorpark, Calif. Borha averaged 29.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 7.5 assists while shooting 53.3 percent from three-point range. Sophomore point guard Johnnie Bryant (6-0, 190) joined the Utes last December after earning his associate's degree. As a first team all-conference pick at San Francisco City College in 2003-04, the Oakland native averaged 15 points and four assists per game. Freshman forward Shaun Green (6-8, 208) was the 2004-05 Utah Gatorade Player of the Year. A three-time first team all-state selection at Olympus High School, Green averaged 24 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, four blocked shots and two steals per game as a senior. Junior guard Ricky Johns (6-3, 190), a native of Bronx, N.Y., played the last two years at Monroe College, earning region MVP honors both years. He was an NJCAA second team All-American in 2004-05 while averaging 20 points, six rebounds and four assists per game.

Junior center forward Misha Radojevic (6-10, 250) from Belgrade, Serbia, signed with Utah during the late signing period. Radojevic has been playing basketball in the Serbian amateur leagues since graduating from high school. He played for Tamis Pancevo in 2004-05, averaging 12 points and nine rebounds per game. Radojevic tore the ACL in his right knee during preseason workouts and will miss this season. Utah will appeal the NCAA for a medical hardship to regain the year of eligibility, which would give Radojevic two years to play staring in 2006-07.

Utah Picked Second In MWC Preseason Poll
Members of the conference media selected Utah to place second in the Mountain West Conference preseason poll. The Utes earned six first-place votes and finished second with 159 points. San Diego State was picked to claim the MWC men's basketball title, marking the first time the Aztecs have been picked to win the crown. A league record five teams earned at least one first-place vote, with SDSU capturing 10-of-22 first-place votes and 173 points for the top spot in the poll. UNLV, last year's top pick in the preseason poll, garnered three first-place votes and 137 points to place third. Air Force received two first-place votes and 123 points to finish fourth, followed by 2005 MWC Tournament champion New Mexico in the fifth-place spot with 120 points. League newcomer TCU was chosen sixth in the poll with 89 points and Wyoming was seventh with 74 points, despite receiving a first-place vote. Colorado State (65) and BYU (50) rounded out the poll.

Ute senior forward Bryant Markson was named to the preseason all-conference team. He was joined by Marcus Slaughter (Jr., F) of San Diego State, Brandon Heath (Jr., G) of San Diego State, Jason Smith (So., C) of Colorado State and Nick Welch (Sr., C) of Air Force. Slaughter was voted the league's top returning player and Mohamed Abukar (Jr., F) of San Diego State was named the top newcomer.

Utes Sign Four To National Letters Of Intent
Utah has signed four high school seniors to national letters of intent as of Nov. 9. The Runnin' Utes have signed Daniel Deane, a 6-foot-8, 245-pound forward from Judge Memorial High School in Salt Lake City; Curtis Eatmon, a 6-foot-3, 175-pound point guard from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.; David Foster, 7-foot-1, 220-pound center from Lake Forest, Calif.; and Kim Tillie, a 6-foot-9, 205-pound forward from Cagnes-sur-Mer, France.

Three of Utah's signees have been named to the "2005-06 Best in the West" team compiled by Frank Burlison of the Long Beach Press Telegram. Of the top 45 players on the team, Utah has signed two of the five that committed to Mountain West Conference schools. Utah is also the only Mountain West team to have more than one player make the list. Deane was named first team "Best in the West" as one of the top 15 players, and was the highest rated player to sign with a Mountain West Conference school. Eatmon was rated 27th and made the second team, while Foster was awarded honorable mention. Tillie will play for the French Under-18 National Team this coming summer in the European Championships.

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Exhibition Game #2

Players Mentioned

Lawrence Borha

Johnnie Bryant

Tim Drisdom

Tim Drisdom

Chris Grant

Shaun Green

Casey Iverson

Chris Jackson

Chris Jackson

Ricky Johns

Jonas Langvad

Bryant Markson

Bryant Markson

Luke Nevill

Miodrag Radojevic

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