

NWtRU '98: Rick Majerus Question & Answer
Session
What follows is my [Steve's] retelling of Rick Majerus' responses to various
topics put forth in a question & answer session held for the faculty
and staff of the University of Utah, just prior to "The Night With The
Runnin' Utes". Only phrases in quotes are exact quotations, the rest
is paraphrasing.
October 29, 1998
The
Huntsman Cancer Classic:
-
Will not start for another 2 or 3 years.
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Hoping to schedule Duke and other top teams.
Reasons for weak opponents on the schedule:
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"They're either friends of mine, Catholic, or really bad."
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Has a standing offer extended to UCLA, UNC, and UConn who refuse to schedule
the Utes
-
Division 2 & 3 and NAIA opponents are not factored into the RPI, so
it's better than playing bad 1-A teams.
The effect the Final Four appearance has had on recruiting:
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It's still just as hard as before.
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The major factors are the small local population, Mormon culture stigma,
not prior basketball success.
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Recruits ask "What position will I play and how soon?". They don't
measure the University experience as a whole.
Brad Crockett:
-
He's not the best player (contrary to what we'd been told previously).
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He's Rick's favorite kind of player (I guess Brad reminds him of himself?).
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Possibly the slowest Ute ever.
Team outlook:
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We'll "take it in the shorts this year."
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Improve next year.
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Be back on top in two years.
Best coaches Rick faces:
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Dave Odom
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Dave Bliss
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Don "The Bear" Haskins
Ben Heusser:
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Good shooter
-
Smart
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Lefty, poses some problems for defenders
Phil Cullen:
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Not as athletic as he thought.
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Good shooter
-
Weak and thin
Tyson Johnsten:
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"just really immature"
-
good attitude
-
no shooting touch
-
probably won't play alot this year
Mountain West Conference:
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Probably a 9th team added soon, likely Fresno St, but Rick prefers Hawai`i.
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There will be a conference tournament (it's a money maker, ya know).
-
He approves of the new league.
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"I hope they didn't pay alot for that consultant to come up with MWC."
How Andre rates:
-
He has the great passing abilities: into the post, on the break and
in the halfcourt set.
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He "would be the perfect guard for the Lakers," because he would make the
rest of the team better.
Various topics:
-
Hanno Möttölä and Tony Harvey had mononucleosis over the
summer.
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"Nate's undergoing a discovery of self."
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Willis' future is uncertain because of his injury.
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Killion plays very hard, maybe even too hard.
-
Starting lineup: Miller, Sharp, Jensen, Möttölä, Althoff.
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Perhaps go to small 5 man motion offense with Hanno at center at the beginning
of WAC season.
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PAC-10? "I don't think it's going to happen."
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Will there be a surprise contributor this year? "If you have a vision
let me know."
-
"I don't think we'll ever go back to the Final Four."
-
Rick introduced Alex to a Jesuit priest and told Alex that this man represented
true religious conviction (a lifetime of service as opposed to a two year
mission).
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