NWtRU '98: Rick Majerus Question & Answer Session

[ Night With the Runnin' Utes Team Analysis | Event Pictures ]

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.
Hoping to schedule Duke and other top teams.

Reasons for weak opponents on the schedule:

"They're either friends of mine, Catholic, or really bad."
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:

It's still just as hard as before.
The major factors are the small local population, Mormon culture stigma, not prior basketball success.
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).
He's Rick's favorite kind of player (I guess Brad reminds him of himself?).
Possibly the slowest Ute ever.

Team outlook:

We'll "take it in the shorts this year."
Improve next year.
Be back on top in two years.

Best coaches Rick faces:

Dave Odom
Dave Bliss
Don "The Bear" Haskins

Ben Heusser:

Good shooter
Smart
Lefty, poses some problems for defenders

Phil Cullen:

Not as athletic as he thought.
Good shooter
Weak and thin

Tyson Johnsten:

"just really immature"
good attitude
no shooting touch
probably won't play alot this year

Mountain West Conference:

Probably a 9th team added soon, likely Fresno St, but Rick prefers Hawai`i.
There will be a conference tournament (it's a money maker, ya know).
He approves of the new league.
"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.
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.
"Nate's undergoing a discovery of self."
Willis' future is uncertain because of his injury.
Killion plays very hard, maybe even too hard.
Starting lineup: Miller, Sharp, Jensen, Möttölä, Althoff.
Perhaps go to small 5 man motion offense with Hanno at center at the beginning of WAC season.
PAC-10? "I don't think it's going to happen."
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).

Last modified .