I'm afraid that 1998-99 will go down as one of the most underappreciated seasons in Ute basketball history, due to soaring expectations after the National Championship game season, and the disappointing upset loss to Miami of OH. The Utes' struggles in 1999-2000 highlight their remarkable achievements in 1998-99 -- Andre Miller First Team All-American, 23 straight wins, the only team ever to go undefeated throughout a WAC or MWC regular season AND tournament.
In my view, Andre Miller, and therefore the 1998-99 Utes, lost their edge after Andre hit the deck against UTEP with that sickening thud and injured his ankle. Until that point, they appeared more dominant than the Final Two team did at a comparable point in the season. And who could blame Andre if, indeed, after all he had done for the Utes, and accomplished at Utah, with NBA millions within reach, the injury prompted him -- subconsciously -- to ratchet back a slightly on the throttle, and become a bit less of an assassin?
I submit that the biggest difference between 1998-99 and 1999-2000 was not so much the injuries this past season, but our solitary loss to graduation after 1998-99: Andre Miller. Yes, with Andre at the helm, we had four years beyond our wildest imaginings. Many naively thought that the Utes would carry on without Andre just as they had without Van Horn, overlooking that Andre was the best player in the nation at college basketball's most important position. The Utes were doubly hurt in that Tony Harvey, a very good 2 guard, lost much of his effectiveness trying to master his sport's most demanding position, for which he was not ideally suited.
Mateen Cleaves' evisceration of an otherwise superbly executed game plan was painful to watch mostly because it was so reminiscent of Andre, during the Utes' rampage through the NCAA tournament two years ago, single-handedly smashing the Arkansas press, repeatedly scoring after a full court drive (making "40 minutes of Hell" a distant memory); mauling Mike Bibby and Arizona; and seizing control of the game to thwart North Carolina's furious rally (while keeping Vince Carter at bay).
This past season was a bridge between the fabulous bull run of 1996-2000 for Ute basketball, and the future... What will the future hold? For at least the next 2-3 years Majerus will preside over a stable of talented big men perhaps unmatched in Utah's distinguished basketball history. But their promise will be unfulfilled unless Majerus develops a point guard befitting his magnificent front line. There are numerous examples of teams well endowed with talented big men that underachieved because of weakness at the point -- some that come to mind are the Vranes/Chambers Utes, the Mourning/Matumbo Hoyas during the twin towers' last two years, and the Shaq LSU Tigers.
The Utes' future literally rides on the success
or failure of Spivey and/or Colbert! Many have questioned whether Majerus
is too reliant on his system, and too reticent to let his team just "play."
Well, the 1996-2000 seasons, particularly Andre's last three, prove that
Majerus needs a point guard he can hand the reigns to, or else his instinct
is to default to (excessive?) reliance upon the structure of his system.
This makes maybe for a good team, but certainly never for the greatness
of 1997-98 or 1998-99.
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