The ANNOTICO Report

 

 

Los Angeles Times

By Jason Reid
February 3, 2005

It figured Rick Majerus would still cast a big shadow over Utah because, well, Majerus' shadow is big everywhere.

One-liners aside, though, the self-described "fat guy" achieved icon status in Salt Lake City while leading the Utes to their most successful era, so Ray Giacoletti (pronounced jack-oh-LET-ee) had large shoes to fill.

They fit just fine.

Utah has maintained high standards under its first-year coach, who embraced the school's tradition-rich past while doing his own thing.

The Utes are rolling after an awkward early adjustment period, and Giacoletti's handling of the team has prompted many on campus to reconsider their views about high-profile coaches.

Giacoletti has gained supporters as much for his low-key approach as the Utes' success, and his style has been a welcomed change of pace for athletic administrators who had grown weary of the high-maintenance Majerus.

Majerus used t! o set the tone at Utah, but now it's Giacoletti's way.

"He's been awesome. Just awesome," standout sophomore center Andrew Bogut said. "Coach Jack is real positive, and the guys have really taken a liking to him.

"He just keeps building confidence and trust between every player on the team. Obviously, Coach Majerus is a great coach. But we've still got a great coach here."

The numbers support Bogut's opinion.

The 21st-ranked Utes are 18-3 overall and 6-0 in the Mountain West Conference. They've won 13 in a row, lead the nation in field-goal shooting at 53.9% and limit opponents to an average of 57.5 points, the seventh-lowest total.

Players are particularly upbeat about Giacoletti's fast-paced offense, which provides greater freedom than that of his predecessor, and his even-handed temperament.

The Utes operate in a more open environment than they did previously, and Giacoletti has vowed to let them have fun unless someone breaks his f! irst rule: Get the ball to Bogut.

The 7-foot native of Australia has emerged as the nation's most dominant post player in only his second season, which might be his last as an amateur.

European professional leagues courted Bogut, 20, even before his breakout performance with the Australian Olympic team last summer in Athens.

He would be a probable NBA lottery pick after this season, and some talent evaluators have suggested Bogut could be the No. 1 overall selection because of his rare combination of size, passing skills and footwork.

With Bogut the focus of Giacoletti's system and the other players cooperating, the Utes aren't the same bunch that started 5-3, including a 26-point loss to Utah State.

Mountain West coaches say Utah is without peer in the conference, and Giacoletti has received high marks for convincing the Utes that a new way could work too.

Now, that's how to follow an icon.

"I knew what Coach Majerus had done h! ere, he's got a great legacy, and Utah basketball has a great history of tradition," Giacoletti said. "I knew all of those things, but I am who I am, and our staff is who we are. We're going to work hard, do the best we can and let the chips fall where they may at the end.

"If that's good enough, great. If not, then we did everything we could. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me, so we can't be worried about how somebody else did it or how things were done in the past. We're trying to do the best we can right now."

Giacoletti got the chance because others weren't as interested.

Athletic Director Chris Hill pursued Lon Kruger and Trent Johnson before offering the position to Giacoletti, 42, who went 69-50 in four seasons at Eastern Washington and led the Eagles to their first NCAA tournament appearance in 2004.

Giacoletti, the 2003-04 Big Sky Conference coach of the year, was eager to take a bigger step, and following Majerus qualified.
Majerus retired from Utah in the middle of the 2003-04 season to tend to his health. He joined ESPN as a TV analyst, and in December accepted the USC coaching position, which he resigned after five days and returned to ESPN.

In 15 seasons under Majerus, Utah had 323 victories, 10 regular-season conference champions and 10 NCAA tournament berths. The Utes had four appearances in the Sweet 16, one Elite Eight, one Final Four and played in the 1998 national-title game.

The Utes won the 1944 NCAA title and participated in the 1961 and '66 Final Fours. No Utah coach, however, matched Majerus' record of sustained excellence.

Utah was 15-5 when Majerus left the program last season. Kerry Rupp, an assistant for three years, became the interim coach and led the Utes to a 9-4 record, losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Boston College. Rupp is in his first season as the associate head coach at Indiana.

The presence of Bogut was among the! appealing aspects of the job to Giacoletti, but Bogut considered not returning to Utah.

Last season's Mountain West freshman of the year, who attended Utah because of Majerus' reputation for developing big men, was uncomfortable with Majerus' intense approach in practice.

Bogut returned home to Melbourne after the season and considered signing a professional contract. Then he outperformed older and more experienced players in the 2004 Athens Olympics, having averaged 14.8 points and 8.8 rebounds.

Persuading Bogut to return for his sophomore year was the top item on Giacoletti's to-do list after he was introduced as the Utes' new coach March 31.

Giacoletti instructed his staff to learn about Bogut as a person, but not to pressure him about a decision. In April, Giacoletti visited Bogut's parents in Melbourne and delivered the most important recruiting pitch of his career.

The Boguts apparently liked what they heard.

Andrew has thrived ! in Giacoletti's system, increasing his scoring average from 12.5 points as a freshman to a conference-best 20 points this season.

He leads the nation in rebounding at 12 per game, and his total of 14 games with at least 10 points and 10 rebounds is first on that list. Bogut also is fourth in the nation in field-goal shooting at 64.9%.

"We're pretty fortunate to be able to coach a guy like Andrew Bogut in our first year," Giacoletti said. "Our team is better, and others are better on the team, because he gets touches every trip down the floor.

"He not only scores the basketball, but he's probably as good a passer for a big man as there is in the country. Once the team finally realized that, first and foremost, we had to get Andrew touches, it really started to come together."

Bogut acknowledged he was better suited to Giacoletti's style, on and off the court.

"Sometimes it was hard to understand why Coach Majerus would be so tough on the guys,! " he said. "I guess if you're going to make it to the NBA or in life after basketball you're going to need that, and Coach Jack points out mistakes too, but he gives you a little more freedom than Coach Majerus.

"I feel more comfortable now. Coach Jack is real positive about everything, and that's the way he treats you. You know he's going to show you respect because you work hard. If you miss a shot now, you don't have to be afraid you're coming out."

Rupp, last season's interim coach, expected Bogut and the Utes to improve.

"That team is very good, and Bogut is a great big [man]," said Rupp, who has broad responsibilities with the Hoosiers.

"When they told me, 'Hey, you're not in the mix for the job,' I just looked at it as change would be good, and that there would be another opportunity for me. But I knew they would be very good this year."

In addition to re-recruiting Bogut, Giacoletti also persuaded senior guard Marc Jackson to rejoin t! he team.

Jackson, second-team all-conference as a sophomore, left the program last season rather than play for Majerus. He is second on the Utes in scoring average (11.2) and shares the team lead in assists at 3.6.

"I'm happy with how Ray has approached the whole program," said Hill, the athletic director.

"The way he's put the team together, how he's recruited, how he's handled everything, he's just done really well."

*
A Ute From Down Under

Utah's return to national prominence is due in no small part to its Australian center, Andrew Bogut, whose inside game is among the best in the country.

 

http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition/la-sp-reid3feb03,1,1880128.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-sports

 

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2004-2005 Schedule

Day	Date	Opponent	Location	Rank	Outcome/Time
Sat	11/06/2004	Carroll College (Exb.)	Salt Lake City, Utah		W, 86-62
Sat	11/13/2004	Western State College (Exb.)	Salt Lake City, Utah		W, 87-48
Fri	11/19/2004	Stony Brook	Salt Lake City, Utah		W, 72-63
Thu	11/25/2004	Washington (Great Alaska Shootout)	Anchorage, Alaska	# 13	L, 78-71
Fri	11/26/2004	High Point (Great Alaska Shootout)	Anchorage, Alaska		W, 78-69
Sat	11/27/2004	Furman (Great Alaska Shootout)	Anchorage, Alaska		W, 62-50
Tue	11/30/2004	Southern Utah	Salt Lake City, Utah		W, 65-45
Sat	12/04/2004	Utah St	Logan, Utah		L, 71-45
Wed	12/08/2004	Montana-Western	Salt Lake City, Utah		W, 98-63
Sat	12/11/2004	Arizona	Tucson, Ariz.	# 14	L, 67-62
Fri	12/17/2004	Northern Colorado	Salt Lake City, Utah		W, 81-66
Mon	12/20/2004	Coppin State	Salt Lake City, Utah		W, 66-37
Wed	12/22/2004	Cal Poly	San Luis Obispo, Calif.		W, 92-76
Tue	12/28/2004	Weber St	Salt Lake City, Utah		W, 51-40
Thu	12/30/2004	Colorado	Salt Lake City, Utah		W, 80-48
Mon	01/03/2005	LSU	Salt Lake City, Utah		W, 69-55
Wed	01/05/2005	Whitworth	Salt Lake City, Utah		W, 81-60
Mon	01/10/2005	UNLV	Salt Lake City, Utah		W, 70-52
Sat	01/15/2005	Wyoming	Laramie, Wyo.		W, 74-49
Mon	01/17/2005	Colorado St	Fort Collins, Colo.		W, 75-52
Sat	01/22/2005	New Mexico	Salt Lake City, Utah		W, 69-58
Mon	01/24/2005	Air Force	Salt Lake City, Utah		W, 63-51
Mon	01/31/2005	BYU	Provo, Utah		W, 72-58
Sat	02/05/2005	San Diego St	San Diego, Calif.		W, 61-41
Mon	02/07/2005	UNLV	Las, Vegas, Nev.		7:30 PM (PST)
Sat	02/12/2005	Colorado St	Salt Lake City, Utah		7:00 PM
Mon	02/14/2005	Wyoming	Salt Lake City, Utah		7:00 PM
Sat	02/19/2005	Air Force	Colorado Springs, Colo.		1:00 PM
Mon	02/21/2005	New Mexico	Albuquerque, N.M.		7:00 PM
Sat	02/26/2005	BYU	Salt Lake City, Utah		1:00 PM
Sat	03/05/2005	San Diego St	Salt Lake City, Utah		1:00 PM
Thu	03/10/2005	TBA (MWC Quarterfinals)	Denver, Colo.		TBA
Fri	03/11/2005	TBA (MWC Semifinals)	Denver, Colo.		TBA
Sat	03/12/2005	TBA (MWC Championship)	Denver, Colo.		8:00 PM