Nov. 16, 2000

By PRESTON TRUMAN
Standard-Examiner staff

SALT LAKE CITY - Hopefully the Utes' basketball team doesn't read newspapers. Or watch local sports highlights on the 10 o'clock news. Or listen to local talk radio shows.

Chances are, though, they do. And since they are human and like to see what people are saying about them, they're probably vastly confused heading into the 2000-01 season-opener Friday against Idaho State.

Here's why:

They have two McDonald's High School All-Americans (Britton Johnsen, who just returned from an LDS Church mission, and Chris Burgess, who transferred from Duke) joining their 2000-01 squad and a plethora (out of Rick Majerus' dictionary) of fresh, young talent to go with them.

Enough young talent that members of the Mountain West Conference media selected them to win the conference and the national media pegged them as the 11th-best team in the nation. They can't be too bad, right?

But here's the confusing part: Majerus totally disagrees with the media and says, while his team looks good on paper, it doesn't mean a thing once you hit the hardwood. He's even gone as far as to call most the players on his young team "media myths."

As the big guy enters his 12th season as coach of the Utes, he's making every excuse in the world for his team, saying everyone thinks they'll be good because, well, basically because they've been good in the past. Oh, and he doesn't think the people who vote for the Utes (reporters, in general) know what they are talking about.

"I have sort of a popularity with (coaches) for whatever reason," said Majerus, owner of an impressive 261-73 record (78 percent) while at Utah. "That might account for (the high rankings). (For) a lot of people, the West is a mystery. So they sit down and say, "Well, we got to vote for someone in the West, so let's just vote for (Utah).' That could be it. Or they vote (that way because of) a decade of excellence. They're voting for (current New Jersey Net Keith) Van Horn, Byron Wilson and those teams in the past.

"... If I was a reporter, I'd get out and look at the statistics of Burgess at Duke, (point guard transfer) Travis Spivey at Georgia Tech -- at Georgia Tech, Spivey barley averaged one-to-one assist to turnover ratio -- you know, and Britton only averaged two points a game (his freshman season), so that's the only thing I know in life," Majerus continued. "We've just been so good for so long that they just think we'll always be good. ... I mean, how many people really know or really understand the game?"

Sorry for thinking your team was going to be good, coach. Truth be told, however, there might be some truth to the big guy's rash of insecurities.

The Utes only return one starter and three role players from last year's team, which finished 23-9 overall (10-3 MWC), tied UNLV for the MWC regular-season championship and made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual champion Michigan State.

Gone are Alex Jensen, the MWC's Player of the Year and the Utes' second leading scorer and leading rebounder (13.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg), and Hanno Mottola, who led the Utes in scoring (17 ppg) and was a first-team all-conference selection before being selected 40th in the second round of the NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks.

Backcourt: Majerus' biggest concern throughout the preseason (1-1), though, has been the Utes' backcourt or lack there of. Starters Tony Harvey and Jeremy Killion graduated, leaving basically no one besides junior Jeff Johnsen, who Majerus likes to play at small forward, to run the Utes' motion offense.

"I don't mind switching back and forth. ... I just have to be aware of what to do at the two and three because it could change mid-game," Johnsen said.

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Johnsen, who averaged 5.9 points and 3.7 rebounds off the bench last season, will welcome sophomore Trace Caton (6-4, 215) back from a mission with open arms. Caton is the only other guard with Ute experience, having played in all 34 games as a freshman in 1997-98, averaging four points and 1.1 rebounds while shooting 42 percent from 3-point range.

Vying for time at shooting guard will be sweet-shooting redshirt freshman Nick Jacobson (6-4, 200). A finalist for Minnesota's Mr. Basketball Award, Jacobson averaged 31 points, four rebounds and four assists and 2.5 steals per game as a senior at Roseville High School.

Majerus was forced to go the way of junior colleges to fill the point guard position. Juniors Kevin Bradley (6-0, 170) and Travis Spivey (6-1, 205) from Compton Community College (Calif.) and Georgia Tech/Salt Lake Community College, will be forced to learn on the fly, which Majerus has said he doesn't like.

Last year, the spunky Bradley averaged 18.5 points and 4.9 assists in 28 games for Compton. Spivey was named the Scenic West Conference Player of the Year for SLCC, nearly averaging a triple-double per game with 18.2 points, 9.3 assists and 8.3 rebounds. The Myrtle, S.C., native averaged 5.7 points and 4.3 assists his freshman year at Georgia Tech before transferring to SLCC.

Olympus High product Marc Jackson (6-0, 170), who averaged 27.2 points last season and was named 4-A MVP, can play both guard positions and is also expected to contribute somewhat as a freshman.

"Under some odd circumstances, we got caught with JUCO's and freshman in the backcourt," Majerus said. "That's not good -- you don't win that way."

Frontcourt: Having a height advantage in the frontcourt as big as the Wasatch Mountains is something that should help the Utes make up for their backcourt inexperience. The Utes have eight players 6-8 or taller, with senior Nate Althoff (6-11, 265) leading the charge in the middle.

If his back can hold up, Althoff, who led the MWC in field goal percentage last season (61), will be looked upon to provide the rebuilding Utes with some leadership. The Delano, Minn., native averaged 9.5 points and 4.7 rebounds last year and started 25 of the 28 games he played.

MWC Newcomer of the Year candidate Chris Burgess (6-10, 245) is itching to prove himself worthy of the playing time he didn't get for two seasons at Duke. The health of his back is also a question mark and so is his work ethic. Majerus said the 4.9 points and 3.6 rebounds he averaged while at Duke were not enough for the star-status he sought.

"It wasn't like this guy came over from Duke and Elton Brand transferred in," Majerus warned. "I mean, Chris can be OK, but he isn't good right now and he's working hard to get better. I think he's trying to get in shape."

Two rarities this season are forwards Phil Cullen (6-9, 215) and Mike Puzey of Roy, because they are returning. Cullen has a sweet stroke from 3-point range, but Majerus questions his defense and rebounding. He averaged 5.6 points and 5.9 rebounds a year ago and was named the MWC's Sixth Man of the Year. Puzey, who's limited athletically but plays all-out, will have a good year because Majerus thinks he's the hardest worker on the team.

Jeff Johnsen's younger brother, sophomore Britton Johnsen (6-9, 205), is back after serving a two-year mission in Houston. He averaged 3.5 points and 1.6 boards a game as a freshman, but increased his production to 6.2 points a game during the Utes historic march to the Final Four.

Majerus, however, isn't convinced.

"Britton was always on the court with (Michael) Doleac, (Hanno) Mottola, Al (Alex Jensen), (Andre) Miller or Drew Hansen," Majerus said. "Now, put you out there with four of those five -- or me -- and we'd look OK."

Guys who'll see more of Majerus' backside than frontside include Cameron Koford (6-10, 215), Lance Allred (6-10, 240) and Jon Godfread (6-10, 240), who's been out with a concussion the past three weeks. Junior Koford transferred from WSU after serving an LDS mission, freshman Allred, from East High, was the Gatorade Utah Player of the Year in 1999, and freshman Godfread, from Grand Forks, N.D., averaged 20.3 points and 10 rebounds a game as a senior at Red River High School.

Majerus said this year's squad needs to find an identity -- and quickly. As of yet, he really hasn't had a nice thing to say about them. But then again, it's November -- Majerus' favorite time to write his own team off.

"We might be good at the end of the year, but I doubt it," he said. "We're just too young. You've got to be experienced to be good."