Nov. 28, 2000

By PRESTON TRUMAN
Standard-Examiner

SALT LAKE CITY - Spending Thanksgiving weekend with assistant coach Dick Hunsaker at the Puerto Rico Shootout probably did wonders for the Utes' confidence.

Even though they finished third in the preseason tourney -- losing to Georgia in the second-round before beating Memphis in the third-place game Saturday -- Hunsaker had nothing but positive things to say about No. 18 Utah (3-1) following the tournament.

It's easy to say Majerus probably wouldn't have been excited about finishing third. He probably would have, and still could, use it as a reason to bemoan his team, like he has since their first exhibition game Nov. 2.

Hunsaker's style is more laid-back. Majerus, on the other hand, is an in-your-face type of coach. That's not all bad -- Majerus has been a constant winner in his 12 years at Utah. Sometimes, though, it seems as if he gets a little carried away.

Take, for example, the first thing Majerus had to say after the Utes won their first game of the season Nov. 17 against Idaho State -- that is, after he got done lecturing his young team for 35 minutes after the game:

"Well, you know, a lot of people keep telling some of these guys they're good players," he said. "... It's just so many guys to a new system that have no clue you're going to get everybody's best shot every night. We've met the enemy and it's us."

Granted, ISU isn't a very good team, and the Utes barely won, 71-65. But here's what Hunsaker had to say immediately following the Utes 61-58 win over Memphis, which is not exactly considered a basketball powerhouse itself:

"It was a great win for us," Hunsaker said. "A terrific win for the kids. What a wonderful thing for them to be in Puerto Rico and feel good about themselves."

The funny thing is, the guys Majerus has been most critical of leading up to the Shootout excelled in Puerto Rico. Duke-transfer Chris Burgess, who's been called lazy and average by Majerus, was the only Ute player to make the all-tournament team, averaging 12 points and six rebounds per game.

Senior center Nate Althoff, a guy Majerus said is nice, but not a leader, stepped-up and scored 15, 12, and eight points in the three-game tourney. And Britton Johnsen, who, according to Majerus, still looks like he's on a mission, looked great Saturday as he flew in the lane to rebound and put back the game- winning basket against Memphis.

Guards Jeff Johnsen and Kevin Bradley also played well in the third-place game against the Tigers. Johnsen finished with 15 points and five rebounds while Bradley contributed 10 points.

"I talked to Rick twice a night and sometimes twice a day (while in San Juan)," Hunsaker said of Majerus, who skipped the tournament on doctors orders to rehab his knee, which he had surgery on in late September. "It's been hard on him. Rick would have loved this trip. (But) him and I are pretty much on the same page."

Maybe basketball-wise, but that's about it.

"I'm very happy with the way the kids played and how they represented the University of Utah this weekend in Puerto Rico," Hunsaker said. "The team is progressing well." Crusaders back for another whipping Majerus is expected to be back on the sidelines for tonight's game against Cardinal Stritch, an NAIA team out of the Chicagoland Collegiate Conference.

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Huntsman Center.

The Crusaders, coached by nine-year coach Dennis Fox, finished 24-10 overall last season and 10-2 in conference play. They return four starters and are led by senior forward Jeff Kreiling (6-foot-5), who averaged 20.3 points and nine boards per game last season. Westminster defeated Cardinal Stritch on Monday night.

Utah leads the overall series 1-0 after thumping the Crusaders 83-45 in December of 1993. The only problem Utah should have in winning this game is getting over their nine-hour return flight from San Juan. Oh, and that sluggish feeling of eating a delayed turkey dinner -- you know, that feeling the rest of us experienced last Thursday.

"I don't know if there's another two weeks out there," Hunsaker said when asked about tonight's match-up. "We'll just enjoy this win here. All I can think about now is getting home to see my family. Hopefully, they saved me some Thanksgiving dinner." Key tournaments not in November It's a good thing tournaments in November don't matter as much as the ones in March.

For the fourth straight time in the past seven years, the Utes have lost in the second round of an early season tournament. They were bounced out of the Maui Invitational in 1994 and 1998 and failed to get into the finals of last year's Preseason NIT.

And Friday, they lost to Georgia -- which dropped them from 13th to 18th in the Associated Press Top 25 poll -- in the second round, a team that finished 10-20 last season under second-year coach Jim Harrick.

But really -- who cares? We all know what they've accomplished in March.