10 Wednesday, January J ! THE DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE 200? x" I i 8, f I ili ir"' - !i 1: Center Tim Frost Supplies Utah With An Inside Game Britton Johnsen scores 5.0, behind and high scoring is nothing new to Frost He transferred to the U after two seasons at Portland. As a freshman with the Pilots, Frost averaged eight points and four rebounds in 21 starts. As a sophomore, Frost had 14.9 points and seven rebounds a Coast Congame to earn ference honors. Yet, Majerus pointed out that "even on a bad team, someone has But fans may not recognize junior center Tim from his appearance in street clothes at the end of the bench on last year's team, while he sat out in accordance with NCAA transfer rules. That's because the formerly bushy-haireFrost took a little of the top, at the request of men's basketball coach Rick Majerus. "He told me I needed to cut it. He said it was in my eyes and that I couldn't see," Frost said. But think about it. If you had the opportunity to be a featured player e in a program, you'd do the double-double- s all-We- st to score." But with Frost on a losing pro- d gram going through a coaching change, he decided to transfer (His the year after he team went He out to be a hot turned left). commodity. The coveted Frost talked with Oregon, Oklahoma, Oregon State, California, Texas and Wisconsin. After Frost visited a Utah practice, he almost decided not to 6-- big-tim- same. Considering the reputation of Majerus-coache- d teams, the play of Frost will likely determine how far the Utcs advance this season. After a performance against St. Mary's (Calif.), Frost nearly leads the team in scoring and is second in rebounding. 24 come. "I felt comfortable with the guys on the team, but the coaches seemed tough. And all the players said it was tough," Frost said. "I was scared off at first. But I talked to my mom about it and we decided the discipline would be .The sixth annual . . Factory Blowout Sale Y .tan Every over run, Over J 100,000. in inventory must every demo, every second, go. Ski packs, OK, every pack must go at well Snowboard packs, mountaineering under pacb, Hunting and fishing wholesale. packs. :M s per 6.5. team-leadin- g Chronicle Sports Editor It's here again with rebounding Johnsen's RORY BRUNNER Ute 12.54 game, while Frost sits at 12.53. Frost is also second on the team in : . a a. J 'A All-Sta- 1 January 8th through the 1 1th doors open at 8 : 00 am sharp at our brand new showroom 753 west 1700 good for me," he said. Of course, it didn't hurt that Utah possessed a national prestige "Utah has a great reputation. They consistently go to the NCAAs. I wanted to be a part of a winning team,'' he said. Another plus was that the U was a relatively close drive (10 hours) from his hometown of Klamath Falls. Oregon his family could occasionally watch him play ball. But once Frost got to Utah, it wasn't the productive off year he had been planning. As if watching the Utes suffer through the season without an inside threat after Chris Burgess went down with an ankle injury in late December wasn't enough, Frost couldn't practice much of the season because of a stress fracture in his foot." "I missed the majority of practice. I learned the offense, but never getting out there hurt me," he said. "It was an injury that required time to heal." Frost became healthy enough after the season to play with team Johnsen on the NIT over the summer, in which Frost averaged 5.7 points and 4.8 rebounds. It seemed like good preparation, because Frost won the starting job from senior Cameron Koford and freshman Chris Jackson. Frost has started all 13 games, though he has been unpredictable at times. After scoring six points in the second game of the year, he scored 17, 17, 16 and 18 the next four games. He stepped up his game when Johnsen was out with a thumb injury. In a WCC road trip against Pepperdine and San Diego, Frost scored 13 points in both games, and had 11 rebounds for a double-doubl- e against the Waves. Frost has an outside game, a rarity for a big man. "The shots are fine with me as long as they are taken in the context of the game," he said. Frost was also tough on the low block against Erwin Dudley when No. Alabama came to town, but then had a letdown four days later against Weber State. After Frost scored two points in eight minutes due to foul trouble-b- oth lows on the season Majerus blasted the junior and praised replacement Koford, who filled in southf0 Salt Lake City, Utah www.vortexbackpacks.com :YY - Y Frost is second on the team in scoring and rebounding. rs with eight points and four rebounds in 24 minutes. "Koford gave us a big lift on both ends, with Frost not coming to play," Majerus said. After Frost's double-doubl- e against St. Mary's, Majerus replied, "Frost did score, he did OK." "He's very tough, he's demanding," Frost said of Majerus. "If I'm not rebounding, I'm going to hear about it...But he uses positive reinforcement. He'll get on you, but when you're playing good, he'll tell n ft 1 " h VA.ir . irri :ir " " V'Zgtiim f-- -- m wi ., 11 you." Still, the team knows Frost is a centrifugal part of their success. After the Weber State loss, forward Britton Johnsen said, "Frost didn't have a good game, but he's the best low-poplayer we have." Even Frost knows he has to work. "I've hurt the team with foul trouble, and I haven't rebounded worst he said. "I've got to work on my rebounding and defense." To have a chance to make a dent in the postseason, Utah will need a consistent inside threat. And if Frost is consistent, the Utes could be cutting down nets instead of st X 'mi yy. s," hair. rbrunnerchronicle.utah.edu . . Frost had his second double-doubl- e of the season in a win over St. Mary's. Looking for a class that fulfills a Behavioral Science Psych 1010-0- 1 Foundation? &02 General Psychology (Instructor: Dodd) MWF 9:40-10:3- 0 &MWF 10:45-- 1 One class, 10 great professors! A smorgasbord of psychological knowledge and expertise. 1:35 J M i X Section 1 class :1304 Section 2 class :1306 x Frost came to the U y for the prestige of the program and the relatively close proximity to his family in Oregon. a