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Show P SO WlVl V I THURSDAY J 129 layers promise to kee d focus d espite Majerus JL Rick Majerus Experience: 15th Season at Utah Aima Mater: Marquette j1 70 j the decade of the '90s, Utah ranked eighth among NCAA Division programs in both wins (250) and winninn nerrenfanj 7fJ). In , f " I Over the last five seasons the Utes had the J i (1998-2003- ), 13th-be- st winning percentage in NCAA record. Division I (.730) with a 116-4- 3 V The Utes have made 10 trips to the NCAA Tournament 12 total appearances in postseason play. and Utah has moved on to the second round of the NCAA Tournament nine times, including six straight years from 1995-200- Utah has advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 four times and k Elite Eight appearances in 1997 and 1998. The Utes also played in the 1998 NCAA Final Four, losing to Kentucky in the national championship game. made back-to-bac- During the Majerus era, Utah has the and the Tournament play. (17) Rick Majerus will be out for an indefinite amount of time, but Chris Bellamy Sports Editor If everything was going according to plan, the U basketball team would have all its energy and concentration focused on this weekend, as the Utes are just days away from this season's first meeting with the archrival BYU Cougars. But to say the least, the team's focus shifted following Wednesday's announcement of head coach Rick Majerus' hospitalization and imminent resignation. "He taught us all how to play and that's what's so great about Coach," senior Nick Jacobson said. "I'm just going to go back to it. Everybody is going to miss him when he's gone and it's just too bad." While the suddenness of Wednesday's news was an understandable distraction, the Utes insist that they will be able to keep their focus, not only on Saturday's game at the Huntsman Center but throughout the week of practice as well. "He's taught all of us on assistant coach Kerry Rupp (back) is ready BYU and trying to win." collegiate level, Majerus has forward." Majerus has long been notorious for his meticulous preparation prior to each game, a factor that might seem to be missing given his absence. But senior center Tim Frost doesn't think so, and expects as much preparation in his absence as there would be forged close relationships with many of his players. With his health status up in the air, the Utes already struggling with two consecutive losses-h- ave plenty to deal with. But Jacobson is certain that the ramifications of Saturday's game will be enough to put his and his teammates' minds solely on basketball. "It won't be difficult at all. Today is the day that's been really difficult," he said. "But going through practice, I started getting the rhythm again. By the time the game comes, we're going to be zoned in on With assistant coach Kerry Rupp taking over as interim head coach for the Runnin' Utes, not much will change in the time Majerus will be out of commission, however long that may be. "My dad always said, 'Don't try to fix something that's not broken,'" sophomore point guard Tim Drisdom said. "We're definitely going to try to fix some things, change the things we weren't doing so well and just keep moving otherwise. "Our assistant coaches do a great job. They're going to do a good job preparing us and it's just going to be on us," Frost said. "Coach can't ever go out there on the floor with us it's just us. We just need to get out there and take care 14th-mo- wins st winning percentage (.630) in NCAA st Utah advanced to NIT Final Four in 1992, placing third. to take over. this team to play with or without him," Jacobson said. "He's taught everyone so well from the staff to the players that we know how to do it without him. I think he wants us to go on like we are and just try to play and do the best we can. We can't do anything but just play on. He's not going to be there, but everything he did up to this point, we're going to do and use. We've still got the year to play." Like many coaches at the 17th-be- of business. We had a good practice today, so that was good to see." Ironically, it was just prior to a showdown with BYU last season that Majerus took a e leave of absence, leaving Rupp as the acting coach. Last time, he missed the game to attend the funeral of former Ute Andre Miller's stepfather. Behind Rupp, the Utes went on to win that game, squeak5 in ing past the Cougars Provo to snap BYU's home winning streak. But despite the success they had last year, Jacobson says that victory has no effect on Saturday's game. "Last year has nothing to do with this year. It doesn't matter at all," Jacobson said. "We're just going to prepare and watch film like we usu- Utah has won 10 conference titles. regular-seaso- n Utah won the WAC Tournament championship in 1995, '97 and '99. five times- player of the year His players have been named e twice consensus on eight occasions and first team choices-conferenc- one-gam- 19 times. The Utes are 177-1- 3 (.932) in the Huntsman Center under' c home games. Majerus and have never lost r back-to-bacf- 79-7- erry Rupp 44-ga- Position: Assistant Coach Experience: 3rd Season at Utah Alma Mater: Personal: Birthdate: Feb. 24, 1954 Hometown: Magna, Utah High School: Cyprus College Education: Southern Utah, B.A Physical Education, 1977 . ally do." The general consensus of the Ute players is that Majerus has prepared them so well along with the assistant coaches that his absence won't pose as serious SEE UTES Southern Utah '77 vi Playing Experience: 1975-771972-74- PAGE 14 : : Southern Utah Utah State Resignation may have major roster implicationsw, Replacing a coach in any sport is a tough process that has many repercussions, but in college sports it is especially problematic and causes ramifications that an athletics director can sometimes never control. U basketball coach Rick Majerus' career at the university will come to an end after this season and athletics director Chris Hill has one objective: damage control. Majerus was the biggest name on campus and one of the biggest around the nation. He is the name that comes to mind when people think of athletics at the school, and now with Majerus gone, what will Hill do? What does any athletics director have to go through in a time like this? "Rick has built a tremendous name over the last 15 years and there is no question that he has set a very high standard of winning and losing and the conduct of our players," Hill said. "That's what happens. Nothing lasts forever." The first problem is dealing with the way the team will perform if the change has to be made during the season. How much fire will the team have if it has to deal with a new personality? Will the quality of the coaching position diminish enough to really hurt the team's goals? Assistant coach Kerry Rupp is going to take over as interim coach. He has big shoes to fill, especially with the amount of work Majerus put in prior to each game. Australian freshman Andrew Bogut came here solely because of Majerus. Now that the coach will soon be gone for good, who knows what actions he or some of the other players may make. Options include transferring to another school or taking the risk of a direct jump to the pros. I doubt anyone else will MEN'S TENNIS UTAH at UTAH STATE (NA) 30, 2004 5prn Salt Lake City, Utah January C Majerus' success can't be taken lightly and the results he brought to the team may ' Whether or not Majerus returns this season obviously plays a major factor in this, but the players' demeanor may be hurt anyway because there are so many other outside distractions affecting the team. But that problem is not as long lasting as the others, even though it obviously is an issue. However, Hill can take care of that problem by doing what he has been doing, and that is constantly talking to the players and keeping them in the right state of mind. But the other problems are much more critical to the prestige of the program. student athletes Many come to the school because of a specific coach, and in the situation with Majerus, it is probably true with the majority of the players. ' "" s Asad Kudiya Asst. Sports Editor even try to transfer from the team, but now the young players that have been groomed in Majerus' system will probably have to do it all over again next season. This is a problem that Hill can't control, but he has to deal with it, and it all goes along with the ramifications of a new coach. "I think that any time you have a change, it is a challenge, and some people take it as a challenge of opportunity," Hill said. "Change is difficult for people and you have to work through it, and after it you keep moving." Hill's main task comes in when he has to select a new coach, which is an objective that he hasn't even began to undertake. But he will in the near future, and he will have to be very selective of who he chooses. There is no doubt in my mind that the program will take a step back, at least for a few years, with the loss of SWIMMING never be exceeded A step back will really take place in national recruiting, which has been a focus for Utah since assistant coach Jeff Judkins was replaced. It didn't really matter with recruiting in the state because when you had a coach like Majerus who had taken his team to the NCAA title game, you had all the exposure you needed. Let's face it this school is not going to get a coach like Majerus, but the school does have potential. Utah scooped up football coach Urban Meyer and he has been an instant success here, but finding a basketball coach to do the same thing may be a tougher task "We have a really excellent With the prestige of the university moving up, considering the success of the football team along with the past success of the basketball program, finding a solid head coach should not be a problem. But for Hill, it's not about just finding the right coach, it's also about salvaging as much of what Majerus gave the program as he can. akudiyachronicle,utah.edu (0-2- ) UTAH BYU UTAH (3-- 0) IDAHO Provo, Utah 4 ' t,i ' .. January 30, 2004 7pm f Huntsman Center .;.! , ' r ...... , Y 'T A. i , ", ' f ' "' v i V , vJ Andrew Bogut came to the U to play for Rick Majerus. WOMEN'S TENNIS GYMNASTICS MINNESOTA at January 30, 2004 6pm i, university," Hill said. "You've just got to get after it, make a change and keep on moving." UTAH at C .... vmmf Majerus. at January 30, 2004 TBA Boise State, Idaho MEN'S HOOPS BYU at (12-5- UTAH (15-- January 31, 20041pm Huntsman Center ) , |