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Show SPORTS www.dailyutahchronicle.com UPCOMING SPORTS EVENTS TODAY: Softball Utah @ Southern Utah 12 p.m. Cedar City Track Utah @ Robison invitational All Day Provo THURSDAY: Women's Tennis Utah @ Pac-12 Championship All Day Ojai, Calif Men's Tennis Utah @ Pac-12 Championship All Day Ojai, Calif FRIDAY: Baseball Utah vs. Arizona St. 6 p.m. Spring Mobile Ballpark Softball Utah @ Standford 5 p.m. Standford, Calif UTES RANKINGS 1.Men's Skiing 2.Gymnastics 3.Women's Basketball 4.Women's Skiing 5.Cross Country 6.Men's Swimming 7.Women's Swimming 8.Women's Tennis 9.Men's Tennis 10.Soccer 11.Track 12.Football 13.Baseball 14.Men's Basketball 15.Softball 16.Volleyball 17.Golf 7 Wednesday April 24, 2013 MEN'S BASKETBALL Coaching legend Majerus passes at 64 Ryan McDonald ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Originally published Dec. 2, 2012 Rick Majerus, the most successful basketball coach in the history of the U, died Saturday in Los Angeles at the age of 64. His longtime girlfriend, Angie Kvidera, confirmed his death with USA Today. Majerus battled the heart problems that took his life for more than 20 years. Hired in April 1989 by Utah athletic director Chris Hill, Majerus guided the Runnin' Utes to national prominence throughout 15 years. They won or tied To conference championships and made it to the NCAA Tournament To times. Utah reached the 1998 NCAA title game where it fell just short of the title against Kentucky. Majerus won 323 games at the U and 517 total in his coaching career, which included stops at Marquette, Ball State and most recently Saint Louis University after his time at Utah ended in 2004. "He's the most influential guy in my basketball career," said Hanno Mottold, a starting forward on the 1998 team, via Skype from Finland. "He taught me how to work and how a team works." The 1998 team embodies much of what made Majerus such a successful coach. Having seen the graduation of star Keith Van Horn the year before, Michael Doleac and Andre Miller led the Utes on the court — two players who hadn't received a lot of national attention. But thanks to Majerus' passion for the game, patience in teaching and attention to detail and teamwork, Utah went to the Final Four. "No one really gave us a chance to do anything, and he took a team of role players and made it work and had a huge amount of success with just coaching the way he did every day," said Nate Althoff, who was a freshman on that team. "He was very intense. He was very driven to make us better. He got the most out of [role players] like Drew Hansen and Alex Jensen, and that's why we won. Just the way he pushed us — he just made it work." Mottold remembered a loss at the CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO Legendary Utah basketball coach from 1998-2004, Rick Majerus, died Dec. 1 from heart failure at the age of 64. Majerus coached at four schools, taking 12 teams to the NCAA Tournament, including Utah to the championship game in 1998. Huntsman Center during his freshman year to Tim Duncan's Wake Forest squad. The Utes spent eight hours on the practice court and in the film room the next day. Utah didn't lose at home the remainder of Mottold's collegiate career. Mottold has since played in the NBA, and at a high level in Europe, but said Majerus is the best coach he's had in terms of teaching teamwork. As successful as Majerus was as a coach, he could certainly be controversial. He became known as much for his occasionally poor treatment of players as he did for winning. Althoff was the recipient of one of Majerus' public outbursts, but said he knows Majerus always had the best interests of his players at heart. "For all the bad stuff he said, I hold no hard feelings," Althoff said. "I respect him almost as much as my own dad. He was a hard guy to play for, but I learned a lot, and I'm thankful for the time I had with him ... He did the things he did to try and get the best out of me just because he saw potential." Mottold certainly felt the senti- FOOTBALL Agonizing loss destroys bowl hopes Parker Lee STAFF WRITER Originally published Nov. 18, 2012 Utah wide receivers Dres Anderson and Luke Matthews embraced in the south end zone as time expired Saturday night with the Utes on the short end of a 34-24 decision at Rice-Eccles Stadium. As they separated, it was evident in the eyes of each player that they were struggling to fight back tears. The tears that had just started to surface were not there simply because the Utes lost the game. They symbolized much more. For Matthews, they represented the realization that he would never again take the field in front of the crowd at Rice-Eccles Stadium. For Anderson, it was the culmination of a season that could have been much more prosperous. For both, those tears represented what the whole team was thinking and feeling — the Utes didn't make it to a bowl game this season. Utah's loss Saturday night was its seventh of the season and ensures the team a losing record. More importantly, it means achieving the necessary six-win mark for bowl eligibility is impossible. Thus, for the first time since 2002, the Utes will be spending the holiday season at home instead of at a scenic bowl location. For Matthews and the other 24 seniors on the team, that fact will sting for a long time. "That's a tough one to swallow, being that I've been to a bowl since my first year here," said receiver DeVonte Christopher. "To not make it to a bowl game is kind of bizarre." Although Arizona ultimately eliminated Utah from participating in the postseason, it was really the Utes who did themselves in throughout the season. It seemed every time the team did something ment of gratitude for the chance to play under Majerus. "I'm just one of the few lucky ones that was able to play for him," Mottold said. As harsh as Majerus could be, he also became known for how much he cared about his players. Althoff remembered being a confused freshman in a new environment when he came to Utah from Minnesota, but he said he matured greatly as a person thanks to Majerus' guidance. See MAJERUS page 10 Holy War provides last-minute excitement JAKE r :16 BULLINGER ...- Aid 7 Sports Editor Originally published Sept. IS, 2012 I JONATHAN ROYCE/The Daily Utah Chronicle Arizona running back Ka'Deem Casey dominated the rushing game with 204 yards from 26 carries Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Utah fell short of Arizona with a final score of 34-24 on Nov. 17, losing their chance to make it to a bowl game for the first time since 2002. right, it wasn't quite enough. That was epitomized as Saturday's game slipped away. With Utah trailing by a touchdown and three minutes and 36 seconds remaining in the game, the Utes faced a fourth-and-four situation from their own 27-yard line. Utah could have punted and hoped for a defensive stop but elected to go for the first down. With their bowl hopes hanging in the balance, the Utes turned to freshman Travis Wilson. The Wildcats sent a blitz, but the Utah offensive line picked it up, giving Wilson enough time to find Kenneth Scott cutting toward the middle of the field for a completion. Trouble was, Scott was never behind the firstdown marker. When the ball was spotted, the officials called for the chain gang to come out for a measurement. Just like the Utes' season, it was about a foot short. Although Saturday felt like the last game of the year for Utah, the Utes still have to take on Colorado next week. Some of Utah's players said the contest in Boulder against the Buffaloes is now the team's bowl game. After Colorado crushed the Utes' hopes of playing in the conference title game last season, Utah at least has revenge to play for. "It's a pride and character game," said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. "There is nothing else on the line. That should be enough every week. You shouldn't need a carrot in front of you to play hard." Realistically though, Utah's season ended with defeat at the paws of the Wildcats. Next Friday's "Rumble in the Rockies" has no bowl implications, so for Utah, the season has already ended with at least one disappointment. p.lee@chronicle.utah.edu Twitter: @parkerscottlee am far from a jaded sportswriter, but I've been watching college football my entire life. I've seen some wild plays, some crazy finishes and things that left me scratching my head. But after Saturday's UtahBYU game, there was just one thing I could say: What the hell just happened? Football games aren't supposed to happen like the one that took place on Saturday. If you take away the final quarter — scratch that, the final minute — the game was just plain awful. BYU had only 312 yards of offense, and Utah posted just 245. Neither team could run the ball — there were a total of 155 rushing yards. BYU certainly didn't look like a Top 25 team, and Utah sure didn't look like a contender in the Pac-12 South. The game was long and boring. But after the last possession, does that even matter? Just wrap your mind around the last few plays. It's BYU's ball, fourthand-12 on their own 19, the score is 24-21 Utah — the game should be over. Then Riley Nelson hits Cody Hoffman for a 47-yard gain. This is where things get interesting. See BULLINGER page 12 |
