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Show BASKETBAL L DELON PLAYS: BY KIM BRENNEISEN /THE ONLY FEMALE SPORTS REPORTER. PHOTO BY... SOMEONE... I GUESS? BY B•ROCK /STAFF WRITER PHOTO BY SPORTSY MCSPORTERSON arely in sports will an entire organization encounter a blockbuster deal as earth-shattering as what went down at the U on Tuesday. Four Utah Athletic teams underwent a ridiculously insane player swap. The baseball, football, basketball and softball teams will have a different look to them following a crazy four-team trade headlined by Utah basketball star Delon Wright heading to the baseball team. After the trade, Wright will not have an off-season like he expected. Instead, he will jump straight in, midseason, to help the baseball Utes. "Wright will provide us with the necessary home-run talent that we need on this team': said one of the Utah coaches. "He has the height to intimidate opposing pitchers when he steps to the plate:" Unfortunately, Wright will have a very large strike zone because of his size. Regardless, his impact will undoubtedly be noticed, and the future is filled with promise. The basketball team received a relief pitcher in exchange for Wright. The Runnin' Utes added some depth to the bench R with this move, and it will give them a quality reserve player for next season. After making a deal for Wright, the baseball team wasn't finished, and they added another star player to the roster. The baseball team has been looking for help on the mound, and they went to the softball team to address that need. The Utah baseball team has agreed to send two freshmen to the softball team in exchange for ace pitcher Katie Donovan. Donovan has had an incredible season thus far for the Utes, but it appears the freshmen's prospects were too much for the softball team to pass up. "The athletes we received in the deal are once-in-a-lifetime players': said a spokesperson for the softball team. "While giving up Donovan was tough on all the athletes, the move was made with the best interest of the program in mind:' The big question everyone wants answered is how Donovan will pitch. Will she continue to use her softball underhand technique, or will she adjust to the traditional overhand throwing motion? Donovan has left that up in the air. "We'll see what happens," Donovan said. "I may change it up every batter — who knows?" The NCAA baseball rules committee declined to comment 8 { YOU KNOW I WHAT'S I THE I WORST? I SPORTS. I WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015 } on whether the underhand pitching motion would be acceptable or not. Incredibly, even after the Donovan trade, the baseball team was not done dealing yet. While they were on the receiving end of many of the top deals, they did part ways with star outfielder Wyler Smith. The strong-armed outfielder for the Utes was traded to the football team. The football coaches have been impressed by Smith's ability to throw the ball extremely far while maintaining form and accuracy. "Smith is one of those guys that we can't help but take a look at," said quarterback coach Aaron Roderick. "He has the arm strength to be a very special player, he will just need some time and coaching:' The baseball team received sideline passes and concession food considerations at the football games in exchange for Smith. With these trades, the basketball, baseball, softball and football teams will have a new look and some adjustments to make. There is no precedent to these type of moves, and only time will tell if each team made the right ones. @brockjensen02 b.jensen@chronicle.utah.edu F armer Ute great Andrew Bogut is coming back to play for the Runnin' Utes, and students everywhere are celebrating his return. The former Utah big man, whose jersey hangs in the rafters, was one of the best players to ever don a Ute uniform, and the loyal Utah faithful are ecstatic about his comeback. The decision was made late Tuesday night that Bogut will return, but the burning questions are why and how? For charity, of course. The NCAA clearly doesn't make enough money, so it needs Bogut to rake in the dough, and while he himself won't benefit, since college players are still not paid, he doesn't mind, since the NCAA tries really hard to put the money to good use. "The NCAA has given so much to the student-athletes, I couldn't think of a better way to pay them back," Bogut said upon his arrival in Salt Lake City. NCAA president Mark Emmert claimed, despite some calling him "The Best Samaritan': that it was the least he could do. "With all of the great work that the NCAA does for its student-athletes, this was just something that seemed to make sense to us': Emmert said. The NCAA typically does not allow a professional player, or really anyone who has played for money — whether it just be silly prize money ($50 for a half-court shot) or endorsements — to play at the collegiate level. In high school, LeBron James got in trouble because his fans were wearing jerseys that had his name and number, and this was "technically" against the rules — the NCAA made a big stink about it. James just decided to skip the whole college thing, but maybe he'll be the next one to join Bogut in the college ranks. Bogut will bring in thousands of dollars and more famous people, like NBA players who have even more money. The NCAA's hope is that more celebrities and friends of Bogut will begin to attend the Runnin' Utes' games, and what do famous people like to do? Spend money. N EAT Bogut is making a $14 million salary, and officials think this is abysmal. Yet the NCAA still will not pay Bogut upon his return. The NCAA doesn't want to take a paycut in any of its salaries, and the people in charge figured student-athletes will be compensated enough with tuition covered, housing, team gear, etc. He does not need any of their "hard-earned" cash. Bogut feels this is the right time to return because of how well the program has been doing as of late, and after winning the NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors (he's confident they will win), the missing piece to his championship puzzle is the NCAA championship. "Utah has always had a special place in my heart, and I'm excited to team up with the real Coach K and make some special things happen here in Salt Lake': Bogut said about his return. The "real Coach K" Bogut mentioned is Utah's head coach Larry Krystkowiak, who was as giddy as a schoolgirl when hearing the news that the former national Player of the Year was making a return. "Are you flippin' kidding? Bogut is coming back?" Krystkowiak screamed in excitment. "Is that even allowed? I don't care, WE'VE GOT BOGUT." After admitting that he has no idea how this is possible, the head coach, who has gained national attention this season, is happy that the NCAA is "generous" enough to offer Utah this opportunity. While the NCAA tends to play favorites, Bogut has been able to earn their trust and has convinced officials to let him play the two years at Utah he passed on when he entered into the NBA Draft. Not only were they were able to convince Bogut to go back, something he originally wanted to do, but they got him to play for no money at all. They convinced Bogut to do the charitable thing. Maybe in the future more people will be more generous with their time and give back to the NCAA. k.brenneisen@chronicle.utah.edu @kbrenneisen 9 |