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Show Jazz 'Jazzed' Up; Maybe This Is Their 'Next Year' Team By John Yardley The Utah Jazz entered the 1983 NBA season picked as a natural last in the Mid-west division. In national publications this season, the Jazz have been called many things but few of the adjectives have been complimentary. ' Ever since the Jazz escaped New Orleans in 1979 with an aging Pete Maravich and came to Utah, the prognosis has been "wait 'til next year." This season may be an exception. After two games the Jazz are now 2-2 with wins over the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors. Now the Warriors and Spurs are not exactly the Celtics and 76s, but a win is a win and last year San Antonio gave the Lakers all they wanted in the playoffs. Led by high scoring forward Adrian Dantley and rookie Thurl Bailey, the Jazz has been more than respectable. Dantley is currently second in the league in scoring with a 29 point per game average. Bailey, a member of last year's NCAA Champion NC State team, has been providing excellent inside scoring, rebounding and defense. Free agent Rich Kelly signed last week and has given fine support at center to go along with 7'4" Mark Eaton. In only 20 minutes of play against the Spurs, Kelley grabbed a whopping 11 rebounds. Darrell Griffith is definitely one of the finest pure shooting guards in NBA and is averaging around 20 ppg. One recent rumor in the NBA rumor mill had Griffith going to the Celtics in exchange for Danny Ainge. It has never yet, of course, met fruition. Other top players for the Jazz Include forward John Drew and guards Jerry Eaves and lightning-quick Ricky Green. In a conversatim earlier this week with Dave Allred of the Jazz public relations office, I learned of another 1983 bright spot for Utah. Bob Hansen, a 6'6" guard out of Iowa has competed in the NCAA tournament each of the past three seasons while Hansen played there. "Bob has size to rebound as a guard and is an excellent defensive player," offered Allred. Allred also said coach Frank Layden is "very happy" with the signing of Kelley. "He provides us with some consistent rebounding," said Allred. Lack of board strength has certainly hurt the Jazz in years past. Having a chance to do so, I asked Dave Allred about the rumors concering the acquisition of Alnge. "Right now we have plenty of guards," he assured me. "However," he added, "You never know what will happen in the NBA and it can happen quickly." Well, there you have it a close-up of our own "local" pro basketball team. It is interesting to know that it is the same distance from Panguitch to Salt Lake City as it is Las Vegas where the Jazz will play 11 of their "home" games this season. We, therefore, have a choice of which direction to travel to watch our pro team play. Plan to catch a game or two this season. This Saturday the Jazz hosts the Portland Trailblazer and next Wednesday the famous Boston Celtics visit the Salt Palace. There is a great deal of talent in the NBA and it is a tingling experience to watch a game in person. I look for the Jazz to improve on their 30-52 record of a year ago. They could prove to be very exciting in 1983-84. |