No one seems to know just how tall - or short - Jimmy Soto is. His college coach says Soto is 5-foot-7, maybe 5-8. Soto himself says he's 5-8 or 5-9, but he's not sure. His high school coach says he's 5-9. His father says he's 5-9, maybe 5-10. Chances are, if you asked long enough, someone would stretch Soto's height to 6 feet, but that would be short-changing the truth.

About the only thing everyone seems to agree on is that Jimmy Soto, the University of Utah's 5-foot-? junior guard and sixth man, is an outstanding little player in a big man's game. That he can even play major college basketball is a feat in itself; that he can dominate a major college game at times borders on the amazing.Take Utah's recent six-point road loss to New Mexico, for example. After trailing by 16 points in the first half, during which time Soto took just two shots, the Utes started him in the second half. He scored two quick baskets off plays desgned for him, tied the game twice and finally put Utah in the lead. He finished with 15 points, 13 in the second half. There have been other similar outbursts, such as a 25-point outing against Utah State and a 19-point performance against Cal State-Northridge.

After watching Soto's performance in that last game, Utah coach Rick Majerus told reporters, "I'm not going to fool around anymore. We're going to play (Soto) more." At the time Soto was seeing limited action as a reserve. After making two starts, Soto is a reserve again these days, but in name only. Coming off the bench, he leads the Utes in scoring (11.4 points per game), playing time and three-point shooting and is second in assists and free throw shooting.

"We feel he's capable of playing 30 to 35 minutes a game," says assistant coach Jeff Judkins. "By not starting the halves and sitting out three or four minutes he can get close to those minutes. We believe our sixth man has got to be better than our fourth or fifth players. If we're playing well, he's got to maintain that. If we're not, he's got to spark the team, and he does that. He's always in there at the end of the game. There's no question Jimmy is our best player right now."

Soto has dazzled and befuddled teams with his combination of skills. Back off of him and he drops in a three-pointer. Play him tight, and he darts past you into the lane, where anxious big men lick their chops in anticipation of a block only to swipe nothing but air. Challenge him inside and Soto might pass to a teammate, go up in your face for a layup among men a foot taller than he is, or pull up short for a jump shot.

"I don't think twice before I go in there," Soto says with a shrug.

Smart and saavy, he moves and reacts, moves and reacts . . . After watching Soto drive for layups to his right, Northridge coach Pete Cassidy screamed to his defender, "Make him go left! Make him go left!" The player blocked the right side and Soto went left - for another layup. As for his own defense, Soto is considered the team's best defender away from the ball.

"Jimmy needs to grow a foot as quickly as possible," says Majerus. "If he grew five inches, he'd be in the NBA. He might make it anyway."

In short, Soto has found ways to compensate for his shortness. He releases his shots early while he's still on his way up, rather than waiting until he reaches the apex of his leap, and he can change shots adeptly in midair. Thus, big men rarely block his shots. Of course it helps that Soto has the highest vertical leap on the team (33 inches standing, 391/2 running). He could dunk if only his small hands could grip the ball; as it is, he can dunk anyway if someone throws him an alley-oop pass. And, says Judkins, Soto "can stop on a dime. That's why we run a lot of plays for him off screans."

At Majerus' behest, Soto worked on his outside shot during the off-season. Now, when he's not dashing to the hoop for one of his fearless flights through the lane, he's pulling up for a jump shot. Soto is third in the Western Athletic Conference in three-point shooting, having made 49 percent of his attempts (19 of 39).

About the only people who aren't surprised by Soto's emergence this season are his teammates. Asked earlier this year who would replace him as the Utes' "go-to guy" in clutch situations, injured star forward Josh Grant said, "Jimmy Soto. He'll love it. He'll think it's Judge Memorial High School all over again."

The word is spreading. Soto is drawing increasing attention from defenses. Puerto Rican athletic officials have asked Soto to play in their summer league as a prelude to earning a berth on their Olympic team; they believe Soto, wth his Puerto Rican heritage, could be granted the required citizenship.

Jimmy is a once-in-a-lifetime 5-9 player," says Jim Yerkovich, who coached Soto for two years at Salt Lake's Judge Memorial High.

Playing against bigger people is nothing new for Soto. He practically grew up at the old Elks Club that once existed behind the left field fence at Derks Field, four blocks from his home. When Soto wasn't playing with or against his father or his uncles at the club, he was playing against older kids. "The kids were always bigger than I was," recalls Soto. He not only played against them, but he fully expected to win. He was so competitive that he cried when he was beaten by his older, bigger uncles, but the experience gave him a head start on developing ways to overcome his height.

"I was more worried about his height than he was," says Soto's father, Jim Sr. "When he started playing sports I could see it would be a problem. It helped that he played against older kids."

Soto never doubted what his lot in life would be, not with a 5-foot-4 father and a 5-foot-2 mother, Dora. Jim Sr. set the example. He never let his height stop him from playing county league basketball and softball, and wherever Jim Sr. was Jimmy was sure to be near.

"He was my shadow," recalls Jim Sr. "He was in my back pocket."

Perhaps literally. Soto was always tiny, even by his classmates' standards.

"The first time I saw him play he was in the seventh grade, and I made a comment that I have lived to regret," says Yerkovich. "I said, `That kid's a good player, but he's too small.' He was really tiny. Everyone was small, and he was even smaller than they were, the smallest on the floor."

A couple of years later, Soto, unable to afford tuition at Judge Memorial at the time, joined South High's team and, as fate would have it, he was matched one night against Yerkovich's Judge team. Late in the game, with South trailing by two points, one of South High's senior players was fouled. However, the referee mistakenly put Soto, a mere 5-foot-4 freshman, on the line. Normally, that would be good news for Yerkovich - a mere freshman, shooting one-and-one with the game on the line? - but Soto was no ordinary freshman and the coach knew it. He begged the officials to put the senior on the foul line, but they didn't, and Soto coolly sank both free throws to send the game into overtime. South went on to win, eliminating Judge from the state tournament for the first time in 17 years.

"I had seen him play," says Yerkovich. "He had something special about him. I knew he'd make those shots."

Soto eventually transferred to Judge for his final two high school years, and he was nothing short - pardon the pun - of amazing. As a senior he averaged 28.7 points, seven rebounds and six assists per game, and scored 37 points in the state final with a cracked left hand. Two weeks later he closed his prep career in Maryland at the prestigious Alhambra Catholic Invitational, an annual tournament that includes the top Catholic high school teams in the country. Soto was voted the tournament's Most Valuable Player, an award that has been won by the likes of Adrian Dantley, Bernard King, Austin Carr and Danny Ferry. The Washington D.C. sports writers wrote of the little kid from Utah who raced through defenses with a smile on his face.

"I just wish people could see Jimmy in an open-court situation," says Yerkovich. "If he had played for UNLV last year, he would have been sensational, the darling of America. If they gave him complete freedom at Utah, he'd get 25 to 40 points a game. But Rick can't play that way, and I understand why."

Says Judkins, "We thought we might do that this year; we have a lot of good uptempo players. But with all the injuries we've had we haven't been able to do it."

View Comments

When Majerus was hired as the Utah coach, almost the first thing he did was ask for directions to the state's best player. He was sent to Judge, where he asked Yerkovich about Soto.

"He told me Jimmy has great character, that he can make big plays, that he can score in traffic, that he can make pressure free throws," recalls Majerus. "Everything he told me turned out to be true."

For his part, Soto has barely noticed all the fuss. He's guileless, quiet, mild-tempered and genuinely unimpressed by his own performance. Coaches say he has a certain charisma or presence on and off the court. Majerus so trusts Soto's judgment and maturity that he is one of the few players he consults to evaluate practices and the fatigue of the team.

"The world is a better place because Jimmy's in it," says Majerus. "He has a good sense of humor, he's compassionate, he's kind. He makes everyone around him happier and better."

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.