Darroll Wright, considered by many to be the University of Utah's best player, will take the floor for the first time this season when the Utes meet Cal State-Fullerton tonight in a locally televised road game.
Wright, a junior guard, was suspended and missed the first six games of the season following a confrontation in an on-campus cafeteria. Teammates Ed Johnson and Phil Dixon were suspended for their role in the same incident. Dixon has since returned to the team, but a knee injury has sidelined him temporarily.Majerus announced on Friday that Johnson, a 6-foot-8 sophomore transfer from Lamar, is suspended for the remainder of the season "for violation of team rules." That means Johnson, who used his redshirt season last year, will lose a year of eligibility.
"As of now, I'm going to play Darroll," said Majerus. ". . . He'll give us some things we haven't had, but it will take him a while to get in sync and to get his timing back."
"It will be good to have Darroll back," said assistant coach Jeff Judkins. "He's worth 10 points a game to our team just with his defense and rebounding."
Tonight's game, televised by KUTV (Ch. 2), will begin at 8:35 MDT. This will be only the second road game of the season for Utah's young team. The other road game resulted in a lopsided loss to Weber State.
Majerus said he would put the Utes through what he termed an important practice on Friday. He also announced that he is closing practice to the media.
Tonight's game will be a homecoming for Utah's outstanding freshman, Keith Van Horn, who is from nearby Diamond Bar. Van Horn leads Utah in both scoring (17.8 points per game) and rebounding (9.5).
The Titans, 1-2, beat the Utes in their last two meetings, in 1987 and '88. Their lineup consists of 6-7 freshman Josh King and 6-4 Greg Vernon at forwards; 6-6 Winston Peterson at center; and 6-2 James French and 6-0 Danny Robinson at guards. Peterson leads the team in scoring (15.7) and rebounding (7.7). Vernon averages 13 points per game.
"They're an athletic team, like Weber State," says Majerus, whose team is 4-2 with three games left on its preseason schedule.