Basketball players Deb Asper and Jeff Jonas and longtime coach Marv Hess will be inducted into the University of Utah Crimson Club Hall of Fame at the annual Hall of Fame/Seniors Award Banquet May 16 at the Red Lion Hotel.
Also honored will be 80 Ute senior athletes who have just completed their careers. Social hour begins at 6:15 p.m. with dinner set for 7:15 p.m. Cost is $25 per person and reservations can be made by calling Carolyn Johnson at 581-5456.Asper was a pacesetter in women's basketball at the U. She was the first women to dominate a game and was the first (and only) Ute woman basketball player to score over 2,000 points and grab over 1,000 rebounds in a career.
The Utes went 84-37 during her career (1980-84) and appeared in postseason play three out of four years. She is still the top Ute woman career scorer with 2,074 points and her 1,042 career rebounds is second on the all-time list. Her 17.1 per game scoring average is still the best for a career as is her 594 points and 20.4 per game scoring average during the 1982-83 season.
After graduation Asper played one year of professional basketball in Europe and then returned home to pursue her career goals. She began by working at Primary Children's Hospital with emotionally disturbed children. She received her masters degree from San Diego State University in 1992. She is currently employed at the Children's Hospital in San Diego working with children who have been sexually abused.
When Marv Hess was in the fifth grade he told his school class he wanted to be a coach. Little did he realize that his prediction would come true.
Athletics was an important part of Hess' life. He was a member of the Ute basketball team that won the NIT championship in 1947 and was also a high jumper on the Ute track team, placing seventh in the NCAA Championships that year. As an end on the football team he was named all-conference in 1949. Hess graduated from the U. in 1950 and did well enough academically to be named to the prestigious Beehive Honor Society.
After graduation he was hired to teach physical education and coach at the U. He served as an assistant coach in football and track and as head coach in track and wrestling.
As track coach Marv coached hurdler Blaine Lindgren who won the silver medal in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
But it was wrestling where Hess really left his mark. He became the first Western Athletic Conference wrestling coach to reach the 200-win plateau. He finished his 25-year coaching career with a dual meet record of 222-102. Hess served as president of the National Wrestling Coaches Association in 1967 and as executive director of that group from 1971-1992. He was also a member of the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Committee from 1968-72.
Marv and his wife Barbara are the parents of a son and a daughter. They also have three grandchildren.
For Jeff Jonas, the phrase "it's better to give than to receive" was his motto on the basketball court. In Jonas' eyes a great pass was better than a great shot.
A native of Milwaukee, Wis., Jonas learned the art of the pass on the playgrounds and during his prep days at Marquette High School where he played on a freshman team coached by current Ute head coach Rick Majerus.
At the U., Jonas continued his passing game. During his tenure as floor general he led the Utes to a four-year mark of 80-32, a conference title and an appearance in the National Invitation Tournament finals in 1974 and the NCAA regional semifinals in 1977.
His 778 career assists and 309 assists his senior season are school records that have never come close to being broken. He is the all-time Western Athletic Conference assist leader by almost 100 assists.
Jonas also one of the top foul shooters in Ute history. His career free throw percentage of .844 is the best in school history and his 42 consecutive free throws during the 1976-77 season is also a school mark.
Jonas was named the recipient of the 1977 James Naismith Award, which is annually given to the nation's best senior collegiate basketball player under 6-feet. He was also named first-team Academic All-America and a recipient of an NCAA post-graduate scholarship.
He worked in advertising for three years and is currently in the real estate development business. Jonas also is the radio color man for all Ute basketball games.
Jeff and his wife Lori are the parents of two daughters.