During his nine years at Utah, Rick Majerus has become known as one of the top coaches in the nation. His record speaks for itself, and a year after losing perhaps the greatest player in school history, Majerus has his team in the top 10 in the nation again.
While a lot of folks may be surprised how well this year's Ute team is doing, it shouldn't be any surprise to those who notice that the team is just executing Majerus' basic philosophy of basketball - rebound and defend.Those are the two principles that Majerus has preached ad nauseum and the two things his teams have always done well.
Just look at the latest NCAA statistics in Div. I basketball.
Utah is ranked No. 2 of 312 teams in field-goal percentage defense, holding opponents to just 33.2 percent shooting. In scoring defense the Utes are seventh, holding opponents to just 55.0 points per game.
In the rebounding department, the Utes are third nationally, with a whopping 16.6 advantage over opponents.
Another main tenet of Majerus' philosophy is free-throw shooting, and the Utes are doing well there also, ranking 18th in the country with a 74.9 average. Actually, that's not good for Majerus, who believes his team should shoot at least 80 percent from the line.
TEST FOR WOMEN: While the Utah men's team is off to its best start in 30 years at 9-0, the Utah women's team is off to its best start ever at 7-0 after defeating Montana Saturday night. The Utes may get their toughest test of the season Sunday at the DMC Holiday Shootout in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Utes will play Arkansas, which is also undefeated at 7-0 and is ranked 24th in the nation in the latest AP poll.
Currently, the Utah women are 28th in the USA Today/ESPN poll and 35th in the AP poll, which frustrates Ute coach Elaine Elliott no end. However, a win over the Razorbacks could finally give the Utes the kind of recognition the men are getting, with a top 25 ranking.
MEDIA TOUR: While his players are busy studying for final exams, Majerus is spending a few days in Southern California, doing some recruiting for the next couple of years. He's looking for a shooting guard/small forward, someone in the mold of former Ute Brandon Jessie. With Drew Hansen graduating and freshman Trace Caton likely going on an LDS mission, the Utes will be a little thin at that spot next year.
But Majerus is also making a media run while he's in the large Los Angeles media market. On Monday afternoon he was "in the jungle" as guest of the nationally syndicated "Jim Rome Show" for more than a half hour, holding court on everything from fellow WAC coach Billy Tubbs' running up the score to the effect LDS missions have on his players.
Majerus said before returning home Wednesday he also may tape a segment for ESPN's "Up Close" interview show, which he's appeared on regularly the past couple of years..
UTE NOTES: The Utes' big three, Hanno Mottola, Michael Doleac and Andre Miller, are almost in a dead heat in the scoring department, averaging 15.3, 15.0 and 14.6, respectively . . . Mottola leads the team with a 57.6 shooting percentage from the field . . . Doleac is an outstanding 91.7 from the free-throw line . . . Ten players are averaging at least 10 minutes per game. Andre Miller leads the way with 28.7 per game.