Alex Jensen remembers Maui well.
He remembers the first player he ever had to guard in a college game was future NBA player Alan Henderson of Indiana. Then in his second game he recalls "getting blasted" by Maryland's Joe Smith, who a year later was the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. In the third game, he went up against a couple of Michigan's Fab Five leftovers.The 6-7 Ute forward also remembers the fun times - the snorkeling in the clear-blue water, the boat rides in the ocean, the elegant accommodations and playing football on the beach with teammates Michael Doleac and Drew Hansen.
Jensen is one of the rare players who gets to experience a tournament such as the Maui Invitational more than once. Because of an NCAA rule that prohibits schools from playing in such tournaments more than once in four years, few players get to participate twice in the same tournament, unless they redshirt along the way.
In Jensen's case, he left Utah for an LDS mission in England after his freshman season and missed two seasons. So he is just a junior as he prepares for the 1998 Maui Invitational, which will be played Monday through Wednesday at the Lahaina Civic Center.
Jensen will be able to show his young teammates around Lahaina, since he was with the Utes in 1994, when they upset Indiana and then lost close games to nationally ranked Maryland and Michigan.
"I remember being kind of spoiled because it was my first road trip," said Jensen. "Here I was staying at the Maui Marriott on the beach and my next road trip was Laramie." Actually Laramie was his fifth road trip that year, but you get the picture.
Something else Jensen remembers was how fast the games come. It's three games in three days, bang-bang-bang. The only other time that happens is during the WAC tournament if a team happens to make it to the finals.
The tournament will be a valuable experience for the Utes - just look at what Jensen experienced as a freshmen - as they try to rebuild their team following last year's second-in-the-nation finish.
While Andre Miller is on everybody's all-American list and Hanno Mottola is mentioned by many as a future NBA player, Jensen sort of gets lost in the shuffle, which is how he prefers it. However, Jensen is the glue that holds the Utes together, and in many ways he may be the most valu-able player on the team.
Ute coach Rick Majerus knows it's unlikely Jensen will ever play in the NBA, but he wouldn't trade him for any-one in America.
"He's very smart and does exactly what you ask him to do," said Majerus. "He makes everybody better. He's unselfish to a fault. He's so modest. I can't say enough about his attitude."
No one was more disappointed to see Jensen go on his mission in 1995 than Majerus, who nevertheless supported the decision. He said more than once that if Jensen had played with Van Horn another year that the Utes would have made the Final Four before last year's remarkable run.
At the start of last season, Majerus made fun of the way Jensen's body looked after the mission, several pounds overweight and out of shape, even comparing him to the Pillsbury Doughboy. But even Majerus has been amazed at the change in Jensen this year.
"He did a phenomenal job in the offseason," said Majerus. "He's the best-conditioned guy on the team. He came back in the best shape of his life, in unbelieveable condition. He did a body makeover. He reminds me of a CBA player that's going to try out for the NBA for the last time."
Jensen said after taking two weeks off following the NCAA tournament last April, he worked out daily, usually with Miller and Adam Sharp and later with freshman Brad Crockett, who attended the same high school (Viewmont) as Jensen.
By the time fall practice began, Jensen had cut his body fat in half from a year earlier, from 14 percent to 7 percent. He seems to run the floor better, witness his steal and drive the length of the court against Utah State, and he's improved his jumping ability, witness a couple of big dunks in the exhibition games.
Now Jensen is trying to transform his game from being a blender who complements higher-scoring teammates, to being a scorer himself.
"He's got to look to score more," said Majerus. "I'm challenging him and forcing him to do certain things. He has a Bobby Jones mentality, but he's got to shoot more."
Jensen may be the only player in basketball history who's had to run sprints in practice for not shooting enough, but he confirms that Majerus has made him run for pass-ing up good shots.
"It's kind of a mind-set (not to shoot) playing with guys like Keith (Van Horn), Mike (Doleac) and Andre," said Jensen. "But I'm trying to change, especially with the new guys coming in. I need to take the pressure off Andre and Hanno."
After just missing a triple double in the second exhibition game and getting a solid 14- point, 9-rebound, 7-assist performance against Azusa Pacific, Jensen had a rough start against Utah State last week, missing several close shots. Yet with the Utes trailing by two late in the game, it was Jensen who stepped up and took a 3-pointer that briefly gave the Utes the lead before the Aggies finished them off with 10 straight points.
No one took the loss harder than Jensen, who fouled out and wasn't available for the final crucial minute against USU.