Jim Boylen has been very selective in looking at basketball head coaching jobs over the years.
Three years ago when he was an assistant coach with the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks, he came close to getting the Texas A&M job when Billy Gillespie was hired.
Then, earlier this month when the University of Utah head coaching job opened up, Boylen went after it hard.
The Michigan State assistant obviously impressed Utah athletic director Chris Hill, who will introduce Boylen this afternoon as the new Ute head basketball coach.
A press conference is scheduled for 3 p.m. in the Huntsman Center lounge.
The 41-year-old Boylen will replace Ray Giacoletti, who was let go on March 2 after three seasons, including two straight losing seasons.
"I think it's a good fit," Boylen said, even before he was officially named the new coach. "I think Utah can be a perennial Top 20 program."
Boylen said he is "very familiar with the area," and said he researched the Ute job thoroughly before pursuing it.
Coaching 13 years in the NBA, including 11 with the Houston Rockets, allowed him annual visits to Utah, and he has even vacationed in Utah in the summer. "It's a special place," he said.
Boylen lists his strengths as developing talent, teaching, recruiting, helping players get to the NBA and being a "people guy."
When asked about his lack of head coaching experience, Boylen pointed out he had a lot of responsibility at Michigan State and believed his experience in the pros and at one of the nation's premier programs would trump head coaching experience at a small school.
Boylen already knows all about the Utes' defensive deficiencies this past season. Michigan State is known for its defense, and Boylen wants to bring that to Utah. The Spartans ranked sixth in the nation in both scoring defense and field goal percentage defense and eighth in rebound margin.
"I want to instill a defensive mindset," he said. He's also aware of individual Ute players, adding, "We need to toughen (Luke) Nevill up."
MSU coach Tom Izzo reportedly called Hill the day Giacoletti was let go to recommend his assistant for the job. Izzo has been unavailable for comment but has praised Boylen in the past, saying, "Jim adds many different dimensions to our coaching staff."
Several other former Izzo assistants have gone on to become successful coaches.
Marquette's Tom Crean has averaged 20 wins in eight seasons and has gone to four NCAAs, including the Final Four in 2003. Dayton's Brian Gregory is 56-37 in three years, while Toledo's Stan Joplin has won 59 percent of his games in 11 years and is coming off the MAC regular-season championship this year.
Doug Wojcik has turned around the Tulsa program in two years, going 20-11, while another ex-Izzo assistant, Stan Heath, was fired by Arkansas on Monday despite back-to-back 20-win seasons.
Boylen inherits a team that returns all but two players, guard Ricky Johns who graduated and center David Foster, who will leave on an LDS mission this spring.
Nevill, Johnnie Bryant and Shawn Green, the top three scorers on the team, have all said they plan to return next year. Daniel Deane and others said they would wait to see who the new coach was before deciding their future.
The Utes also have three recruits signed for next year: Riverton High forward Morgan Grim; Carlon Brown, a 6-4 combo guard from Riverside, Calif.; and Nemanja Calasa, a 6-9 forward for the national champion Midland (Texas) JC. Also College of Eastern Utah point guard Tyler Kepkay made a verbal commitment earlier this year.
The coaching search began March 2, when Giacoletti announced his resignation, obviously with a push from Hill. Within three days, former Stanford coach Mike Montgomery said he wasn't interested in the job.
Hill showed great interest in Milwaukee Bucks assistant Larry Krystkowiak, but the Bucks replied by firing their coach and elevating Krystkowiak to the top spot.
Kent State coach Jim Christian was reportedly interviewed for the job and sources said Old Dominion's Blaine Taylor had a series of talks with Hill.
Another coach who was considered for the job was Westminster coach Tommy Connor. He confirmed that he talked with Hill for an hour Sunday but emphasized it was about the head coaching job, not an assistant position.
When asked if he would consider working as an assistant under Boylen, Connor said, "I have not been contacted by him. I haven't even considered something like that. I've got a really great job and my focus is to continue recruiting for next year."
Boylen will likely bring in at least one or perhaps two or three assistants with him but could retain assistant coaches Chris Jones or Marty Wilson, who are both interested in staying at Utah.
Boylen and his wife, Christine, are the parents of two young daughters.
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