SALT LAKE CITY — Back in 1996 when Utah and BYU played in the Huntsman Center, Cougar freshman Nathan Cooper got in a little skirmish with Ute star Keith Van Horn under the east basket.
Cooper fouled Van Horn a little too hard for Van Horn's liking as well as the fans in the sold-out arena. Van Horn came up flailing and received a technical foul as the two exchanged words.
Because of the scuffle, Cooper was the recipient of the wrath of Ute fans for the rest of the game in the form of boos, not to mention for the rest of his career. To this day, there are Ute fans who haven't forgotten Cooper, despite his unremarkable career as a Cougar.
Cooper is just one of many "villains" the Utah-BYU rivalry has produced over the years.
BYU fans might remember U. defensive back Jeff Griffin slugging a BYU receiver or Ute center Buster Matheney busting Jay Cheesman's chops in a game at the Marriott Center back in the 1970s. Matheney was ejected from the game and wasn't a popular guy when he returned to Provo for his senior season.
Ute fans won't get over Cooper or Chris Miles, who kicked Andew Bogut in the back a few years ago down at the Marriott Center, earning a reprimand from the Mountain West Conference. Then of course, there's Max Hall, who will forever be vilified by Ute fans for saying he hated everything about the University of Utah following last November's win.
Earlier this decade, Utah guard Marc Jackson got under the skin of the Cougar faithful on a regular basis, while Ute fans got on the case of BYU center Rafael Araujo every time he came to town.
The latest villain in the rivalry is Ute freshman Marshall Henderson, who hit BYU's Jackson Emery with a back-handed slap near the end of the Jan. 30 game in Provo. It earned Henderson a technical foul, a one-game suspension as well as the fury of Cougar Nation.
Henderson was humbled by the incident, sitting out a game and seeing his team lose at home to a Colorado State team it likely would have beaten had he played.
So how has Henderson been treated by local fans in the 30 days since the "incident" in Provo?
It depends which side they're on.
"People bring that up on a regular basis," Henderson said. "I went to the Jazz game, and as I was walking out some guy said, 'hey, you're the guy who hit the guy from BYU, right?' He was like, 'right on.' All the Utah people I've talked to say, 'you're the man for that.' But for me and the team, it really didn't work out too well."
What about BYU fans?
"Oh yeah, I hear from them on my Facebook," he said. "It got a little quiet, but the last couple of days it's been blowing up. I've had some messages telling me to get ready for Wednesday. I know there'll probably be a lot of people at the game just because of that incident."
Fortunately for Henderson, Wednesday's Utah-BYU game is being played at the Huntsman Center, where he'll have the crowd on his side, at least most of it. But don't be surprised if he gets a chorus of boos from the BYU fans in attendance when his name is announced. And just wait until he goes to Provo next year.
Ironically, the guy who might get booed the most on Wednesday is BYU's Emery, who's biggest fault was getting in the way of Henderson's hand (although going down like a sack of potatoes from the hit by the skinny Henderson didn't help his cause).
It would be nice if the BYU-Utah rivalry would be remembered more by the exploits from the likes of Danny Ainge, Steve Young, Andre Miller or Alex Smith. Most fans probably can't tell you a thing about specific games involving those guys, but they never forget the Nathan Coopers and Marshall Hendersons of the rivalry.
The day after the 1996 game, Cooper was quoted as saying, "I guess I'll be popular with Ute fans for a few years." He said it sarcastically, but it's held true for the past 14 years.
Henderson may discover he's remembered by BYU fans for a long time also.
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