SALT LAKE CITY — Jazz coach Quin Snyder just mentioned it in passing, saying, “I know Andrew Gaze because I played against him in college” — referring to the Sydney Kings’ coach, who is a legend in Australian basketball.

When Gaze was asked about playing against Snyder, he lit up and exclaimed, “How could I forget? I’m 1-0 against him. That’s fantastic stuff.”

The game he was talking about was a big one, the NCAA Tournament semifinals in Seattle on April 1, 1989. The Pirates won the game, overcoming a big first-half deficit to win 95-78 and advance to the finals where they lost to Michigan.

Gaze, who led his team with 20 points, remembers how his team got off to a slow start and came back to win fairly handily thanks to some injuries on the Blue Devils side. He also remembers Snyder, although not all positively.

“I certainly remember the personality and the type. I say this respectfully, but he was one of those guys who was a little annoying, the little good-looking guy out there running around, the type of guy you look at and like you just get frustrated and you want to go out there and . . .” said Gaze, making an angry face.

“But he played with great spirit and had a great IQ which is understandable when you consider his career path and the success he’s had in the coaching environment.”

GOOD MEMORIES: Dane Pineau, a rookie for the Kings, is very familiar with Utah having played several times in the state while a member of the Saint Mary’s Gaels basketball team. He played in Provo four times against BYU and last March in the NCAA Tournament in Vivint Arena.

“I’ll never forget the first game I played in Provo, it was the first game I ever started and the year after Delly (Matthew Dellavedova) hit the buzzer-beater from half court,” he said. “The stadium was packed with 20,000 people and I remember standing in the corner looking up and it felt like the stands never stopped going up and up with people. It was a pretty crazy experience, a little different from three and a half thousand in Moraga.”

NOT AGAIN: Royce O’Neale one of Utah’s new players, had his front tooth knocked out — for the second time — in the second half, but kept on playing.

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“He’s a tough kid — he lost one in mini-camp,” said Snyder. “I asked him if he wanted to sub and he said he didn’t want to.”

When asked about his missing front tooth and leaving the game, O’Neale said, “No, I was going to play regardless, It wasn’t bothering me at the time, so I said why not play?”

NO MORE INJURIES: When asked before the game if his team was healthy, Snyder answered affirmatively, then reached up knocked his fist on a metal podium. Last year, the Jazz were among the league leaders in games missed with 160 as starters Derrick Favors, George Hill and Rodney Hood missed a combined 87 games and Alec Burks missed 40.

JAZZ NOTES: This was the second earliest preseason game the Jazz have played since 1980 when the preseason started in September. The only earlier game was an Oct. 1 game in 2009 against Denver . . . The Jazz come back for games Wednesday against Maccabi Haifa and Friday against the Phoenix Suns before going on the road for two more games next week against Phoenix Monday and the L.A. Clippers on Tuesday. . . Joe Ingles celebrated his 30th birthday Monday . . . Travis Leslie, who started for the Kings, played with the Jazz on a 10-day contract in 2013 and played 10 games for the Clippers in 2012.

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