Latest / The Sean O'Connell Show / Alex Jensen on the Runnin Utes' transfer portal haul, Getting players who 'want to be here', Filling the Huntsman Center + more

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Alex Jensen on the Runnin Utes' transfer portal haul, Getting players who 'want to be here', Filling the Huntsman Center + more · The Sean O'Connell Show

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Past Sean O'Connell Show, you were home of the best
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: inside of your mutes.
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: Let's get back to OC.
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  Speaker 3: From the Murdoch Chevrolet Studio of ESPN seven ninety one.
• 0:16
  Speaker 4: Alf Am Thursday edition of the Sean ol'connall Show in
• 0:20
  Speaker 4: his NFL Draft day. We are your home of football
• 0:24
  Speaker 4: here in the state of Utah, but we're also your
• 0:26
  Speaker 4: home of running utes basketball, and we're lucky enough today
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  Speaker 4: to talk with the head coach Alex Jensen, kind enough
• 0:34
  Speaker 4: to give us a few minutes here on the Sean
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  Speaker 4: O'Connell Show.
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: Coach, welcome back. How are you, sir?
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: I'm doing good. How are you guys doing?
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: You know, we're doing great. It's a fun time of year.
• 0:44
  Speaker 3: You got NBA playoffs, you got NHL playoffs, you got
• 0:47
  Speaker 3: the NFL Draft.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: As I just mentioned tonight.
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  Speaker 3: Of course, you're head down focused on all things running uts.
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  Speaker 3: But have you been able to enjoy any of the
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: sports calendar outside of your own basketball world.
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: I was gonna say nothing's more exciting than the transfer portal,
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  Speaker 1: but no, I you know, I've you know, I've had
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  Speaker 1: time to I still have, you know, friends, a coach
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  Speaker 1: in the NBA. But now that, Yeah, the transfer portal's ending,
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  Speaker 1: I'll be able to watch I think a little bit
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  Speaker 1: more of the playoffs. It's going to Like you said,
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: it's an exciting time.
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: Well, let's let's focus on your team. And of course,
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  Speaker 3: the transfer portal is the biggest story in college basketball
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  Speaker 3: right now, for you, for your squad, and really for
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: everyone in the Big twelve and beyond, starting with the
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: big picture if you don't mind. The transfer portal opened,
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  Speaker 3: and I think it was like sixty percent of scholarship
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  Speaker 3: players with eligibility decided to dip their toes in those waters.
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  Speaker 3: And of course that free agency free for all is
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  Speaker 3: something that the adults in the room are going to
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  Speaker 3: have to try to figure out. But the system right
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  Speaker 3: now is such that, you know, athletes can't explore this
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  Speaker 3: consistently every year if they want to. Uh, And that
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  Speaker 3: means you and your coaching staff are in a pretty
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  Speaker 3: serious reevaluation period on your roster, on who wants to
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  Speaker 3: stay on, who you want to stay on, who else
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  Speaker 3: you might be able to bring in. And when the
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  Speaker 3: numbers are that overwhelming, what what is it like for
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: you in practice to try and narrow it down.
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  Speaker 1: Well, you know, it's not easy, for sure, But you know,
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  Speaker 1: last time, last time this year, you know, I was
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  Speaker 1: finishing up in Dallas, I was I was still coaching
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  Speaker 1: with the Mavericks when the portal hits. So I think
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  Speaker 1: this year around, it's been I don't want to use
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  Speaker 1: the word easier, but you know, having you know, the
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  Speaker 1: year and the lead up to prep I think myself
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  Speaker 1: and the staff we did a good job, you know,
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  Speaker 1: kind of preparing throughout the year, so you're it's not
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  Speaker 1: anything you can be ready for completely, but I think,
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: you know, just knowing the space and the players, and yeah,
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  Speaker 1: it was you know, long days, but I think the
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: work paid off that we did throughout the year.
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  Speaker 3: How big a difference does it make this time around
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: that you know your staff was fully in place. If
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  Speaker 3: I'm not mistaken, last year, not only were you kind
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: of transitioning, but you're still figuring out who's going to
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  Speaker 3: be joining you at the University of Utah, who's going
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  Speaker 3: to be helping you along. Now that you guys are
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: firmly in place and we're able to do it kind
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  Speaker 3: of you know, together the whole way, how much of
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  Speaker 3: difference did that make?
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  Speaker 1: Oh, it's huge difference. I can you'd be kind of
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: choked about it now because there was there was a
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: lot of times where I'd be on the phone right
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: before a game last year, and then right after the game,
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  Speaker 1: I'd get on the call and nobody had I think
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: permanently moved to Utah and you know a handful of
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  Speaker 1: my you know, my staff. It was kind of a
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  Speaker 1: mixture of the NBA in Europe and college. So I
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  Speaker 1: think all of us know the you know, nothing like
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  Speaker 1: going through for a year, but knowing the college space better.
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  Speaker 1: So yeah, I know it's much better just being around,
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  Speaker 1: settled and kind of having a frame of reference on
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  Speaker 1: how it works and the direction we want to go.
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  Speaker 3: As far as that direction, is there like a strategy
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  Speaker 3: on a whiteboard somewhere in your offices that says we
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  Speaker 3: want European guys.
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  Speaker 2: I need somebody who's you know, seven feet tall.
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  Speaker 3: Is there boxes that you're looking to check specifically, or
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  Speaker 3: is it let's evaluate every player who's out there.
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  Speaker 1: No, you know, it's interesting because it's you know, there's
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  Speaker 1: there's the pool of players is so huge, right. You
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  Speaker 1: have you have freshmen the portal, which is you know,
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  Speaker 1: a few two three thousand players. Then you have you know,
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  Speaker 1: Europe's I think really exploded in the last couple of
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  Speaker 1: years because of the money. But no, I don't think,
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  Speaker 1: you know, I don't think we you know, hopefully, I
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  Speaker 1: think when we're established, when we get it going, I
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  Speaker 1: think we can have a mixture of all of them.
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  Speaker 1: But you know, we just kind of go with our
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  Speaker 1: you know, the connections that myself and the staff have.
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  Speaker 1: I think that always helps. There's a relationship with suck
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  Speaker 1: an agent or something like that. But no, I don't
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  Speaker 1: think we, you know, concentrate on on any specific pool
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  Speaker 1: of players. But I think, you know, the one thing
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  Speaker 1: we always talk about is it seems like an easy thing,
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  Speaker 1: but they they need to want to be here right
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  Speaker 1: like it has to like they need to want to
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  Speaker 1: come and play at the University of Utah and it
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  Speaker 1: you know, hopefully it means something to them like it
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  Speaker 1: does to me and everybody else. I think the first
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  Speaker 1: it's on our staff and team.
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  Speaker 2: Sure.
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  Speaker 3: I think the first couple of conversations we have, you know,
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  Speaker 3: one of the things I was most interested in is like,
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: what's the identity of running nets basketball? Going to be
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: with Alex Jensen as the head coach and and then
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  Speaker 3: Of course, the extension to that question is, well, how
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  Speaker 3: do you establish that? And and so I'm asking the
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: same thing because now you know there's so much roster
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  Speaker 3: turnover in modern day college basketball, and the same is
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  Speaker 3: true for you up there on the hill.
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  Speaker 5: Uh.
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  Speaker 3: Has that answer potentially evolved over the last year since
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  Speaker 3: you know, we were welcoming you to the job officially
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  Speaker 3: for the first time. Is your idea of team identity
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  Speaker 3: and how you establish it is it changing or has
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  Speaker 3: it changed?
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  Speaker 1: No? No, I think it's actually probably got condensed more.
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  Speaker 1: It's like, like I said that, they've got to want
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  Speaker 1: to be here, they have to enjoy playing it. And
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  Speaker 1: I think, you know, growing up in Utah, I think
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  Speaker 1: you know, BUYU Utah, the Jazz or any team, like
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  Speaker 1: if you look back, it's always kind of been the tough,
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  Speaker 1: overachieving team. Like I think the teams have been successful
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  Speaker 1: or the guys that whether it was in the pros
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  Speaker 1: or college they came in, they weren't necessarily the biggest
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  Speaker 1: names are ranked really high, but they I think that's
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  Speaker 1: what you know, I grew up watching and loving and
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  Speaker 1: I think the fans here enjoy. So I think that
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  Speaker 1: kind of fits into what I want, but just you know,
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  Speaker 1: kid guys and players that love to compete and play
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  Speaker 1: and overachieve. They might not be the seven footer. They
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: might be not by might be six nine, but it's
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: maybe the six seven kid that that makes sense. So,
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  Speaker 1: but yeah, anybody over seven feet there's a there's usually
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  Speaker 1: a cost premium.
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  Speaker 2: Here we were, we were looking at it.
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  Speaker 3: Just it fascinates me because it is it's a numbers
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  Speaker 3: game when you talk about these big bodies.
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  Speaker 2: Obviously numbers game in so many ways.
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  Speaker 3: And according to Google, which Google's never wrong, right, Like,
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  Speaker 3: there's only roughly three thousand seven footers on planet Earth
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  Speaker 3: at any given time, and it's like, well, okay, and
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  Speaker 3: how many of those are eighteen to twenty two years old,
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  Speaker 3: and how many of those have ever picked up a basketball?
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  Speaker 3: Probably most at this point, and then and how much
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  Speaker 3: do those guys want to be paid to add another
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  Speaker 3: number into the game. So a lot easier for the
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  Speaker 3: fan to sit around and say, well, where's our seven
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  Speaker 3: foot you know, center, we need that when it's just
• 7:56
  Speaker 3: not as available as we wish it was.
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  Speaker 1: No, no, it's not, you know, and it's interesting and
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  Speaker 1: it's nobody's fault. It's just the way it is. But
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  Speaker 1: I say, you know, the the money that's out there everywhere,
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  Speaker 1: I think outweighs the talent at a pretty big ratio,
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  Speaker 1: if that makes sense. So it becomes pretty interesting, especially
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: with big guys, because there's not a lot of them,
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  Speaker 1: so there's more you know, competition for him and they
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  Speaker 1: can end up getting a you know, getting a like
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  Speaker 1: I don't know the other word to use, other than
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  Speaker 1: maybe a premium. Yeah, So Alex Jenson, definitely not a
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  Speaker 1: lot of them.
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: Alex Jensen, our guests here on the Sean O'Connell Show
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: talking Transfer Portal, Utah basketball, a little bit of everything
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: in that world right now. So the newcomers that you
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: have in coming from the transfer Portal, we've been kind
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: of announcing them as they are reported and as they
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: are signed.
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: What do you like most about like in alec Anigata.
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  Speaker 1: You know, I I think just you know, I'm kind
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: of I'm not sure exactly what I can say or not,
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: but but you know what, the guys good people, like
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  Speaker 1: they love to play, and I think they they're you know,
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  Speaker 1: through the conversations that it's a place they want to
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  Speaker 1: be and they met the staff and like I said,
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  Speaker 1: they want to be here, and it's not the you know,
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  Speaker 1: obviously the money comes into it, but that's not the
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  Speaker 1: the number one reason that they're that they're coming to
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: the University of us UP. I just you know, you know,
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: I look at it this way, like when I watch
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: players like guys I would love to play with, and uh,
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  Speaker 1: I think that makes it easier for picking those guys.
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  Speaker 1: And you know, but most of the guys that well,
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: I think all of them we have they're guys that
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  Speaker 1: I'd like to play with if I was still playing,
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: even though I'm not.
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: Uh, when you were evaluating how this last season went,
• 9:49
  Speaker 3: and I know it's not probably the exact way you
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: envisioned it, Uh, there is patience in the fan base
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  Speaker 3: and in the leadership at the university that I've talked to,
• 9:57
  Speaker 3: knowing that this is going to be you know, a
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: gradual process says that it's going to take some serious effort.
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: But when you evaluated the basketball you guys were able
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: to play this past season, was there something a serious
• 10:10
  Speaker 3: deficiency that you said, all right, as we overhauled this roster,
• 10:14
  Speaker 3: I need to make sure that X fill in that
• 10:17
  Speaker 3: blank is something that we are better at or that
• 10:20
  Speaker 3: we can do.
• 10:23
  Speaker 5: Well.
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: You know, you know, it was a you know, i'd
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: be it was a disappointing year, a tough year, but
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: I think it was one where we learned a lot.
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: And you know, I think it's a you know, I've
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: been out of college for fifteen years and it's definitely
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: it's a different game. And you look at the you know,
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: you don't try to copy necessarily other teams, but you know,
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: you always want to be like we were talking about
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: with the seven photos, bigger, longer, faster, but you know,
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: we had a few injuries, but you know, I think
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: just the way we balance the team. But I think,
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: you know, rebounding is always a huge thing. But yeah,
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: I don't think there. I think it's like I said,
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: I think it's kind of condensed even more to the
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: player we want. And yeah, no, I don't. I don't
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: think there's necessarily any one thing. It's funny because it changes,
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: you know, we'll probably have pretty much a new roster,
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: like a lot of teams, which is you know, not ideal,
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: but you know, just guys that fit each other and
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: fit us well, and I think that'll help promote the
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: successful at all. But yeah, I don't think there's any
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: one thing, because you know, the portal happens so fast
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: and you're looking for everything shooting size, So you try
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: to do your best as.
• 11:32
  Speaker 3: You're trying to bring in, you know, the right kind
• 11:34
  Speaker 3: of guys. A lot of the people that we have seen,
• 11:37
  Speaker 3: you know, you kick the tires on. And even the
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: guys that are coming in, there's like this little asterisk
• 11:43
  Speaker 3: for some of them at the bottom of the sheet
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: that says, this person's going to explore the NBA Draft potentially,
• 11:51
  Speaker 3: but we expect them to still be at Utah. And
• 11:53
  Speaker 3: even guys that you know departed Kd's going to Kansas,
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: but he's going to explore the NBA draft. What does
• 12:00
  Speaker 3: that actually look like for you and for your staff?
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  Speaker 3: Is there is there anything you know that is there
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  Speaker 3: a role that you play during that process as they're
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: trying to figure out where they belong in true pro
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  Speaker 3: basketball circles or should I stay in college or do
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: you just wait and see? Like how is it in
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: real time handled by a Utah coaching staff when guys
• 12:23
  Speaker 3: are one foot in the NBA draft process. But also,
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: if I'm going to stay in college, I'm going to
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  Speaker 3: be at Utah.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I think a lot goes into I think that
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  Speaker 1: was a you know, big reason I wanted to have
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: a GM, you know, because those are conversations with you know,
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  Speaker 1: the agent, and I think the one thing you have
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: to make sure of that that that you know, coming
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: and playing in college, they're excited for it, and it's
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: not like a fallback thing, if that makes sense, where
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: whereas you know, if you make the NBA, it's great
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  Speaker 1: that they're excited to come play in college and instead
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: of the other way around, like, well, if I don't
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  Speaker 1: make the NBA, it's like my fallback thing. I think
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: it's you try to find, you know, guys that are
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  Speaker 1: in that situation that want to come college, go to college,
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  Speaker 1: and if the NBA happens, then it's like a bonus.
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: It's hopefully that makes sense. But yeah, I mean it's hard.
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: It's just the nature of the business and things are
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: ruined fast, and you try to anticipate the likelihood of
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: that as much as you can.
• 13:23
  Speaker 3: As the business of college basketball becomes exactly that, more
• 13:27
  Speaker 3: of a business and it's more of a professional endeavor
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: even for the players with contract negotiations and effectively salaries
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: and things like that, do you find that the players themselves,
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: the people are more professional about how they conduct themselves,
• 13:44
  Speaker 3: like our nineteen and twenty year old University of Utah
• 13:48
  Speaker 3: basketball players, more like the guys you knew in the
• 13:51
  Speaker 3: pros than you were as a college athlete.
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: You know, it kind of varies because, like you said,
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: there's not a lot of there's very few, very few
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: regulations on it all, you know, and and and uh,
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: you know, it's an interesting space with the agents, like
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: you have everything from a you know, a parent or
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: an uncle or to uh, you know, a big agency
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: that has NBA guys. But you know, kind of there's
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: it varies quite a bit, and I think, uh, you know,
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  Speaker 1: it's hard. I think, you know, difficult for kids because
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: like there's an advantage of having an agent and hopefully
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: you know that space will be regulated soon. But yeah,
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: you know, it varies. You get you get all sorts
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: like you get you know, obviously people that are trying
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: to get every penny, and and then there's you go
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: to the other end of the spectrum whre they're really
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: professional and they want a good situation that fits them
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: and their player, and and uh, you know, it's all
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: about relationships still, But yeah, I know there's there's a
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: there's a wide, wide spectrum of the professionalism on.
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: The basketball front when it comes to like making sure
• 15:02
  Speaker 3: they're at rehab when they're supposed to be, making sure
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: they're a shoot around and at practice on time or
• 15:07
  Speaker 3: even early, because if you're on time, you're late for
• 15:10
  Speaker 3: some coaches. Is the professionalism growing in that respect relative
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: to maybe what it was in college basketball the last
• 15:19
  Speaker 3: time you touched down.
• 15:20
  Speaker 5: There, you know, I yeah, you know, I think it's
• 15:27
  Speaker 5: the guy that the players you get, you know, and
• 15:29
  Speaker 5: when there's money involved.
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: You know, in the NBA there's a you know, fine
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: structure and you know a lot of times a guy,
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: you know, the find can be so much that he
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: might make so much money where it doesn't affect him.
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: And I think, uh, you know, you know, when the
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: money comes into it, you know, you still try to
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: not necessarily have control, but hopefully you have the relationship
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: with them. But it gets tricky. It gets tricky, you know,
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: because money, money changes changes a player or some of them.
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: And no, I don't know, I think it's in a
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: transition right now because it's a college is caught in
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: somewhere between They don't want to call it pay to play,
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: but that's exactly what it is. So it's a strange
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: time because it's you want to treat them like professionals,
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: but the rules kind of don't let you. I don't
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: know if that makes sense, but it is. I mean,
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: it's a professional game now, even though whatever doesn't want
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: to call it that, it is.
• 16:26
  Speaker 3: Well, and that's why I'm like, I'm so curious about
• 16:29
  Speaker 3: this right because my understanding of professional athletics and I
• 16:34
  Speaker 3: was never involved in a team sport, but it's like,
• 16:36
  Speaker 3: you better conduct yourself like a pro if you want
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: to keep earning that paycheck and you want to keep
• 16:41
  Speaker 3: you know, getting on the floor. In the case of basketball,
• 16:44
  Speaker 3: you better conduct yourself like a pro. We're paying you
• 16:47
  Speaker 3: like a pro, you better handle it like a pro.
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: Of course, in the NBA, like you mentioned, there are
• 16:53
  Speaker 3: collectively bargained structural finds that if you don't show up
• 16:57
  Speaker 3: to this workout or if you don't do this, uh,
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: it's already laid out how the punishment will will affect you.
• 17:05
  Speaker 3: And maybe it doesn't affect you because you have enough
• 17:07
  Speaker 3: money that it doesn't or whatever. But in basketball, again,
• 17:10
  Speaker 3: there's just not regulations. And so I'm really curious how
• 17:15
  Speaker 3: you who's who's been in the pro ranks and it
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: knows exactly what you know, Rudy Gobert had to do
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: to become what Rudy Gobert has become and how professional
• 17:24
  Speaker 3: he had to be in that And obviously there was
• 17:26
  Speaker 3: a money aspect to that as well. But now you're
• 17:29
  Speaker 3: doing it with college kids who don't have the same
• 17:32
  Speaker 3: level of structure, and I I'm really fascinated by how
• 17:35
  Speaker 3: that works in your program.
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: Well, well, I don't think, well, uh, it doesn't work.
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: It doesn't work. You do your best, You do your
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: best to make it work. But yeah, I mean there's
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: there's uh, you know, and I still, like everybody else,
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: I'm on the same spot. And you know, I had
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: a lot more questions when I when I took the job,
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: and there's still a lot of questions that need to
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: be answered. And I think there's you know, people are working,
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: the powers that be are working on a hopefully a
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: few I think easy resolute, I mean, easy guardrails to
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: put in. But yeah, no, you're you're right, it's uh,
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: you know, it's interesting. You know, a kid we can
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: sign them a week before the portal portal closes, you
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: can sign everything and you have the contract and then
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: he can still go back into the portal. And it's
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: it's it's it is interesting. It interesting. A lot of
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: it doesn't make sense right now, but I know they're
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: hopefully there. Everybody's working through it and hopefully we get
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: those rules. But yeah, no, it is, it is. Uh
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: it is a It's definitely advantageous to the players and
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: their agents. But yeah, it's a difficult time. I think
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: for for all of us.
• 18:49
  Speaker 3: What have you learned about yourself in the last year
• 18:53
  Speaker 3: that maybe you didn't know before you dove in as
• 18:56
  Speaker 3: the head coach of your alma mater?
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: You know, I you know, I've been lucky to have
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: been a head coach and been around a lot of
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: good coaches. And I think the thing is, it's like
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: I remember, like it. I don't think things have expanded.
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: It's kind of condensed down to the you know. It
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: was one thing I learned from Coach Majeria's to keep
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: it simple and there's a few things you look for
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: and uh no, and I think being back at my
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: alma mater, you know, I go back to the you know,
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: we played Arizona and they remember one at the time,
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: and I don't think we filled half the Huntsmen and like,
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: like that hit me, like it to be honest, that
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: you know what upset me, And uh no, it kind
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: of I guess it drives me more to fill that
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: place because that's what you know, for decades that place
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: has been so that that's my goal and obviously that's
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: associated with winning, but you know where you know, you
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: have three or four generations of season ticket holders that
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: come to games and there's memories there. So yeah, no,
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: I think being back and they always knew it, but
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: like going through and experiencing it at my alma mater,
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: but really driven to to fill the Huntsman Center again.
• 20:05
  Speaker 3: How much have you and Morgan's scally cross paths so far,
• 20:08
  Speaker 3: maybe had a chance to commiserate about what the transfer
• 20:11
  Speaker 3: portal has done to your respect to sports or.
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: Whatever, you know, you know I've been able to. Yeah,
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: you know, we've had a few conversations.
• 20:19
  Speaker 5: You know.
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: When when I got here, Yeah, it was wild that
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: you know, it was one of those things one of
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: the many things on my list that I wanted to
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: do right away but didn't get to it like when
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: you know Kyle is here, now it's Morgan. But no,
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: I've been able to have a few really good conversations
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: with Morgan, and you know, I admire what they've done
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: in football over the last couple of decades to keep
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: it rolling. It's something that you know, we want to
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: you know, emulate, you know where it's you know, you're
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: You're a kind of as a program that's that has
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: to be reckoned with every year. But no, no, we've
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: had a few more conversations and they love to you know,
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: pick his brain and a football and basketball is a
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: little different. But yeah, no, I've learned. I've asked him
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: a lot of questions about how he approaches the portal
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: for sure.
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: Coach I, these are the types of things I don't
• 21:09
  Speaker 3: like to talk about on this show, but I feel
• 21:12
  Speaker 3: like it's part of my job that I have to
• 21:14
  Speaker 3: ask you. The financial support that comes into a program,
• 21:18
  Speaker 3: the revenue share and then the nile opportunities are a
• 21:22
  Speaker 3: large determinant now of what your roster is going to
• 21:25
  Speaker 3: look like. And I love what I'm seeing on paper
• 21:28
  Speaker 3: from the guys that are coming in and are going
• 21:29
  Speaker 3: to be part of this roster.
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: This year.
• 21:32
  Speaker 3: But I have to ask if you know, if you're
• 21:36
  Speaker 3: getting the support that you were promised or that you
• 21:39
  Speaker 3: need in order to maximize Utah Basketball's competitiveness and eventually
• 21:44
  Speaker 3: return to the glory that you were once part of
• 21:46
  Speaker 3: as a player.
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah. No, no, I think you know, I mean it's
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: not I don't think any one person or one thing,
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: but I think there's been a disconnect with the community
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: and the program over a year. And it's and it's
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: kind of built. But you know, that's the last year
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: we've I think we've done a good job, you know,
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: in president President Randalls been great. He's committed, which is
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: which is great to have the president university with all
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: the things he has to do to be committed. And no,
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: I think we met a you know, I think that's
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: the one thing I knew before I took the job,
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: and since I've been here, I think there's a lot
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: of people that want to do what they can to
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: to make the program successful. And and I've had a
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: lot of good conversations and I can say we're in
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: a much better, much better place than we were a
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: year ago as a program, and I'm excited and you know, yeah,
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: you could always right. It's interesting now because you could
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: always use more money. But like I think we uh,
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: you know, we're at a place where we can be
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: really competitive in the Big twelve.
• 22:54
  Speaker 3: Do you have a favorite NFL team? Will you be
• 22:56
  Speaker 3: paying attention to their draft pick tonight in Round one?
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: You know, I don't see. That's the nice thing about
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: growing up in Salt Lake is I can always I
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: can be the hater or I can always be the
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: root against somebody. But you know what, It's funny because
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: I've never played football, I mean other than at the park,
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: but I've I'm fascinated with I've been able lucky to
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: hear some coaches speak in the NBA and some players,
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: and you know, it's funny enough. I use a lot
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: of football analogies. So yeah, I uh, there's I have
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: players and coaches that I love.
• 23:29
  Speaker 3: Well, well, we'll welcome you on the forty nine ers
• 23:32
  Speaker 3: bandwagon anytime you want, coach, that's that's my team.
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: So I'll make room for you.
• 23:37
  Speaker 5: Well yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: As soon as they yea, as soon as they win
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: eight games or more. Yeah, I'm there.
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: I love it. Coach.
• 23:45
  Speaker 3: I know you're very busy, and I appreciate you giving
• 23:47
  Speaker 3: us some time today, good luck with everything the rest
• 23:51
  Speaker 3: of the way in this off season, and obviously.
• 23:53
  Speaker 2: We'll be checking in so.
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 23:56
  Speaker 3: Thanks guys, Alex Jensen running youut's head back basketball coach,