Favorite Utah Basketball Players

Brandon Jessie. He picked my son to compete with him during, meet the team night. Something you never forget. Oh and he was a very good player.

I’m pretty sure you meant Bobby Adair. Bobby was taken too young, he was a talented basketball player, smart, and funny, and my friend.

I’m pretty sure you meant Bobby Adair. Bobby was taken too young, he was a talented basketball player, smart, and funny, and my friend.

Can’t leave Billy Mcgill and Ticky Burden off the list just to name a couple.

The first Utes I remember seeing play in Einer Nielson Field house were Jerry Chambers and Merv Jackson. A neighbor who worked the scoreboard would take us up to watch practice and Merv Jackson and his No. 10 jersey became my favorite player and I always picked the No. 10 when given the opportunity. Others over the years include most of those listed by Proud Ute and the following

Mike Newlin
Mike Sojourner
Ticky Burden
Buster Matheny
Jeff Judkins

The first Utes that I saw play were the Delon Wright, early Jakob Poeltl days. I am a freshman at the U, so I’ve seen only some glimpses of Utah men’s basketball being good. With the players I’ve seen I always liked Poeltl, he was a commanding big who could dominate and that was the type of ball player that I tried to model my game after. After that there aren’t too many that I’ve seen personally. I would watch clips of the late 70s seeing Chambers and Vranes and really liked their game. After my grandfather passed I took his 1960 U of U yearbook and just reading about McGill and how he would just dominate. I read his autobiography this summer and it was an interesting and somewhat story about his life, so he’s one of my favorites too.

I’m impartial to Andre Miller and Michael Doleac. When Chris Jones was coaching with Majerus he would do summer camps at a place near my home, and he brought Andre and Mike to play with us. He always had those two do a three point shooting contest. He would have us all vote on who we thought would win, and if our guy lost, we had to run. Inevitably, 90% of us would pick Andre to win because he was a guard, then Doleac would smoke him and we would all run. I did not make the same mistake the next year. Haha.

It looks like you became a fan in the late 70s / early 80s. Your list is comprehensive. Nothing to disagree with.

Here are a couple of players who I loved to watch who were before your time:

Mike Newlin – He was a stud who had a long NBA career. I think he led the nation in free throw shooting percentage.
Merv Jackson – He was a sophomore on the final four team of 66. He was the star on the 68 team. He also had a nice pro career.
Jerry Chambers – He won the MVP for the 1966 final four. He averaged 42 points per game.
Jeff Jonas – He was the best Ute point guard until Miller came around.
Jeff Judkins – He had a great career for the Utes and played in the NBA for a few years.
Ticky Burden – He led the nation in scoring his junior year.
Mike Sojourner – He was an amazing athlete who unfortunately had some mental issues that hurt him in the NBA.
Billy McGill – I was young when he played and honestly do not remember watching him. IMO he is the best player who ever played at Utah. He once scored 60 points in a game against BYU.

If I had to pick one favorite, it would have to be Mike Newlin, Van Horn, or Miller.

Andre Miller was my next door neighbor in the old Austin Hall when we were both freshmen. I have so many memories of him.

Across the hall was Chris Fuamatu Ma’afala’s room. Andre and Chris used to go outside and shoot baskets together on the outdoor court that was just outside the building. When the weather was nice, I would open the window to let the air in (Austin Hall was famously stuffy) and I could clearly hear all the sounds coming from the court. Andre’s shot was so smooth that it made a different sound than everyone else’s when it hit the net. I could tell when Andre was outside shooting just by the sound.

Don’t forget the late Kenny Gardner. Played with Mike Newlin and they ushered in the Huntsman center in 1969. Also Granny Lash who averaged 13 pts a game for the 1964 Chambers team. He should be on the list in name alone. One of my favorite all time Utes was Charlie Whiting. Always giving 110 % and was a great person. Went on to coach Skyline varsity for many years.

Proudute’s post brings back lots of great memories! I was a student at the U from 1960-1965, and I had to look up the following because it was so long ago.

Jack Gardner was the coach, and the 1060-61 team went 23-8, and took a deep run into the NCAA tournament. Players like McGill, Jim Rhead, and Rich Ruffell, were a big part of that team.

I remember Jim Rhead being a great shooter who could knock down mid-range shots easily. Of course Billy the Hill McGill was great, maybe the greatest Center the Utes have ever had, and it happened while I was just becoming a fan.

Rhead was a local guy from Salt Lake City.