Chris Burgess Safe

[//r00t4Utes]

Looks like they’re going after Suns coach Kevin Young and finalizing deal.
Think this is good news for the U.
ESPN Link

[//r00t4Utes]

Sorry if this was miscatorgorized, and not in TSPP, but was more focused on the fact Burgess is staying than them hiring Young from PHX.

[NarfUte]

Not safe yet, prevailing smoke is Smith is trying to lure Burgess down there as associate head coach

[AZUTE]

Burgess is gonna get a raise and a new title at Utah very shortly

[GameForAnyFuss]

Where’s the money supporting that raise coming from? Because it’s not coming from ticket sales.

[PlainsUte]

What is the New Big-12 media payout compared to the former Pac-12??

[Anfernee]

Like, you know this is happening? 🤞

[//r00t4Utes]

I assume you meant Pope, and not Smith is trying to lure him away.

I also would hope it gets Burgess a raise to stay.

[NarfUte]

Pope might be at UK but I meant (Ryan) smith is trying to get him to Provo – they seem to be spending on BBall instead of Football

[Central Coast Ute]

When someone talks about Smith, money, and BYU, it’s Ryan Smith, not Craig Smith.

[RustyShackleford]

All I know is if Smith is just going to dump millions and millions into BYU I probably won’t be supporting the Jazz or the new Hockey team.

[Uteanooga]

As much as I detest Zoob athletics I have to say that this has been an amazing sequence for them and I am really jealous. They had a coach good enough for arguably the most resource-rich program in the country to lure him away. Then they hired the highest-paid NBA associate head coach that has been linked with multiple NBA head coach positions. They are reportedly paying him over 4m/yr which would put him in the top 10 in the country- good enough to keep him even if he is successful. Oh and he is 42 years old, ambitious, and looking to prove himself.

Meanwhile our coach is rumored to not like recruiting- arguably the most important part of coaching college athletics. Anyone who has done any coaching at any level understands that the best way to look smart is to start with the best players.

Suddenly the Zoobs are in one of the best basketball leagues with possibly one of the best young coaches.

Oy Vey! I am in envy town.

Hopefully the weirdness of Provo will provide adequate road blocks to their success but my confidence in this has been shaken.

[NarfUte]

I’ll p**s in their cheerios a little bit, Boylen was also a highly respected NBA assistant (Most of his career, we hired him from Tom Izzo’s staff) gunning for NBA HC jobs and came with a stellar recommendation from Popovich.

This could work out really well for them, or they could have hired another Boylen. Time will tell

[Minnesota Ute]

I guess I just don’t see it. My prediction is Pope washes out at Kentucky fast. Their expectations are off the charts and I can’t see an Ex-BYU Coach being dirty enough to fulfill their lust, nor the right fit to coach the semi-pro level of athletes that Kentucky gets that certainly was not what he had at BYU.

As for the incoming coach, totally agree with the post below. Boylen came from NBA and showed no ability to navigate that transition. I’ll believe it when I see it, but at least for the moment, while I’m profoundly disappointed with this season, I still think we’ll be in better shape than them next year.

[Anfernee]

In 2024 I would MUCH rather be a college football school than a college basketball school. TDS is the one in envy town.

[PlainsUte]

$51B says BYU has more resources than UKy.

[Ted Lasso]

I obviously love the trajectory byu basketball is on, but I can’t stand BYU football right now. Kalani Sitake is just not it. I find myself rooting for BYU to lose a lot of games so they can finally fire him and move on to Jay Hill. I like Kalani and think he’s a very nice guy, but he’s not a good coach. His defenses during his time at Utah weren’t even that good and he had Whitt by his side.

[Uteanooga]

Fair points and virtually any new coach may not succeed. I was not trying to make a prediction of how well Pope will do @ Kentucky but rather point out that though Kentucky swung and missed on their top targets, they still wanted Pope. Do you hear of anyone trying to lure Smith away from us?

Many programs would like to hire Whittingham and almost all of us would hate to see him go. If someone bought out Smith’s contract and Utah could start from scratch, I would not expect to see much hand wringing from Ute fans.

As for how Young will do, time will tell. Whomever is ponying up the 4.2m/yr for his salary will undoubtedly have considered organizing some NIL coin as well. I’d be bullish on the program’s potential were I a Zoob.

As for Utah’s prospects- fingers crossed. I was able to attend the Iowa NIT game and it was a lot of fun. Empty arena, but a lot of fun. We arrived a few minutes after tipoff and they charged half price for the tiks with was only $5 or $10. My brother bought the tiks for two families and grandparents, I tried to pay him back and he laughed at me. The total was barely more than the price of a sandwich. We all had a good time. It was really easy to make the Jumbotron cam because of such a small crowd. We would attend again but there was certainly not a feeling of being on the cusp of the big time.

[MDUte]

It kind of seems like Utah and BYU have completely traded places since 1990. Back then Utah was seen as a “basketball school” and prioritized athletic spending as such. And BYU was a “football school” and prioritized their spending accordingly. But today, it’s the opposite.

I realize a school can be solid in both sports and the goal is to prioritize both adequately. However, I’d MUCH rather be known for football relevance than basketball, not because I like football more but because football is king and drives everything in college athletics. If Utah’s football relevance and trajectory ultimately drives Utah into the B1G or future Super League, there will be so much money and resources available to take bigger swings at getting basketball right.

[NarfUte]

Same, I pick football all day everyday and twice on Sundays – Football is king and the sole driver for future success in this realignment craziness

[Author]

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