Anfernee

Jim, I always said that if the Utes could find a guy that recruited like Coach K and coached like Smith, they’d be an eternal presence at the Dance. Unfortunately, those guys are extremely hard to find.

They’re from Pakistan…they kept talking about ship tenders in Lahore. Lahore is Pakistan’s biggest port city.

I’m not sure, but the guy I always see at the Crimson Club events is Spencer Eccles…he’s been right after Kyle when it comes to lifting any silverware the last few seasons.

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2025/02/24/utah-basketball-head-coaching-search-possible-candidates-replace-craig-smith/

The Ken Garff Family…I’d definitely start with them…also include Leo and Harriet Hopf, and the Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation. Those are the biggest whales in the Utah Athletics constellation.

He might not be the only one. Seems like the current ownership group values money above everything else. Also definitely seems that whatever shot they had to be relevant in the NBA playoffs is gone.

I have to say that if the next head coach isn’t Alex Jensen, it’ll feel like a bust for me. Both Coach K and Smith were serial winners and a regular presence at the Dance before coming to Utah. So, for me, that means that I’m very lukewarm on a coach that’s won in a lower conference without Utah ties. As we’ve seen, the Utes haven’t had a good…[Read more]

The most recent guys that made it through the filter were our fans in Pakistan.

Yeap to all three. Good analysis…but how do you think the team will take it? Will they mail in the remaining three games now that Smith is out of the picture?

Spence said that Utah matched what Saint John’s offered Deivon Smith in NIL, but he still decided to leave. That right there is some incriminating stuff.

Yeah but, what I’m saying, is that Utah is on the hook to Smith for two more years after this one. Smith’s putative last season with the Utes would have been 2026-2027. Do you see? If Smith was still the HC, next season wouldn’t be his last under contract.

Big enough to get you back watching MBB at the JHC?

Josh Eilert will be the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

Smith’s original contract was for six years. That means that he had two more seasons, until 2027, after this one. I will say that it only surprises me due to the timing. Couldn’t they have done it at the end of the season? His results surely didn’t warrant an extension.

You completely missed my point…a larger endowment directly translates to many more alumni with deeper pockets. And that translates to more donations to the athletic department. There’s no scenario in my mind where I can even contemplate either Gonzaga or SMC having the ability to outbid Utah. I’ll give you an example…Mark Few has been…[Read more]

I have to think that, at this point of the season, this Utah team with Deivon would easily be three to five wins better. Just off the top of my head, with him, we probably beat Saint Mary’s at home, probably beat Mississippi State on the road, and definitely win the away games versus OK St, WV, and UCF. If we just win three of those, we’re…[Read more]

Do they have more money than I think? Gonzaga has a student population of just over 7300 and an endowment of $439M. SMC has a student population of just under 4K and an endowment of $215M. Utah has a student population of almost 33K and an endowment of $1.65B And yet, somehow, both Gonzaga and SMC can recruit better basketball players, of…[Read more]

Another stupid loss to a bad team away from the road…another game that, with some decent play and taking care of the ball, would have been a win. How many times have we seen this play out? 19 turnovers in this game for Utah…now the Utes get to fly cross country to play a pissed-off Arizona team that will take out all of its aggression on…[Read more]

I think that’s the answer. Utah basketball fans are tired of two decades of mirages on the basketball court.

16 turnovers with over 13 minutes left in the game!!! Disgraceful…