Rocky Mountain Revue: Koufos has 'long way to go,' Corbin says

TAYLORSVILLE — Let the trivia books show, Kosta Koufos' first shot in a pseudo Jazz uniform was a missed jumper.

And by the time Utah's first-round pick got another look in the second half, the 7-foot center had three fouls and two quicker-than-planned-on trips to the bench behind him.

If mom hadn't been sitting in the stands, she might not have received a very detailed letter from her 19-year-old describing his public NBA experience debut that about matched the Jazz's dreary 82-57 loss to San Antonio in Friday night's Rocky Mountain Revue opener.

Jazz assistant coach Tyrone Corbin, who's overseeing the Revue squad, didn't exactly give the rookie center a raving Revue review. Koufos, he said, needs to adjust to the quicker speed of this pro summer league and to the way NBA officials call the game. Not getting frustrated under adversity will help, too.

"He's got a long way to go," Corbin said. "Two-a-days might have taken some out of him."

Koufos, who was picked up by the Jazz with the 23rd pick in this year's NBA Draft after just one season at Ohio State, finished with five points on 1-for-3 shooting, four rebounds and one blocked shot. Perhaps to his credit, he only got called for one foul in his final 10 minutes after playing just 4:13 in the first half.

The dual U.S.-Greek citizen, who gave up a chance at trying to help Greece attempt to qualify for the Olympics to be with Utah this summer, didn't act too distraught nor satisfied with his first Jazz performance.

"It's a blessing," Koufos said to describe how he felt about getting a game under his belt. "You know, I'm still trying to learn the system. Every day I'm getting better, feeling more comfortable."

Koufos wasn't the only Jazz player to struggle Friday. Utah's two second-year players with guaranteed contracts — Morris Almond and Kyrylo Fesenko — also had rough outings. Almond scored a team-best 17 but missed eight of 12 shots, while the big Ukrainian center had seven turnovers, four fouls, three rebounds and zero points in 17 minutes.

Shortly after signing his big contract Friday afternoon, Jazz point guard Deron Williams hinted that the franchise might have picked up a diamond in the rough with Koufos. Williams got a up-close-and-personal look by participating several times this week at the Jazz summer-league team camp.

"He's still young. He's still 19. I don't know how much he's gonna help this year. But you can definitely see how talented he is," Williams said. "He can run the floor. He can shoot the ball. Play with his back to the basket a little bit."