No Majerus? Utah becomes 'Rupp's arena'

In just over a week, he's gone from being just another faceless assistant coach to the subject of a recent commentary by ESPN analyst Dick Vitale, touting him to be the next head basketball coach at Utah.

Kerry Rupp's life has changed dramatically since Jan. 28, when longtime Ute coach Rick Majerus announced he was leaving the Utah basketball program for health reasons.

Although he is in just his third year as a Ute assistant coach, Rupp was elevated to the top spot on the basis of his U. seniority over Eric Jackson (second year) and Tom Abatemarco (first year), who was a Division I head coach for six years.

Already, Rupp has proven he can win basketball games, particularly ones against BYU. Three days after taking over for Majerus, he led the Utes to a thrilling come-from-behind win over the Cougars. A year earlier, he coached the Utes to an upset win over BYU in Provo.

Today Rupp gets a shot at non-BYU team for a change as San Diego State (12-9, 3-3) pays a visit to the Huntsman Center to play the Utes (16-5, 4-2). Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.

For the low-key Rupp, it's been a whirlwind 10 days since Majerus left and he accepted responsibility of the Ute program. Instead of being able to blend into the background, he has all eyes on him in practice every day and he must answer questions about the team from the media.

"It's been an unbelievable thing for me," he said. "But right now my focus is on the players. I'm just making sure that every day we're prepared and we're communicating."

Rupp is a native Utahn who has lived and worked in the state his entire life. He was born on an Indian reservation in southern Utah nearly five decades ago (he turns 50 later this month) and his family settled in Magna, where he became an all-state performer in basketball and football for Cyprus High School.

He initially went to Utah State before transferring to Southern Utah, where he became an all-conference player and team MVP.

After getting his degree in 1977, he began his coaching career at Uintah High the following year and was elevated to head coach a year after that. He moved on to Murray High and South High and then to East, where he worked as an assistant before taking over as head coach in 1990.