Utes climb to 12-3 quietly

Blame it on the Utah football team.

Thanks to the unprecedented success of the unbeaten, Fiesta Bowl-champion Utes, the U. basketball team has played in relative anonymity this winter. That could be a positive, in a way, for new coach Ray Giacoletti, who is trying to fill the large shoes vacated by longtime coach Rick Majerus.

But the fact is, Giacoletti has done as much as could be expected and more in his first 15 games as the Utes' head man. He and the Utes deserve more accolades than they've been getting.

If you've had all of your attention focused on the football team, you might be surprised to learn that the Utes have concluded their preseason schedule with a 12-3 record, second best in the Mountain West Conference. Going into Monday night's conference opener against UNLV, the Utes are on a seven-game winning streak.

They beat all of the easy teams on their schedule as expected, handled the big-name teams, Colorado and LSU, rather handily at home, even with key players out with injuries. They played two top-20 teams, Washington and Arizona, tough, right down to the final minute. Only at Utah State, when they fell apart in the second half in front of a raucous crowd, did the Utes have a bad outing.

It hasn't been perfect, and the Utes have looked rough around the edges in several games this year. And while Giacoletti has been frustrated by his team's play in several games, on the whole he's been happy with his team's progress.

"We've made steps in the right direction," said Giacoletti. "We're playing as well as we've played all season during the past week."

Giacoletti's job has been made much easier by the presence of 7-foot sophomore center Andrew Bogut, who is producing an outstanding season.

"He's a pretty special player," Giacoletti said. "He's the real deal. He's done everything we've asked of him this year. We're very fortunate to have a guy like that."

Bogut is averaging 20.2 points, the most since Keith Van Horn in 1996-97, and 11.4 rebounds, third in the country and the best average at Utah since Mike Sojourner in 1973-74. His 63.4 field goal shooting percentage would be the best in Utah history if he keeps it up through the end of the year. He's also on track to break the Ute record for blocked shots. His 2.4 assist average is excellent for a big man and Giacoletti calls Bogut "the best passing big man I've ever been around."