U. to retire Bogut's No. 4 jersey Feb. 18

Andrew Bogut only played at Utah for two years, but he accomplished enough in his brief career to warrant his jersey being hung from the rafters at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

It's official — Bogut will be back in the Huntsman Center to see his No. 4 jersey be retired in a halftime ceremony at the Utah-Air Force game on Feb. 18 (7 p.m.). In honor of Bogut's No. 4 jersey, upper bowl tickets for the game will cost just $4.

"For someone who accomplished so much in such a short period of time, I think Andrew is certainly worthy of the honor of having his jersey retired," said Utah coach Ray Giacoletti. "With all of the various honors Andrew won last year and the recognition he brought to the University of Utah, this is a great way for us to say 'thank you.' "

Bogut is the seventh Ute player to have his number retired. The last Utah number to be retired was Andre Miller's No. 24 in February 2000. Two years before that, Keith Van Horn's No. 44 was retired.

Others whose numbers have been retired include Arnie Ferrin (1944), Vern Gardner (1949), Billy McGill (1961) and Danny Vranes (1981).

A couple of decades ago, a list of five criteria was drawn up for retiring numbers of Utah basketball players. The list included being a first-team all-American; a two-time all-conference player or conference player of the year; playing for your country in an international competition; being one of the statistical leaders in school and conference records; and playing four years.

Bogut met all of the criteria except playing for four years, but because more players are not staying four years these days, U. officials decided that the four-year requirement shouldn't apply any more. Besides, can you imagine how they could retire anybody's number in the future if they didn't retire the number of the NCAA Player of the Year?

Last year, Bogut was the consensus national player of the year, earning all five awards recognized by the NCAA — John R. Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy, Associated Press Player of the Year, USBWA Oscar Robertson Trophy and NABC Division I Player of the Year. Bogut was also Utah's sixth consensus All-American all-time and just the third since 1962.

After averaging 20.4 ppg and 12.2 rebounds and helping lead the Utes to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament, Bogut was selected No. 1 in the NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. He averages 9.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

Tickets for the Air Force game are currently on sale at www.UtahTickets.com, by phone at (801) 581-UTIX, or at the Utah Athletics Rice-Eccles Stadium Ticket Office. The first 2,000 fans entering the Huntsman Center that evening will receive a commemorative Andrew Bogut Jersey Pin, courtesy of the University of Utah Alumni Association.

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