Fans get glimpse of who Jazz missed out on in draft

The Jazz had hoped to land their long, athletic, shot-altering center by grabbing Mouhamed Saer Sene in last month's NBA Draft.

Seattle blocked those plans, however, taking the 7-foot Senegalese center at No. 10 overall — four picks before Utah wound up going with University of Arkansas swingman Ronnie Brewer.

On Monday night at Salt Community College, Jazz fans got a glimpse of who they missed out on — and had to be impressed with what they saw.

Sene scored 13 points on mostly inside 5-of-8 shooting, pulled down six rebounds and blocked five shots in Seattle's 76-75 Rocky Mountain Revue summer-league overtime win over Utah.

"He's in the right position most of the time, he has tremendous quickness off the floor and anticipates where to get blocked shots from," Jazz assistant coach Tyrone Corbin said.

The Sonics rookie has blocked 12 shots in three games since the Revue opened last Friday night, displaying a skill most of the Jazz's current rostered players — save for Andrei Kirilenko, who prefers to slide across from the weak side of the floor for his blocks rather than go straight up like Sene — simply do not possess.

"It's an incredible knack," Corbin said. "I mean, a lot of guys don't have it. They have the size, but they don't have the timing and the quickness to get off or the right positioning to get the shot blocked.

"That alone, a lot of teams would love to have — and a shot-blocker than can run the floor is an incredible asset to anybody."

The Jazz have indicated they will continue to seek either via trade or free agency a center with length and shot-blocking ability after even re-signing big man Jarron Collins, as they plan to do later this week.

FULLER LEAVES: The Jazz sent free-agent big man Hiram Fuller home Monday to see his family physician due to continuing high blood pressure.

Fuller, who had a four-game NBA stint with Atlanta in 2004, averaged 8 minutes, 4 points and 2.5 rebounds in two Revue games.

Before the Revue started, the Jazz also sent free-agent center James Lang home because of high blood pressure. Lang had stints with Toronto and Atlanta last season, but has never actually played in a regular-season NBA game.

Fuller's departure leaves the Jazz with just 13 players.