From Deseret News archives:
Will Giacoletti return after poor season?
With the 10-17 Utes about to conclude their worst season in 34 years, barring a late-season run of victories, and perhaps become the first team in Utah basketball history ever to lose 20 games in a season, speculation has been running rampant about Giacoletti's future.
Perhaps the only person who knows — and he may not even know for sure — is U. athletic director Chris Hill, and of course, he isn't saying anything right now.
Hill has consistently kept mum in regards to coaching decisions over the years, and it was no different recently when he was asked a series of questions about the future of the Ute basketball program.
Giacoletti says he hasn't been told anything one way or another. He said although he and Hill talk on a weekly basis, his future hasn't been the subject of conversation, unlike at New Mexico, where athletic director Paul Krebs and coach Ritchie McKay said they discussed it all season before the announcement of McKay's firing was made last Thursday.
Giacoletti claims he never reads the newspapers or watches television and that his sole focus is on trying to make his team get better every day.
Still, the 45-year-old third-year coach is not unaware that there are an awful lot of shiny red seats showing at the Huntsman Center these days, and he's not oblivious to the occasional boos that have recently rumbled through the stands during frustrating home losses.
During one recent interview with the Deseret Morning News about an upcoming game, Giacoletti suddenly asked, "How bad is it out there?"
Well, sorry to tell you coach, it's getting pretty bad.
Web sites such as firegiacoletti.com and giacolettimustgo.com have been up and running for months.
A recent poll on KUTV showed 75 percent in favor of firing Giacoletti after the season.
On the Utefans.net message board, the number would probably be closer to 98 percent as diehard Ute fans have been on Giacoletti's case ever since the shocking season-opening loss to Southern Utah.
An informal poll by the Deseret Morning News at Saturday's New Mexico game found similar numbers against keeping Giacoletti next year.
Of the dozen fans interviewed, only two said Giacoletti deserves at least another year, while one was undecided. The others were adamant in their feeling that a change should be made before next season.
One season-ticket holder of more than 50 years, who can remember watching Ute games at the old Deseret Gym in the 1930s, said, "This is probably the worst-coached Utah team I've ever seen."
