Boylen has lofty ideas to restore Utah hoop tradition

Jim Boylen has held the title of Utah head basketball coach for a little more than a week.

Before he left for four days to the Final Four in Atlanta, the 41-year-old ex-Michigan State assistant sat down with the Deseret Morning News to talk about his life before Utah, his coaching philosophies and his expectations for the future among other things.

The energetic Boylen revealed that he enjoys cooking, that he loves to golf, and that his wife, Christine, is the fix-it person around the house. He told how he put together a 20-page laminated booklet that included a picture of him wearing a Utah shirt and breakdowns on each player for his interview with athletic director Chris Hill and how he plans to bring big-name teams to the Huntsman Center.

DMN: So what are your first impressions of your new job?

JB: I'm impressed by the campus and by the people here. We've been made to feel welcome and have had a lot of positive feedback. I thought the press conference went well. That's a baby step, but we want to have success in everything we do and that's what we're going to preach. I feel that people here want to do it together. I don't want to be a maverick and try to do my own thing and be a bunker guy where nobody comes in. What Dr. (Chris) Hill and I talked about the most in the interview process is how we are going to build the program. Obviously we want to win, but I want people to be proud of our program. It's the effort you put forth, the grit you show and doing what you're supposed to do.

DMN: What are your initial impressions of the players?

JB: I'd rather not talk about them individually. I don't think it's fair to them. There will be a time for that. I can say we need to get tougher and more competitive. We have a good skill level, we have size, length and basketball intelligence. I just think we're a little insecure. There's a little fear in there, but that comes with change. We have a team that is craving for identity. But that's my job to give them an identity. I know it's been an uncertain time for our players and I don't like that. There's been some abandonment and neglect, just because of the process. That's just the way it is.

DMN: Are you going to put the "run" back in the "Runnin' Utes?"

JB: Yeah, we'd like to, but that depends on the personnel. I'd like to have it in and like to see how we do and maybe we'll have to take it off. But it's hard to take it off if you never put it in. Against certain teams and in certain situations, you're going to want to run and run. And we're going to do that. But if you turn it over every third time when you run, we won't be doing that.