With Andrew Bogut coming off a career-high 29-point game at Phoenix on Saturday night, and the former University of Utah star in town tonight with the Milwaukee Bucks, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan had nothing but kind words when asked today about the big Aussie.

"He's got the ability to be able to score inside, and he's a big, long guy," Sloan said of Bogut, who is in his third NBA season. "And he passes the basketball.

"You know, the better players get used to one another, and they've played together for a period of time — then guys have a chance to develop and get better. And that's what he's done.

"It didn't come overnight, because it's a lot of hard work to try to make yourself better," Sloan added with reference to the No. 1 overall selection in the 2005 NBA Draft class. "So you give him credit for that — continuing to work to make himself a better player, even though expectations are very high for where he's picked."

Bogut is hardly Milwaukee's only Utah tie.

Starting guard Mo Williams was drafted by the Jazz and played one season in Utah, reserve big man Michael Ruffin played previously for the Jazz and head coach Larry Krystkowiak did as well.

"He was an intelligent basketball player when he played," Sloan said of Krystkowiak. "He understood team basketball, he understood passing the basketball. When he played here, he complemented our team very well — and then he got hurt, and that was the unfortunate thing about it, because he was a great guy to coach."

Sloan, meanwhile, also addressed on Monday the fact that reserve swingman C.J. Miles went from starting in place of previously injured Andrei Kirilenko to being out of the Jazz's rotation altogether in last Saturday's win over Orlando, including the loss of his backup shoot-guard spot to recently acquired Kyle Korver.

"I've got five guys (swingmen Andrei Kirilenko, Ronnie Brewer, Matt Harpring, Korver and Miles) I've got to try to play at the two positions (shooting guard and small forward)," Sloan said, "and that's very difficult to do."

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com