Utah Jazz notebook: Kyrylo Fesenko suddenly a blip on media's radar screen

SALT LAKE CITY — Kyrylo Fesenko — yes, Carmelo Anthony, him — is acting flattered from all of the attention he's getting lately.

It's coming from the media, some of whom are even interested in hearing his thoughts about strategy — not just his latest jokes.

From people, including shooting coach Jeff Hornacek and Andrei Kirilenko, trying to help him improve his woeful free-throw shooting.

Even from Denver's star, who complimented the Jazz center in a condescending way after Utah's 116-105 win Sunday by incredulously saying, "Fesenko? Fesenko? Don't get me wrong. He is a great player. He's playing with a lot of confidence, but … Fesenko?"

Hardly wanting to get into a war of words, Fesenko had a simple response to Melo: "Thank you — another PR for me. That's good."

Fesenko didn't specify whether PR stood for public relations — as in the more PR, the better — or for personal record. The latter was the case with his free throws.

Fesenko's 4-for-7 charity-stripe showing set career playoff marks for the third-year player in makes and attempts. The 40-percent career free-throw shooter even believes the Nuggets decided not to Foul-a-Fes in the final minutes because he hit a pair of clutch freebies with two minutes left to put the Jazz up 111-100.

"That was a really big accomplishment for me," Fesenko said Monday.

Kirilenko, a mentor, agrees.

"I was like, 'Yeah!' " he said. "Because the day before we've been practicing free throws and I was screaming different kinds of stuff, bad stuff. So he's kind of focused and don't pay attention to that and what people (are) screaming ... and it paid off."

Fesenko shot 100 free throws before Jazz practice and planned to repeat that afterward.

He's trying to improve and incorporate all of the advice everybody is giving him (or yelling at him?).

"Sometimes, I just get frustrated thinking too much," Fesenko admitted. "Everybody who talks to me about free throws they finish with, 'And try not to think too much when you're shooting, just shoot them.' "

For the series, Fesenko is 6-for-13 from the stripe.

Carlos Boozer chuckled when jokingly asked if Fesenko gave him any advice after the power forward struggled through a 5-for-9 free-throw shooting night Sunday.

"Nah," Boozer said, "but I'm proud he hit his free throws."