Brad Rock: Utah teams, athletes receive plenty of respect nationally

You could make a case that USU basketball doesn't get any respect, but on the other hand, it has won only one NCAA Tournament game since 1970.

To their credit, teams and players in Utah have had enough good years that people actually remember them. Jerry Sloan was named inaugural winner of the Rudy Tomjanovich Award, given to coaches who are exceptional with the media. Also, Sloan, John Stockton and Karl Malone have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Malone won two MVP awards.

BYU's Jimmer Fredette was the national player of the year. Andrew Bogut and Alex Smith were No. 1 draft picks from Utah – in the same year. Deron Williams, Mehmet Okur, Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko have all been All-Stars playing in Utah. Ty Detmer won the Heisman. Urban Meyer was national coach of the year at Utah.

How much more respect can you get?

Next time I hear someone saying the local teams/players don't get any national respect, I'll point out that when Juliette Binoche won an Oscar for "The English Patient" in 1996, she accepted the award by saying even SHE thought it should have gone to Lauren Bacall.

Sometimes even honorees know they're getting more than they deserve.

email: rock@desnews.com

Twitter: therockmonster