"I always felt like (the locker room) was someplace that our owner didn't belong, but as I experienced it with (former coach) Frank (Layden) and worked under those conditions, I think it's the best thing you can have," he said. "Because you don't have to listen to hearsay. You see it first hand.

"You know, he (Larry Miller) has given us a great deal of support over the years in anything that's come up, and you can't ask for a better situation that that."

JURY STILL OUT: Asked in an online chat this week how Jazz center Kyrylo Fesenko looked working out earlier this summer at IMG Academies in Florida, and if Fesenko still has "what it takes to become a stud" in the NBA, David Thorpe — an NBA analyst for ESPN.com, and executive director of the Academies' Pro Training Center — offered this response:

"He barely practiced when I was there. Sick, injured, etc. He could be a max player, or he could end up back in Ukraine."

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com