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Coach making the switch to pursue 'great opportunity'

Published: Tuesday, April 1 2008 12:18 a.m. MDT

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Another One Gone

"Jones stressed that he wasn't leaving because of any unhappiness in working with Coach Boylen."

Yeah right. He was hiding in the locker room with his hands in his face when Boylen was grabbing the mic after games. That is the second assistant coach we lost this year. We also lost two players. Come on people. Wake up.

Who is going to leave next?

Aggie Fan

Its hard for Ute Fans to understand that The Aggies are a better Basktball Program overall (Yes we did lose to you early in the Season). So come up with excuses that Coach Boylen is a Bad Guy and Bad Coach. Wrong Boylen will get things turned around on the Hill. With all that being said, Jones was a bad hire for Boylen and a bad hire for Morrill. This is really the 1st time, I think Coach Morrill has made a major mistake.

Ute fans the players you lost weren't that good and a couple years from now you won't even remember who Chris Jones was.

Facts

1. Better Job? Answer, No.
Jones is leaving a better paying job for a lesser paying job. He is not being promoted--as he is in the same position in a lesser conference.

2. Salt Lake or Logan?
Um, do I really need to go there?

3. Utah Man?
Jones played and graduated from Utah. He has never coached at a different University (having coached under Majerus, Giacoletti, and Boylen. He has been a fixture on Utah's sideline for over 10 years.


Truth.
Boylen must be as hard to work for as he seems to be hard to play for. Jones jumped ship before it sinks. That looks pretty obvious, doesn't it?

Another Aggie Fan

RE: Aggie Fan

It remains to be seen how the hiring of Jones works out, how long he'll stay, what kind of coach and recruiter he is. If it is a bad hire, it isn't the first one that Morrill's made. Remember Dave Rice, who only lasted a year, brought in no recruits, then headed to BYU. How about Don Holst from Montana country, who lasted about as long and was incognito the entire time he was in Logan. Then there was the ex assistant from Arizona State who accepted the job, but quit before he even made it to Logan. While I was hoping for someone with more California recruiting connections, this may work out. Maybe Jones has connections in Utah and around the intermountain area that will bring in good players.

New U assistant

Look up in Twin Falls at Barret Perry. He has led CSI to prominence in JC ranks. He is an unbelievable recruiter with Utah/LDS ties. I think he would make a great fit with Boylen.

UteNation

Jones was a holdover from the Gaicolleti era, and it was probably only a matter of time before Boylen replaced him with his own guy. Best of luck to Chris Jones at USU; just not against my beloved Utes.

Eyeofthebeholder

Why would Perry take a pay cut to come and coach in the Mountain West?? Half his players go on to play at bigger schools than Utah.

I love listening to people talk about basketball who think they know but have no idea what is going on.

First Jones is one of the best coaches in Utah. Between X O's, player relationships, recruiting. Ask the players what they think and know of him.

Second bigger is not always better. Who has a better chance to go to the NCAA tournament every year Utah State or Utah. Which job has more Job security right now? Which program has placed assistants as head DI coaches the past 5 years. I would say USU. Coach Morrill's reputaion in the west carries tremendous weight!

re: Aggie Fan

You MUST BE KIDDING??!! And after Utah destroyed USU this year, how you can say such a thing? USU couldn't even compete with Utah. Give Utah USU's schedule and they would have has more wins than USU this year. Even when USU has 3 losses the NCAA doesn't even want you guys. Post season play is a huge part of a program, and Utah blows every other Utah team out of the water in that department.

However, if this man says Boylen is the best coach he's ever seen, why would he be so crazy to leave?

Anonymous

yeah, we lost two injury prone players who wouldnt have played the remainder of the season anyways. stop with the doomsday prophecies for Ute hoops!

AginCali


Must be kidding? Uhh, no. Utah overall is not a better program than USU. Yes Utah beat us in SLC early in the season long before we found our rhythm, if that game would have been played at the end of the season, USU would have flattened the U... anywhere! USU got into the NIT. Utah bought their way into the what ever it was called. Yes USU has a slight edge of late over Utah; it's called coaching! Yes you've got scoreboard this year. No you don't have a better overall program.

Ute/Aggie game

Ute fans need to realize that their win against us was a good one. However, it was only one game. They also need to realize that we returned a total of 3, count them 3 players from last year. How many did Utah return?

Also, we've traded off wins for years now. The home team has won for the last 4-5 years. The last team to win on the road in the series was the Aggies. Try not to be so blind and ignorant to the facts Ute fans!

scoreboard

isn't the only thing that matters the scoreboard?

Playing in that weak conference, USU was able to be ahead on the scoreboard at the end of most of their games...The NCAA knows its a weak conference, so they didn't show USU any love, and the NIT cant pass up any teams with that kind of record...

Utah won the head-to-head battle, will always win the war (NCAA tournament victories - which really tell what a program is like), but USU feels justified when they fight weak opponents in lesser battles...

remember though, that a program is not a team...a program is all the teams put together and what they have accomplished...a team is who plays that year, and Utah's wasn't that great this year...

But we still beat Utah State, so nothing can be said by USU fans...

wow

what do they put in the water up in the cache valley? to say that USU has a better overall program than the U is like saying Kraft single's is better than Cache valley's cheese! The truth is , just like the cheese analogy, they aren't even in the same class! Not only do we own scoreboard, but when were you last in a sweet sixteen, elite eight, national champion, heck the second round of the NCAA tourney? When was your last number one overall pick? Congats on not winning the wac and getting smoked in the NIT. Sure our YEAR wasn't much better, but overall? Cmon ag's.

WOW WOW

What have the Utes done since the fat man left the UTES high and dry to take on a better program at is it? St Louis?
I believe it was the fat man that started the schedule the weak sisters of the poor and now both the WAC and the MWC schedule that way and now there is not a school in the intermountain west that get any respect nationally.
I guess that its fun to be a UTE fan and have tunnel vision!

BOW WOW

What has BYU or USU done since the fat man left? Oh, just lose when it counts. You gotta love the fifteen year drought BYU has in not winning an NCAA Tourney game. Would you rather win the lame MWC Championship or win in the Big Dance like UNLV? I would take the latter.

Last USU win

The last time Utah State won an NCAA game was in an overtime game with Ohio State in 2001, and yes it was eight long years ago.

Reason

Listen to the voice of reason, the Utes have fallen since Majerus left and they can't get up. Is the MWC better than the WAC? I think it is, but Utah isn't a very good team. Hopefully they can turn things around because they used to be great. USU is in a weaker conference, but they have a better coach and are very tough at home. I'd pick Utah over the past 100 years but I'd pick USU over the past 10.

Great Dane

USU = 9 straight 23+ win seasons, 9 straight post-season appearances, 5th best winning percentage over past 9 years in Division I. This year they had the best team field goal percentage and team free-throw percentage in the country. They also had the best 3-point shooter in the land and the 2nd best free-throw shooter in the nation (AP All-American Jaycee Carroll). Fans will take consistency over sporadic play anytime, and USU has consistently won since Stew Morrill has been at the helm; not just with wins, but also with quality players (Carroll, Spencer Nelson, Nate Harris, etc). Sure Utah had #1 pick Andrew Bogut and a national runner-up finish, but what else since then?

RE tunnel vision

Next time you are in the huntsman center (should you be so lucky)please take an opportunity to look up. What you will see is national prominance, tradition and success. We are sorry that we cant be on top all the time but the truth is "the fat man" was only at utah for a short time compared to the success we have experienced for over 100 years.We WILL be back. WE ALWAYS HAVE. YOU have little brother syndrome. What bugs you is that we don't even consider you a rival! Utah State??? HA it's laughable! GREAT DANE you take your 10 years with stewie and I'll take my hundred with the UTES! Check scoreboard! We'll see you in the fall. How is utah state high school doing so far in football anyway? Poor Merlin Olsen and Kevin Curtis. How embarrasing for them

Great Daner

Congrats, you have one tourney win since 01, but how many sweet sixteen games? Utah is just four years out from a sweet sixteen appearance. It comes down to wins in the Big Dance, that is all anybody cares about.

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