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SALT LAKE CITY — Strike up a resounding win for the old guard, which got what it desperately wanted to rejuvenate the beleaguered Utah men’s basketball program.
The no-brainer became reality on Thursday, with multiple outlets reporting that Utah is hiring Alex Jensen as head coach for a program with a storied tradition but one that hasn’t come close to living up to it in recent years. Across several generations, former Utah players are pleased the administration decided to bring back one of their own.
In a real sense, the prodigal coach is coming home. Finally.
“He was a great player himself and knows what it takes,” said Jeff Judkins, who starred for the Utes in the 1970s. “He loves Utah and, of course, some of his greatest memories were there. He’ll know the right kids to recruit.”
The next step is to hire a strong staff of assistant coaches spread across different responsibilities. The late Rick Majerus, who achieved incredible success as Utah’s head coach from 1989-04, created the blueprint in hiring Judkins and a great recruiter in Donny Daniels.
Judkins, who got numerous messages once word got out, believes Jensen’s first call should go to Andre Miller. He’s certain Miller, currently an NBA G League head coach and a 17-year NBA veteran, would jump at the chance to work for his former teammate.
“Andre is the best recruiter by far,” said Judkins, who coached both players at Utah. “The guy knows how to talk to kids and make them feel comfortable. That’s the first guy he’s got to hire. I can’t see him turning it down.”
Judkins, a multi-sport star at Highland High, also would advocate adding several former Utes to the staff. Among others, he cited as possibilities include current Highland High head coach Chris Jones and Josh Grant, whom Judkins called a “basketball genius.”
Since Majerus left the program during the 2003-04 season, Utah has hired and fired each of the four coaches to follow the legendary coach who regularly produced conference championships and extended NCAA Tournament runs. Barring an improbable run to win the Big 12 Tournament next week, the program will not have made the tournament since the 2015-16 season.
Under Majerus, who succeeded Lynn Archibald in 1989, the Utes earned 10 tournament appearances and won or tied for the conference or division championships in nine seasons. His 1997-98 team lost to Kentucky in the national championship game.
The program has grown increasingly stagnant the last several years under Larry Krystkowiak and most recently Craig Smith. Fan support, which was among the nation’s best during good times, has dropped to dismal levels in the Huntsman Center.
A Viewmont High graduate, Jensen played for Majerus all four years and started on the Final Four team. The former assistant for the Utah Jazz and currently the Dallas Mavericks, served as an assistant coach to Majerus at Saint Louis.
“So happy for Al,” said Jones, who coached at Utah and Utah State. “He is a fantastic person and very good coach. He has been successful at every place he has coached. He checks all the boxes.”
The 48-year-old Jensen was basically an overachiever during his college career. At 6-foot-7, he wasn’t blessed with the size and agility to be a special player, but the overly demanding Majerus loved his tenacity and ability to guard the opponent’s best scorer.
Majerus praised Jensen at seemingly every turn, which in turn led to teammates in a friendly manner calling him the coach’s favorite player. The 2000 Mountain West Conference player of the year helped Utah make the NCAA Tournament in each of his four seasons, which were spread over six years due to his two-year church mission.
After playing overseas from 2000-07, Jensen immediately began his coaching career when Majerus returned from retirement to coach at Saint Louis in 2007. He then spent two years as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ NBA G League affiliate before working 10 years with the Jazz as an assistant to Quin Snyder and then the last two with the Mavericks.
Jensen did gain traction to become Cleveland’s head coach in 2019, but the organization hired University of Michigan’s John Beilen. He resigned barely halfway through his only season.
