Had the pleasure of sitting next to a Utah fan on the flight to Portland tonight, and he had a good question (several, actually) -- whatever happened with Nemanja Calasan?

Except to say that he wound up at Purdue, I didn't have an answer.

But now, I can provide details.

Seems the former junior-college All-American who had committed to join the Utes but was cut loose from that commitment by new coach Jim Boylen already has made quite an impression with the Boilermakers.

The 6-foot-9 forward missed the first two games of the season while his eligibility was verified, but has averaged 9.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in about 20 minutes in each of four games since then.

Calasan turned in a particularly strong performance in a 71-60 victory over Indiana State last weekend, helping the Boilermakers improve to 5-1 overall going into a game at Missouri while the Utes take on No. 19 Oregon on Saturday.

Boylen has said that he believes Calasan could have helped the Utes win this season, but decided against adding him to the program because that would have given the Utes five major contributors who would have departed the program at once after next season.

Four is problematic enough, Boylen believed.

So there you have it -- one in-flight question answered. Have more? Drop me an e-mail!