Big Game Against Rebels Features Riverton Reunion
Utah's Morgan Grim and UNLV's Joe Darger basically grew up together in Riverton, and still keep in occasional touch and play ball together in the summer. That's why they're excited to see one another when the Utes meet the Rebels tonight at the Huntsman Center.
"It's always nice to actually go home and see the family and friends," Darger said.
And who knows?
The men might wind up guarding one another, if Grim should somehow get into the game when Darger's still on the floor -- though the odds seem slim, since Darger is the starting center for the Rebels and Grim usually doesn't play much unless the game has been decided.
In any case, it's interesting to note the similarities between the players. They're about the same size -- Grim is 6-foot-9 and 215 pounds, while Darger is 6-7 and 225 -- and were boyhood friends and teammates at Riverton High School, where Grim basically followed his predecessor's path to prep stardom. Darger averaged 22 points his senior year? Grim averaged 23, two years later. Darger was first-team all-state? Grim was the Class 5-A Most Valuable Player. Plus, they're both polite, quiet, hard-working players willing to do whatever their coaches ask.
Perhaps the only thing Grim did not replicate was Darger's polygamist home life -- his father John is married to two women -- profiled in the Las Vegas Review-Journal as well as The New York Times during the Rebels' fantastic 30-7 season last year.
"I'm good friends with his dad," Grim said. "I see his dad all the time. He lives up by where I live. ... He always wants Utah to do good, other than when we're playing UNLV. He's always talking about how he wants us to do good."
He almost had ever more reason to cheer for the Utes, too.
The Utes recruited Darger, who he said he nearly committed to former coach Rick Majerus when he was a junior at Riverton four years ago. But he held off, Majerus quit, and he didn't feel a "good match" with new coach Ray Giacoletti. Not much later, he wound up at UNLV.
Now, Darger said that although he occasionally hears jeers about his family background -- he has 17 siblings -- he has received nothing but support since it became popular knowledge with the newspaper articles last season.
"That's just the way I was grown up and I've had a fun time growing up," he said. "Definitely, I was never bored."
"It's always nice to actually go home and see the family and friends," Darger said.
And who knows?
The men might wind up guarding one another, if Grim should somehow get into the game when Darger's still on the floor -- though the odds seem slim, since Darger is the starting center for the Rebels and Grim usually doesn't play much unless the game has been decided.
In any case, it's interesting to note the similarities between the players. They're about the same size -- Grim is 6-foot-9 and 215 pounds, while Darger is 6-7 and 225 -- and were boyhood friends and teammates at Riverton High School, where Grim basically followed his predecessor's path to prep stardom. Darger averaged 22 points his senior year? Grim averaged 23, two years later. Darger was first-team all-state? Grim was the Class 5-A Most Valuable Player. Plus, they're both polite, quiet, hard-working players willing to do whatever their coaches ask.
Perhaps the only thing Grim did not replicate was Darger's polygamist home life -- his father John is married to two women -- profiled in the Las Vegas Review-Journal as well as The New York Times during the Rebels' fantastic 30-7 season last year.
"I'm good friends with his dad," Grim said. "I see his dad all the time. He lives up by where I live. ... He always wants Utah to do good, other than when we're playing UNLV. He's always talking about how he wants us to do good."
He almost had ever more reason to cheer for the Utes, too.
The Utes recruited Darger, who he said he nearly committed to former coach Rick Majerus when he was a junior at Riverton four years ago. But he held off, Majerus quit, and he didn't feel a "good match" with new coach Ray Giacoletti. Not much later, he wound up at UNLV.
Now, Darger said that although he occasionally hears jeers about his family background -- he has 17 siblings -- he has received nothing but support since it became popular knowledge with the newspaper articles last season.
"That's just the way I was grown up and I've had a fun time growing up," he said. "Definitely, I was never bored."
posted by www.sltrib.com @ 9:14 AM |
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