Forward Chose New Coach Over Old
One of coach Jim Boylen's latest recruits, junior-college forward Matt Read, has a particularly interesting history.
He chose the Utes over their legendary former coach.
Yes, coach Rick Majerus tried to land Read out of Collin County Community College in Texas for his St. Louis Billikens -- perhaps indication enough that Read is an exceptional player. And while Read said he loved Majerus enough to make the Billikens one of his three finalists, along with Michigan, he just felt the Utes were a better fit.
"Both programs were great for me," he said. “I didn't think I could go wrong with either one. At the end of the day, I went on this visit to Utah and I just got a feeling that this is where I needed to be. I was just really excited about being there.
"It just came down to an all-around better fit," he added, "not any big time negatives at St. Louis. I just felt like more positives at Utah."
Indeed, Read emphasized that Majerus was very respectful of his former team during the recruiting process, and that nobody with the Billikens practiced "negative recruiting."
"Majerus was really disappointed," Read said, "but he thought Utah was a great decision for me."
The 6-foot-9 Read described himself as a "mismatch problem," because he can both face up in the post, step out and hit the three-pointer and loves to pass. He played his freshman season at Texas-Arlington before deciding it wasn't the right fit and transferring to Collin County.
During the recruiting process, Read said he made a long list of criteria he wanted his future school to meet, and one of them -- in addition to relationships with the coaches, coaching style and the chance to play -- was the opportunity to win in the two years of eligibility he will have remaining.
"I really felt like opportunity to win in two years was the best" at Utah, he said. "I really just feel like it's just going to keep going uphill from here."
He chose the Utes over their legendary former coach.
Yes, coach Rick Majerus tried to land Read out of Collin County Community College in Texas for his St. Louis Billikens -- perhaps indication enough that Read is an exceptional player. And while Read said he loved Majerus enough to make the Billikens one of his three finalists, along with Michigan, he just felt the Utes were a better fit.
"Both programs were great for me," he said. “I didn't think I could go wrong with either one. At the end of the day, I went on this visit to Utah and I just got a feeling that this is where I needed to be. I was just really excited about being there.
"It just came down to an all-around better fit," he added, "not any big time negatives at St. Louis. I just felt like more positives at Utah."
Indeed, Read emphasized that Majerus was very respectful of his former team during the recruiting process, and that nobody with the Billikens practiced "negative recruiting."
"Majerus was really disappointed," Read said, "but he thought Utah was a great decision for me."
The 6-foot-9 Read described himself as a "mismatch problem," because he can both face up in the post, step out and hit the three-pointer and loves to pass. He played his freshman season at Texas-Arlington before deciding it wasn't the right fit and transferring to Collin County.
During the recruiting process, Read said he made a long list of criteria he wanted his future school to meet, and one of them -- in addition to relationships with the coaches, coaching style and the chance to play -- was the opportunity to win in the two years of eligibility he will have remaining.
"I really felt like opportunity to win in two years was the best" at Utah, he said. "I really just feel like it's just going to keep going uphill from here."
posted by www.sltrib.com @ 10:55 AM |
1 Comments:
Here we go again........BOYLEN SUCKS! Losing to Southwest Baptist in the final seconds. Didn't every game go down like this last year. THE MAN CAN'T COACH.
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