Humpday: Bogut Begat
In an era when big men only lofted sky hooks and bullied defenders, Utah Utes legend and Aussie Andrew Bogut did more. And, A Holy War rivalry is renewed on the hardwood.
BREAKING NEWS» He was Big Rick’s last big here.
Try saying that last sentence three times fast. You could have said that Hanno Mottola or Michael Doleac paved the way for Utah Utes centers that were great, and perhaps that would be accurate. But, it was Andrew Bogut, one of Big Rick Majerus’ final recruits at Utah, who broke the mold on what people knew about Utes big men.
Before anybody asks, uh, no, Bogut did not drop it like it’s hot from three [12 percent for his career]; the Aussie just drained an inordinate amount of jump shots away from the basket. Bogut was so talented at Utah, in fact, that he turned pro at age 20 having averaged 20.6 points and 12.8 rebounds per game by the end of his sophomore year at The Real U and was selected first by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2005 NBA Draft.
In my opinion, It was Bogut’s arrival in the NBA in 2005 that kicked the door open to more athletic centers. In 14 years as a pro, Bogut averaged 9.6 points per game and hauled in 8.6 rebounds—nearly a double-double but that’s not why he should be remembered. In hindsight, it was his mid-range game that birthed a slew of big men who could get away from the rim and still score.
In an era where most big men still and could only make buckets via skyhooks a la Kareem or Mark Eaton and/or bully their way into the paint like Shaq Diesel, Bogut was one of the first centers to actually display a serviceable inside-outside game…which is why his induction into the FIBA Hall Of Fame is warranted.
In addition, Bogut begat a long line of Utah Utes big men dating all the way forward to Branden Carlson who were versatile enough that they could not only get their buckets in the paint but also cash in from the perimeter. [Carlson is currently on a 10-day contract with the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder.]
Honestly, I think that Bogut’s game came before its time in the pros; teams never quite figured out how to fully utilize his talents. No NBA team had the Utah big man shoot more than 13 times per game per year, on average, which was mind boggling to those of us that saw the Aussie 7-footer do most of his work in the midrange in college and take double the amount of shots.
Even by the time Bogut had hit his prime — in his early 30s — and had already been named to the 2009-10 All-NBA Team and the 2014-15 All-NBA Defensive Team, his production had dipped lower than five shot attempts per game in the NBA. To be fair, only one player — Chris Paul — will become an NBA HOFer out of this 2005 draft class. Now, there are two. «
Holy Warmth
Some People Say » That the Holy War rivalry game is dead in mens’ basketball between BYU and Utah and that you’re better off watching something else. I say look at these four grown men who showed up shirtless — possibly drove to the Jon M. Huntsman Center that way — to a place that is usually empty for Utah home games.
Ha, joke’s on you if you thought that the Holy War did not matter. Ask the 15,000+ who packed the place on the hill that looks like somebody flew it in from Mars from its outside appearance, or the fact that these four guys painted their chests in red and black paint with the words U-T-A-H…hanging over the railing. For the love of gawd, would somebody please rescue the H?! It looks like he’s gonna topple over on his beerbelly, for cryin out loud…
Anyway, it was a WILD game with a zillion lead changes before the Utah Utes finally took control in overtime and capped a 73-72 win with a hammer dunk by Ezra Ausar, the East Carolina transfer who led the Utes with a game-high 26 points. «
Overthink This Photo 📸
📷 » Rabbi Chaim Zippel
The “BYJew,” AKA Jake Retzlaff, BYU QB that lifted the Cougars to an Alamo Bowl blowout of Deion Sanders’ Colorado now has one more thing to his credit: matzos. I’ll let you decide how good or bad these crackers — which are now available at stores across the Wasatch Front — actually are. «
BoOk Em, BrIaN! » RICKEY!
» Honestly, the only way to introduce the pre-eminent book about Rickey Henderson is to begin to explain how competitive the man was.
Here’s an excerpt from the 425-page book:
“Later on, the phone rings, and it’s from an outside line, from outside the ballpark. Like, the AP or one of the papers calling to get a score update or something. I pick up the phone and I hear: “‘Jimmy, the f*** you doing to me?’
“‘Who is this? RICKEY?’ “
‘Yeah. F*** are you doing?’ “
‘The game’s going on. Where are you calling me from?’ “
‘I’m in [manager] Kennedy’s office. You gotta give me a hit right now! Right now!’ “
‘Rickey, I’m not changing it!’ “
‘RIGHT NOW!’
This was in minor league baseball, by the way, at Jersey City. Henderson wasn’t even in the bigs yet! [Spoiler alert: he also played a half-season in Ogden. Gives you a fun little look into the life of a baseball Hall Of Famer.]
[Available at Amazon and other book sites.] «
#WhatAreWeDOING Playoffs [Most-voted candidate advances to next round; two candidates per week]
» #1 Candidate: Once upon a time, Liangelo Ball made headlines when he didn’t know the lyrics to his own song at halftime of the Detroit Lions NFC Divisional Playoff game. [That was Sunday, by the way.] But, it still didn’t beat out this doofus who pushed his own coach Saturday during the Houston Texans’ 23-14 loss at Kansas City:
You committed the penalty, idiot! It is YOUR fault. Your coach didn’t commit the penalty…
» #2 Candidate: Things are going so well for Paris Olympic athletes that HUNDREDS are returning their medals due to “deterioration”:
How do you give out medals knowing that they’re gonna break down?!
» Vote for the wackiest What Are We Doing in the #WhatAreWeDoing Playoff below:
Frat pledge set on fire won last week’s playoff.
Thanks for reading; be safe and be well. I’ll see ya next time. «