Bogut overrated!?! Hey, Larry, you don't know this guy after all

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Apr 18, 2005 | by Mike Sorensen Deseret Morning News

There's plenty to talk about in the sports world these days, with basketball, baseball, soccer and spring football all going on at the same time . . .

So Larry Miller thinks Andrew Bogut is overrated, even though everyone else in the organization -- those who really know basketball talent -- disagrees. That's fine to express his opinion, even if it is against NBA rules. But I have to laugh about his comment on Bogut that "in tough situations, he disappears." Hmmm. Doesn't that sound exactly like a certain big guy who starred for the Jazz for 18 years? . . .

As one of a handful of people who saw Bogut play more than 60 games in person the past two years, I respectfully disagree with Miller's assessment of Bogut. With his tremendous passing ability, his vacuum-cleaner-like rebounding ability and 3-point shooting potential, Bogut looks like a can't-miss NBA prospect . . .

Also, I never noticed Bogut backing down from challenging situations. He just happened to have a poor final game against Kentucky. If Miller is talking down Bogut so the Jazz can pick someone else if they have a choice, that will be a big mistake. Bogut will be playing in the NBA for a long time, and if the Jazz are lucky, it will be for them . . .

Wow, this is almost as exciting as the years the Jazz were trying to move up in the final standings before the playoffs began. Only this year, we're all hoping the Jazz will lose, so they can get a better spot in the NBA Draft. I know teams should always try to do their best and win. But I can recall a few games late in past seasons when the Jerry Sloan would rest his starters late in the season in preparation for the playoffs. Couldn't the Jazz "rest" Matt Harpring and Mehmet Okur the rest of the season in preparation for the lottery? . . .

It's not often a coach can double his salary after a 9-21 season like Steve Cleveland did by taking the Fresno State job. But for the mess he's getting into at Fresno State, he better be compensated well. It's a smart move for Fresno State, which has never gotten over the hiring of Jerry Tarkanian. The school needs to clean up its image and Cleveland is a good choice to do that. Whether he can become a consistent winner there is another question . . .

Give Fresno State credit for judging Cleveland on his whole record and not just his most recent mark. Most coaches are hired by what they've done lately. Just ask Ray Giacoletti. If the Utah job had opened a year or two earlier he wouldn't have even been on the radar screen. And if it opened a year later, he likely wouldn't have been a candidate either, although he probably would have done better than Eastern Washington's 8-20 record this year. However, last year he was coming off a league championship and NCAA tournament berth and Utah took notice . . .

Kind of like Cleveland did, 22 years ago Jerry Pimm surprisingly left Utah for California and a conference a step below his own. But at least Pimm went to Santa Barbara, not Fresno . . .

Dave Rose may be the right man for the BYU basketball job. But it's interesting how the school took several months to find an athletic director and dragged its feet on finding a football coach, but took just two days to find a basketball coach . . .

I'll admit I like the Red Sox better than the Yankees, but that has nothing to do with my opinion of the Gary Sheffield vs. Stupid Fan incident last week. For Sheffield to brag about showing great restraint was a bit much. After all, he did shove the fan back even before throwing the ball back to the infield. And Joe Torre's comment about how the fan shouldn't be allowed to walk the streets was absurd. Of course fans should never touch players, but in the replays I saw it looked more like a graze by the fan than a premeditated punch or hit, as some have characterized it . . .

And finally, kudos to Real Salt Lake for getting off to a great start Saturday with a large crowd witnessing an exciting win for the home team. Let's see if the fans are still coming out in droves in August and September when the attention of local fans turns toward college football.

E-mail: sor@desnews.com