Conflicted Boylen picks Jazz in 6
Brad Rock
He worked with Hakeem the Dream, Clyde the Glide and Sir Charles.
University of Utah basketball coach Jim Boylen was a Rocket for 13 years.
Which makes it understandable why he would stumble and fumble a bit on Friday when asked which team he wants to win the Jazz-Houston playoff series.
"Ahhh, ohhhh, ummmm, gosh ... it's not easy for me, to be honest with you," he said.
After which he noted that as a former Rockets assistant coach, he has many fond memories. At the same time, he is a good friend of Jazz coach Jerry Sloan and personnel director Kevin O'Connor.
And he's taking the Jazz in six.
"As they go down that road, I'm really hoping for the Jazz. It's just that when you work for someone for 13 years, it's hard (to choose)," he added.
But that doesn't mean he can't root for a seven-game series.
"I like to see seven-game series because I want to see basketball go as deep as I can," he said. "When basketball ends in June, it's kind of depressing."
In the process, studying the Jazz became second nature. They were in the same division throughout the '90s, usually battling for the top spot. Houston beat the Jazz 4-1 in the 1994 Western Conference Finals, 3-2 in the first round the next year. But in 1997, the Jazz beat Houston 4-2, thanks to Stockton's buzzer-beater to advance to the NBA Finals.
"It broke my heart," said Boylen. "The thing I remember about the Jazz is how they were able to take advantage of every mistake you make."
Along the way, Boylen became a fan of Sloan.
"If you look back at our series with the Jazz, those games were meat grinders, they were gut-wrenching," Boylen continued.
He said after the Rockets beat Utah in 1995, Sloan came to the Houston locker room and shook hands with players and coaches.
"He told us best of luck and that we did a heck of a job and that we'd represent the conference well. It wasn't like, 'Hey, we didn't play well or we missed free throws' — none of that crap. That impacted me so much. He comes in and I'm 30 or so, and he's a hero of mine, and to see that respect for an opponent stuck with me. I'll be a fan of the Jazz forever."
Boylen, of course, is a fan of hoops of all sorts. If basketball were a classroom, he'd be sitting in front with a clean notepad and a sharp pencil. When the teacher said, "Questions, anyone?" Boylen would already have his arm in the air.
Recent comments
and you my friend, the dude who posted at 1:56 is why everyone around...
Anonymous | April 27, 2008 at 1:25 p.m.
"He told us best of luck and that we did a heck of a job and...
Anonymous | April 26, 2008 at 10:37 a.m.
I think it is very easy for many Jazz fans to be great Ute fans because...
More common thought | April 26, 2008 at 10:35 a.m.
