Read the history of Utah basketball and try to rationalize why we don't deserve better than Ray Giacoletti.
- 10th winningest program in college basketball history (by winning percentage). Ahead of Illinois, Louisville, Arizona, Indiana and Notre Dame.
- 1944 NCAA Champions. Ok, if Texas A&M can talk about their football championship in 1939, Utah can talk about theirs in 1944. The Utes are also the last non-power conference team to make the national championship game, when they lost to Kentucky in 1998.
- 26 Tournament appearances. A tournament record of 35-29 (.547). That ranks 13th in the NCAA.
- Utah has won 28 conference championships, ranked 5th all-time. Utah's 11 since 1990 is the best in the nation.
- Coaching pedigree. The winningest coach in Utah history isn't even the most known (Vadal Peterson). The Utes have one coach in the basketball hall of fame (Jack Gardner) and are sure to get another one in with Rick Majerus. Bill Foster, the architect of Duke's current run under Coach K, came through Salt Lake City and Jerry Pimm was widely successful in the 70s and 80s. Even Archibald, who was fired before Majerus arrived, won. How's Giacoletti fit into all of this? Well he's threatening to become the first coach since Bill Foster to have back-to-back losing seasons. That was 1971 through 1973. Foster had inherited a declining program at the time and in his third year put together an amazing season that nearly ended with an NIT Championship.
- Since 1975 the Utes have made 9 Sweet Sixteens, a mark that ranks 15th in the NCAA currently.
Isn't it time we have a coach that reflects the rich history of Utah basketball? I think so and hope that change is made in the coming weeks. Utah deserves better than what it's getting out of Giacoletti, especially with the fact he's admitted he is completely lost out there and doesn't have a clue what to do.
Giacoletti promised an exciting Utah team that would play with high energy and score a lot of points this season. Well I guess if you can call a 5-8 team exciting, he was right. I do find it suspicious though he never discussed winning. Rick Majerus often won ugly, but he won. I'll take a 58-25 victory that turned into a defensive battle over a 79-81 loss.