Morning Jazz 04-28-14

A great weekend for the NBA Playoffs this weekend, however, as most of you have already heard by now, the comments by Clippers owner Donald Sterling overshadowed the games a bit. Not a lot of Jazz related news this weekend, but here is what we’ve got for you in today’s “Morning Jazz” segment.

Season in review: Jeremy Evans (via Purpleandblues.com)

Gordon Hayward’s best friend on the team really found his niche for the Utah Jazz this season.  Jeremy Evans averaged double the minutes per game than his previous best averaging just over 18 a game.  His best game on the last night of the season where he scored 18 and grabbed 11 boards while adding 3 blocks and 3 steals in 38 minutes of play.  With those minutes he averaged 6.1 points and 4.7 rebounds on 52.7% shooting.  His rebounding rate was impressive as he tripled his rebounds per game from the previous year.

Improvements:

Not only was his rebounding better but his physical build was better which allowed him to bang inside a little bit more.  He still has a ways to go with how shinny he is, but the definition and a little size was added from the previous season. (Continue reading here)

Utah Jazz: Is Stockton the answer? (via ISportsWeb.com)

It’s been six days since the Utah Jazz announced that they would not renew the contract of former head coach Ty Corbin. The coaching search has been in full swing since then, with names like Jim Boylen, Ettore Messina and Jeff Van Gundy being thrown into the rumor mill for the position.

Last Thursday, Spencer Checketts, host of Salt Lake City’s 1280 “The Zone” radio show, announced via his twitter feed that another name had been added to the potential candidate pool, one whose name still reverberates off of the majestic Wasatch Mountains into the ears and hearts of Jazz fans across the state. That man … John Stockton.

For the past 11 years, Stockton has enjoyed his retirement in the solitude of his quiet home in Spokane, WA. Far away from the prying eyes of the league and his legion of fans, Stockton enjoyed being with his family and watching his two sons play the game that turned him into a basketball icon. His elder son, Michael, returned to his father’s stomping grounds in Salt Lake City to play college ball for Westminster College; while his younger son, David, played at Gonzaga, his dad’s alma mater.

Now that his kids are out of the house, his body and mind are well rested and his life has become simply ordinary, it seems to be the perfect time for Stockton to come back to the game and coach the team that made him a living legend. (Continue reading here)

Jim Boylen’s a good guy, but it’d be a surprise if he’s the next Jazz coach (via DeseretNews.com)

Imagine the following resume for the new coach of the Utah Jazz:

NBA assistant for 17 years. … Coached under Rudy Tomjanovich, including two NBA championship seasons. … Top assistant for Gregg Popovich when Popovich won NBA Coach of the Year honors and had best record in NBA. … Coached at Michigan State for seven years, five under Jud Heathcote and two under Tom Izzo. … Four years as a head coach at a major university with an overall winning record and an NCAA tournament appearance.

Most Jazz fans would be ecstatic to get such a coach to replace Tyrone Corbin, who had just seven years as an NBA assistant and no head coaching experience before becoming the Jazz’s coach.

Except there’s one more thing to add to the resume — the name.

Jim Boylen.

If you haven’t noticed by now, Boylen’s name is being thrown around by various media folk as a top candidate for the open Jazz head coaching job. Most of the talk comes from out-of-state journalists. Fueling the rumors are Boylen’s seven-year working relationship with Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey and his long NBA history. (Continue reading here)

Italian coach Ettore Messina among team’s candidates (via SaltLakeTribune.com)

Travis Hansen never liked to play against him.

Ettore Messina’s teams were always so talented, so physical and so well coached. So Hansen, the former BYU standout who spent nearly a decade playing professionally in Europe, was never excited to see them on the schedule.

“You hated to play against him,” Hansen says. “You absolutely hated it because most likely you’d lose.”

Messina, a 54-year-old Italian, is a basketball coaching legend and, after a career that has included bringing championships to teams in Italy, Spain and Russia, a perennial favorite to become the first foreign-born coach to lead an NBA franchise.

Could the Utah Jazz be the team to finally make that historical hire? (Continue reading here)

For more Utah Jazz coverage, be sure to check back with The J Notes tomorrow for another edition of the “Morning Jazz”. Also be sure to check out our coverage of the NBA Playoffs.