Bogut honoured by Utes

Australian Basketballer Andrew Bogut

It took less than a year for Andrew Bogut’s US college team, the Utah Utes, to honour the NBA’s newest No.1 draft pick.

During halftime of the Utes’ games against Air Force at the Huntsman Centre in Salt Lake City, Utah hung the Australian’s No.4 jersey from the rafters, retiring his number as a show of respect and appreciation for the success he brought to not only himself, but to the team.

During his sophomore season, and before electing to enter the 2005 NBA draft, Bogut led Utah to a 29-6 record and earned his team a trip to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 where the best college teams in the nation face off.

The seven-footer ranked 19th in the NCAA in scoring with an average of 20.4 points per game, second in rebounding at 12.2 per game, and eighth in field goal percentage at 62 per cent.

It was these numbers and his on-court leadership that led him to be named the consensus National Player of the Year, earning all five awards recognised by the NCAA: John R. Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy, Associated Press Player of the Year, USBWA Oscar Robertson Trohpy, and NABC Division I Player of the Year.

Despite playing just two years for the Utes, Bogut finished his Utah career ranked 27th in scoring with 1,126 points, ninth in scoring average at 16.6 points per game, 10th in total rebounds with 753, seventh in rebounding average at 11.1 boards per game, second in field goal percentage at 60.3 per cent, and equal fourth in blocked shots with 109.

The Aussie is the seventh player in Utes history to have his jersey retired, and it came less than a year after he played his last game for the Utes – a loss to Kentucky in the NCAA regional semi-finals.

“This is emotional for me,” said the towering Aussie.

“It’s unbelievable, my jersey being retired. It’s something I’ll remember forever. It was shocking, how quickly it happened.

“I only spent [two] seasons here, but it was an incredibly memorable time for me. When I look back at the struggles I had to go through to play basketball in Australia, I see that I’ve come a long way.”

The Utes’ hero was given several rousing ovations as he stood by and watched his No.4 jersey being revealed in the rafters.

Bogut is currently two-thirds of the way through his first season in the NBA and, averaging 9.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, has been a solid contributor for the Milwaukee Bucks’ push for a spot in the play-offs.

In his most recent outing during the NBA’s All-Star weekend in Houston, the No.1 pick had 14 points and 11 rebounds in 32 minutes for the Rookie team in its 106-96 loss to the Sophomores.

After coaching against him in the NBA Rookie challenge, Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Del Harris, a veteran around the NBA, tipped Bogut to produce great achievements over his career.

“You don’t see rookie players have a feel for the game that he has,” Harris told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “The guy is amazing in his ability to guard two positions (centre and power forward).”

In less than a season in the NBA, Bogut has already proven to be a solid player. In the next couple of years he could become an exceptional one.

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