KoriEllis
09-26-2003, 09:40 AM
Jazz: Camp will open with younger team
By Steve Luhm
www.sltrib.com/2003/Sep/0.../95972.asp (http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Sep/09262003/sports/95972.asp)
The Salt Lake Tribune
Matt Harpring, Andrei Kirilenko and Greg Ostertag top a list of 19 players who will open training camp with the Utah Jazz.
Only two players over the age of 30 -- Ostertag and John Amaechi -- are included on the roster, which was released Thursday afternoon.
The Jazz open camp Wednesday in Salt Lake City.
Only six players who spent most of last season on Utah's active roster return. The group is headed by Harpring, Kirilenko and Ostertag. They started a combined 154 games last season. Harpring (17.6) and Kirilenko (12.0) were the Jazz's second- and third-leading scorers behind Karl Malone, who signed a free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Lakers during the offseason.
Ostertag, 30, returns for his ninth season and is Utah's most experienced player. Last year, he averaged 5.4 points and 6.2 rebounds, third on the team behind in rebounding Malone (7.8) and Harpring (6.6).
Also on the training camp roster are returning veterans DeShawn Stevenson, Carlos Arroyo and John Amaechi. At 33, Amaechi is Utah's oldest player.
Three veterans who spent most of the last season on the injured list will be back, including third-year center/forward Jarron Collins, as well as rookies Raul Lopez and Curtis Borchardt. Collins and Lopez are coming off knee surgery. Borchardt missed all of last season with a broken foot.
Four players with NBA experience will be playing in Utah for the first time.
Keon Clark, acquired in an offseason trade with Sacramento, figures to be a key member of this year's Jazz. Forward Michael Ruffin, guard Lavor Postell and center Paul Grant are also on the preseason roster.
Utah's two picks from the 2003 NBA draft will get their first taste of professional basketball in training camp. Sasha Pavlovic, an 18-year-old forward from Serbia-Montenegro, was the Jazz's first-round selection. Maurice Williams, a point guard prospect from Alabama who played well in the Rocky Mountain Revue summer league, was Utah's second-round pick.
Arroyo, Lopez and Williams will be battling for minutes at point guard following the retirement of John Stockton.
Four rookie free agents round out the training camp roster. The group includes Weber State point guard Jermaine Boyette, Western Michigan's Ben Handlogton, North Carolina's Ademola Okulaja and Alabama's Demetrius Alexander.
The Jazz open their eight-game preseason schedule Oct. 5 against Dallas in Mexico City. The regular-season opener is Oct. 29 against Portland at the Delta Center.
By Steve Luhm
www.sltrib.com/2003/Sep/0.../95972.asp (http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Sep/09262003/sports/95972.asp)
The Salt Lake Tribune
Matt Harpring, Andrei Kirilenko and Greg Ostertag top a list of 19 players who will open training camp with the Utah Jazz.
Only two players over the age of 30 -- Ostertag and John Amaechi -- are included on the roster, which was released Thursday afternoon.
The Jazz open camp Wednesday in Salt Lake City.
Only six players who spent most of last season on Utah's active roster return. The group is headed by Harpring, Kirilenko and Ostertag. They started a combined 154 games last season. Harpring (17.6) and Kirilenko (12.0) were the Jazz's second- and third-leading scorers behind Karl Malone, who signed a free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Lakers during the offseason.
Ostertag, 30, returns for his ninth season and is Utah's most experienced player. Last year, he averaged 5.4 points and 6.2 rebounds, third on the team behind in rebounding Malone (7.8) and Harpring (6.6).
Also on the training camp roster are returning veterans DeShawn Stevenson, Carlos Arroyo and John Amaechi. At 33, Amaechi is Utah's oldest player.
Three veterans who spent most of the last season on the injured list will be back, including third-year center/forward Jarron Collins, as well as rookies Raul Lopez and Curtis Borchardt. Collins and Lopez are coming off knee surgery. Borchardt missed all of last season with a broken foot.
Four players with NBA experience will be playing in Utah for the first time.
Keon Clark, acquired in an offseason trade with Sacramento, figures to be a key member of this year's Jazz. Forward Michael Ruffin, guard Lavor Postell and center Paul Grant are also on the preseason roster.
Utah's two picks from the 2003 NBA draft will get their first taste of professional basketball in training camp. Sasha Pavlovic, an 18-year-old forward from Serbia-Montenegro, was the Jazz's first-round selection. Maurice Williams, a point guard prospect from Alabama who played well in the Rocky Mountain Revue summer league, was Utah's second-round pick.
Arroyo, Lopez and Williams will be battling for minutes at point guard following the retirement of John Stockton.
Four rookie free agents round out the training camp roster. The group includes Weber State point guard Jermaine Boyette, Western Michigan's Ben Handlogton, North Carolina's Ademola Okulaja and Alabama's Demetrius Alexander.
The Jazz open their eight-game preseason schedule Oct. 5 against Dallas in Mexico City. The regular-season opener is Oct. 29 against Portland at the Delta Center.