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College basketball: Rick Majerus dead at 64
Associated Press
Posted: 12/01/2012 07:53:17 PM PST
Updated: 12/01/2012 08:06:03 PM PST
Rick Majerus, the jovial coach who led Utah to the 1998 NCAA final and had only one losing season in 25 years with four schools, died Saturday. He was 64.
Utah industrialist Jon Huntsman, the coach's longtime friend, confirmed in a statement released through The Salt Lake Tribune that Majerus died of heart failure in a Los Angeles hospital. The coach had been hospitalized there for several months.
Players remembered Majerus as a coach who was exacting and perhaps a bit unorthodox at times, but always fair.
"It was a unique experience, I'll tell you that, and I loved every minute of it," said Saint Louis guard Kyle Cassity, who was mostly a backup on last season's 26-win team after starting for Majerus earlier in his college career.
"A lot of people questioned the way he did things, but I loved it. He'd be hard as hell on you, but he really cared."
The school announced Nov. 19 that Majerus wouldn't return to Saint Louis because of the heart condition. He ended the school's 12-year NCAA tournament drought last season and bounced back from his only losing season, with a team that won its opening game and took top regional seed Michigan State to the wire. The Billikens were ranked for the first time since 1994-95.
Majerus was undergoing evaluation and treatment in California for the ongoing heart trouble, and the school announced he was on leave in late August.
Majerus had a history of heart problems dating to 1989
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that persisted despite a daily constitutional of a one-mile swim. He had a stent inserted in August 2011 in Salt Lake City.
Majerus was 95-69 in five seasons at Saint Louis and had a 25-year record of 517-216. He had his most success at Utah, going 323-95 from 1989-2004. He was at Marquette from 1983-86, and Ball State from 1987-89.
Majerus took 12 teams to the NCAA tournament and four to the NIT, with the 1998 Utah team losing to Kentucky in the NCAA championship game.
"It's a sad day for college basketball," UNLV coach Dave Rice said.
Kentucky 64, Baylor 55: Kentu
Associated Press
Posted: 12/01/2012 07:53:17 PM PST
Updated: 12/01/2012 08:06:03 PM PST
Rick Majerus, the jovial coach who led Utah to the 1998 NCAA final and had only one losing season in 25 years with four schools, died Saturday. He was 64.
Utah industrialist Jon Huntsman, the coach's longtime friend, confirmed in a statement released through The Salt Lake Tribune that Majerus died of heart failure in a Los Angeles hospital. The coach had been hospitalized there for several months.
Players remembered Majerus as a coach who was exacting and perhaps a bit unorthodox at times, but always fair.
"It was a unique experience, I'll tell you that, and I loved every minute of it," said Saint Louis guard Kyle Cassity, who was mostly a backup on last season's 26-win team after starting for Majerus earlier in his college career.
"A lot of people questioned the way he did things, but I loved it. He'd be hard as hell on you, but he really cared."
The school announced Nov. 19 that Majerus wouldn't return to Saint Louis because of the heart condition. He ended the school's 12-year NCAA tournament drought last season and bounced back from his only losing season, with a team that won its opening game and took top regional seed Michigan State to the wire. The Billikens were ranked for the first time since 1994-95.
Majerus was undergoing evaluation and treatment in California for the ongoing heart trouble, and the school announced he was on leave in late August.
Majerus had a history of heart problems dating to 1989
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that persisted despite a daily constitutional of a one-mile swim. He had a stent inserted in August 2011 in Salt Lake City.
Majerus was 95-69 in five seasons at Saint Louis and had a 25-year record of 517-216. He had his most success at Utah, going 323-95 from 1989-2004. He was at Marquette from 1983-86, and Ball State from 1987-89.
Majerus took 12 teams to the NCAA tournament and four to the NIT, with the 1998 Utah team losing to Kentucky in the NCAA championship game.
"It's a sad day for college basketball," UNLV coach Dave Rice said.
Kentucky 64, Baylor 55: Kentu
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