Utah hired Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Alex Jensen to be its men’s basketball coach on Thursday.
Jensen, who was the top target for the Utes, replaces Craig Smith, who was fired in late February in his fourth season at Utah. Jensen has been an NBA assistant coach for 12 seasons. He spent 10 years with the Utah Jazz before joining Dallas in 2023. Utah will be his first head coaching job since leading the Canton Charge in the NBA D-League from 2011-13.
Jensen was a former player at Utah under Rick Majerus, playing with the Utes in the 1994-95 season and then from 1997-2000 following a two-year break for missionary work. He totaled 1,279 points and 896 rebounds over four seasons at Utah. As a senior, he earned first-team All-MWC honors while averaging 13.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.
This marks Jensen’s first coaching job in the collegiate ranks since serving as an assistant coach under Majerus at Saint Louis from 2007-11.
Jensen will be tasked with rebuilding the Utes into a contender in the Big 12 Conference and getting the school back to the NCAA Tournament. Utah hasn’t reached the NCAA Tournament since the 2015-16 season and made a single NIT appearance in Smith’s four seasons.
This story was written by John Coon of the Associated Press
