One of the more surprising coaching moves in college basketball came a but prematurely this season when Utah basketball fired head coach Craig Smith on Feb. 24. Smith was let go with just four games to go in the regular season with the Utes quickly falling out of NCAA Tournament contention.
Now, just over a week later, the Utes are closing in on Smith’s replacement. Current Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Alex Jensen has emerged as the frontrunner for the Utah head coaching job, according to Jeff Goodman of Field of 68.
“The frontrunner for the Utah job is Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Alex Jensen and a deal could be done in the next day or two, sources told @TheFieldOf68,” Goodman reported on X.
Jensen has longtime ties to not only the program in Salt Lake City but to basketball in the state of Utah. He played for the Utes in 1994-95 and from 1997-2000 after returning from a Latter-day Saint mission. Jensen was a star in the 1998 NCAA Tournament, making the All-West Regional Team while helping lead Utah to the National Championship Game where it lost to Kentucky.
Jensen continued to grow into stardom at Utah and was named Mountain West Player of the Year as a senior in 2000.
The Utah native had a seven-year playing career overseas before retuning to the United States as a coach. He became an assistant for the Utah Jazz in 2013 and stayed there for a decade, eventually leaving for the Dallas Mavericks. He is currently in his second season on Jason Kidd’s staff in Dallas and was instantly a top candidate for the Utah job as soon as it came open.
The Utes have been competitive in Big 12 play this season, but Jensen will have a lot of work to do to get them back into the NCAA Tournament after what will be nine straight seasons missing out on the Big Dance barring a miracle run in the conference tournament. He will have to replace leading scorer Gabe Madsen, who is graduating at the end of the season.
Even with the impending roster turnover, Utah fans should be confident in Jensen’s track record and his ability to bring his alma mater back to national prominence.
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