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The 1997-98 University of Utah Men’s basketball team was, in many ways, the pinnacle of basketball here at the U. Sure, the team didn’t end up winning a ring but their run through the Final Four and into the national championship game is still legendary. For those who remember that season it was a magical time to be a fan of the Runnin’ Utes. Just hearing the names – Andre, Doleac, Hanno and Britton, Hansen and Alex – conjures fond memories. We still celebrate that season and what it meant to so many people. Yes, they fell short. We all know that. But it doesn’t diminish what they accomplished and how they were able to come together as a team.   What was it like playing for the legend, Rick Majerus? How did they balance being students and high level athletes? Are they still friends to this day? Now, 25 years later there’s no better group to reminisce about that amazing season than the players who lived it…   Michael Doleac The vibe on our team was excitement for a new year. It was a fun time. Losing Keith (Van Horn) was a huge loss to our team, but we knew we were still good but weren’t sure how good.

Drew Hansen We had a great run to the Elite 8 the year before and nobody was picking us to get back there, but people didn’t realize how good defensively we were. Or how good Doleac and Andre were.   Andre Miller In our group, there wasn’t talk about expectations or what we were « supposed » to do. We were kids going to college. We were committed to just getting better. We never had to talk about it. Guys were just committed. I didn’t go home that summer. Salt Lake was my home and I just wanted to get better.   Hansen We had winners on our team. I’ll say that we were pretty confident from the start.   Miller We went to Europe before the season started and that was definitely a bonding thing for everyone.  

Hanno Möttölä When Majerus recruited me, he promised to bring the team to Europe and Finland if possible and we were able to do that. For me, with no internet or cell phones, I was completely gone from my family for 8-10 months out of the year. It was such a good week and a half over there. We had a lot of fun and we thought we could be something special.   Alex Jensen Early in the season, we played Oregon State in Portland, and they jumped on us. It was one of the few times Majerus was actually calm during a timeout. The feeling was « ok, take a deep breath, we’re gonna win this and we did. » We never got too high or too low.  

Doleac Coach was demanding and that’s just how he was. He was always pushing us to be better. We were 18-0, ranked top five in the country but coach was always saying, « We can be better. We can be better. » It was a balancing act. The reason he was such a good coach is he demanded perfection every second.   Britton Johnsen The first month I didn’t play at all. I was just a freshman and was so skinny. I was trying to gain weight and was in the weight room every day. My knee took a pounding from all the lifting, and it sidelined me for a while.   Majerus was trying to decide if I should redshirt or not. I was frustrated beyond belief. I was in tears sometimes because I wasn’t playing. I was a McDonald’s All-American, but Coach would say, « I don’t even need you this year. » It was hard. I wanted to contribute. I was lucky I had good guys around me because, honestly, they kept me going.   Miller The preparation was there every single moment. As a player we were fearful of the unknown. « We better get after it. » « I better tuck my shirt in. » That fear was a good thing for the structure, and it kept you on your heels. Being coached like that was a good thing for all of us. It taught us how to prepare.   Möttölä Coach was so hard on us that it made us a team. There was no individualism because it wasn’t possible. You couldn’t survive in Majerus’ program if you were like that. There was no hype around our program. We never talked about rankings. To Majerus it didn’t matter and that meant it didn’t matter to us.  

Hansen I remember beating BYU down in Provo and we were undefeated. We didn’t play that well, but we still won the game. I remember the bus ride home and there was this really negative mood on the bus. We were all like, « geez! We just beat BYU in their place. Why aren’t we happy? » It was frustrating.   Doleac I vividly remember beating BYU. We beat our rival and Majerus cussed us out on the bus ride home. That was just his style. Just winning wasn’t good enough. I remember it was a Saturday night and when we got back to Salt Lake we went to my place and blew off some steam and listened to some music and just tried to have some fun. We were college kids.   Jensen The great thing about Majerus – we were undefeated and ranked top five in the country and he gave us a tongue lashing because we should’ve beaten BYU by so much more. At the end of the ride, we went back to Doleac’s house and had a party. (laughs)   Doleac After our first loss of the season (at New Mexico), we were struggling a little bit. Struggling mentally. Coach was pushing us really hard. Drew and I were the captains. We went to coach and told him we weren’t having any fun – we need to shake things up a bit. We were all miserable – this isn’t even fun!   Hansen A few games after Mike and I talked to Majerus about wanting to have more fun, we beat Colorado State. It was something like his 250^th or 300^th win and he got the game ball and said, « you want to have fun? You know what’s fun for me? (expletive) WINNING! »   Johnsen We played for a coach who was a strange dude. There’s no getting around it. He had a kind heart, and he was beyond smart as a coach, but you had to deal with a lot. You needed your team and the assistant coaches to lean on.   A lot of that camaraderie came from being in the trenches together. Doleac was my roommate on the road. He helped me so much. He probably didn’t even know he was helping me. I was a dumb and pouty freshman. In today’s world I would’ve transferred but we figured it out and honestly, we were better for it.  

Miller The group that we had was so mature. We were playful. We knew the difference between horsing around and being student-athletes. We knew we needed to get our schoolwork done. When we practiced, we had to be locked in at all times. We knew we’d be held accountable if we didn’t.   Jensen Nobody wanted to be the guy to let a team down. Very few of us missed games due to injury. There was no social media. We just hung out together. We practiced and then hung out and it was just about basketball. We just wanted to win. We were just college kids. Goofing around and doing practical jokes.   Doleac Looking back on my entire basketball career – those were the best days. Seriously the best. Not playing in the NBA or winning a title. It was my time at Utah. All I thought about was going to class, going to practice and going to meet girls. It was really that simple. We’d watch SportsCenter, get school done and then just hoop. We’d play cards constantly. It’s just what we did. It was a super fun time.   Hansen The banter was always there. Constantly. We all just enjoyed being around each other. Of course, Mike was first-team academic All-America, and I was third-team so Mike never let me forget that he was a « superior student » as well.   We had a lot of fun on the road. Just hanging out and playing video games. We loved going out to eat and it was a spectacularly fun time.   Jensen A defining moment for our team was the first game in the conference tournament because we lost. We took the bus home because there were « supposedly » no flights. There was a snowstorm in Beaver so the ride took forever. We played cards and we all got over the loss and come Monday we were ready to roll.   Johnsen I swear Majerus made us take the bus back from Vegas because we lost. But somehow, he got a flight back. We stopped somewhere and rented the movie Dumb and Dumber because Donny (Daniels) had never seen it and he was on the bus in tears. It really loosened us all up.   Möttölä We played cards and laughed and in some weird way it was a cleansing moment. It’s almost like Majerus planned it. There were « no flights » from Vegas to Salt Lake, I guess. (laughs) That 8–9-hour drive was so great. It really wiped UNLV out of our heads.   We were scared as hell for our next practice. « What is Majerus going to do? » We were expecting to get blasted, but he was so positive and energized and that gave us some good energy.   Miller When it was tournament time, we wanted to go out and execute and be disciplined. We weren’t saying « hey we can make a run to the championship. » Everything was day-to-day and work ethic and preparation. Discipline. We never looked ahead. We were programmed to focus. We had one of the most playful groups but there was a switch we could flip and we’d go after you on the court.  

Doleac I remember being nervous going up against Arkansas because we struggled against pressure. We were big but full court pressure and quick teams were our weak links. The solution was to give the ball to Andre and get out of the way. He was amazing and put us on his back and carried us in that game.   Johnsen That Arkansas game I finally got to show what I could do. Majerus told me to go in and help Andre bring the ball up and it allowed us to break their press. I had a nice dunk in the game, but Andre was amazing. It was a turning point for the team and such a satisfying win.   Hansen Britton gave us some much needed athleticism. We were pretty healthy and confident when the tournament started. We were very business-like. Coach Majerus was such a brilliant defensive coach.   Doleac Going into the Arizona game we were going to try the triangle and 2 defense – coach called it « 66 ». We’d put our two defenders on (Mike) Bibby and (Miles) Simon. Which meant I had to defend Michael Dickerson on the perimeter, and I thought, « this isn’t going to work at all! » (laughing) We hadn’t played zone at all, but we just did what coach told us to do and see what happened if we executed the hell out of it.   Dickerson missed his first two shots and then he stopped shooting. I could just back up and protect the rim and it worked! That defense was incredibly effective because it took them out of what they were doing.   Möttölä We practiced « 66 » literally only 5 minutes the previous season, and our walk-ons killed us when we played it, and we never did it again. We were literally like, « why would you want to do this? » They had such a great team. I don’t know if Majerus had a good lunch or what, but it worked. It was obviously such a genius move. Coach was innovative and very ahead of his time.   We didn’t really know what we were doing but we adapted on the fly. The way we communicated was amazing. We needed to talk and help each other. We got the boards and were able to run.   Hansen We were very confident going into the Arizona game. Doleac said, « We go deep every year. We’re supposed to be here. » Honestly, that helped. But coach had us play the triangle and 2 defense – and it never worked. Even in practice it didn’t work because someone was always wide open. We were so good defensively and it was unnerving to start a game doing something we had never done. Coach dialed it in, and it became clear that defense was going to work. Dickerson air balled some of his first shots and he just didn’t want to shoot after that.   Johnsen We were picked to lose by 20 in that game, but Majerus’ defense worked. As the game got going, Andre was in his mode, and it was crazy. When you have Andre Miller on your team, you will always have a chance.   Möttölä It was such a fun game and Andre was just magical.   Hansen Andre was unleashed against Arizona. His attack mentality permeated the entire group, and it gave us all confidence. We weren’t there to think, « I hope we win. » We were there to take what’s ours. Everyone did their job. We were up 20 with eight minutes left and that was the longest eight minutes of my life.   Johnsen There was five minutes to go and we’re up 24 points. I was saying, « Do you smell the Final Four!? » Alex Jensen was so mad at me for saying that. He lit me up! (laughing)   Jensen We were such a well-oiled machine, but we jumped on Andre’s back, and he led the way. He’s the most underrated point guard in basketball history.   Miller We were prepared for every game. Our coaching staff always made sure we were ready. It didn’t matter if we won by two points or blew them out – none of it was easy. We were so locked in, and when we stepped on the court it was no nonsense. It was not easy to beat them but as a group, we helped each other relieve the pressure. We played hard and just played our game.   Doleac Winning that game and inside the locker room after – it was pure euphoria. We knew were good and we knew they were good, but wow we just beat the defending champs so handily. We were going to the Final Four! It was the dream for every college basketball player.  

Johnsen I had never been in a game where we all clicked so well. There has never been a more fun moment than being in that locker room after the game. We had soda cans and just sprayed soda on everyone chanting, « Final Four! »   Hansen It was complete exhilaration. The locker room after was crazy. We were spraying soda everywhere and everyone was soaking wet. It was surreal.   I kept the ball from that game and still have it. I offered to give it back to Majerus but told him he had to give it back to me in his will and he smiled and said, « just keep it. »   Möttölä To this day, I have a photo of us in the locker room after the Arizona game in my man cave. It’s the single happiest moment of my basketball career. It doesn’t get better than that.   Miller I was a big basketball fan as a kid and love the history of basketball but I never thought about being on that level. It was surreal to get an opportunity to play in that moment. We were having so much fun playing basketball. It was a SPECIAL GROUP of players from different cultures and backgrounds.   Jensen When Majerus came to my house for a recruiting visit. I was 18 and didn’t know anything. I asked him about getting to a Final Four and he belly laughed and said, « well that depends on you. »   Doleac We had Majerus so we knew it was back to work on Monday to prep for North Carolina.  

Johnsen Majerus was total preparation. You had to know every detail on every scouting report. You had to memorize the chart on every player.   Jensen The thing about Majerus is he really had no equal with preparation. It was highly detailed. We were organized and everyone knew their role and we were a machine. They were superior athletically and (Antawn) Jamison was the player of the year, so we had to make it hard for them. Being in that game and in that stadium, it was surreal. It was hard to believe and you kind of had to pinch yourself.   Johnsen I was sort of a sixth man and didn’t start and I’m sitting there looking around and waiting to go in the game in this huge Alamo Dome. That arena was just enormous. Seriously, massive. Once I got in and touched the ball things start feeling normal.   We got a lead and it was, « holy crap we’re playing great basketball. »   Hansen That Carolina game was sheer joy. In my mind, beating UNC was better than beating Arizona. We played man to man the whole game and shut them down in our true traditional defense.   Doleac My memory from that game was how good we were defensively. We put on a clinic with our man-to-man defense. We were so in sync. Whoever was on the court moved as one defensively. It was the best defensive game we played in my entire career.   Möttölä We were in no way a « Cinderella. » We were Gonzaga before Gonzaga. We were a top 10 team for three years in a row and we knew we belonged, and that win was so satisfying for everyone.

Doleac We celebrated after beating Carolina but it we were all business. We had to go prepare for Kentucky.   Hansen The championship game was probably the biggest regret that I have. I wasn’t healthy and a half step late on everything I had to get a cortisone shot just to be able to play. We had some uncharacteristic turnovers. We were up 10 but should’ve been up 20. I don’t cry a lot, but I cried after that game. In part because my career was over, but we were the better team. We all knew it.  

Jensen We were banged up going into that Kentucky game. No excuses but we were banged up. Just the emotion of it all – after the game, everyone had a few tears. Looking back, it’s one of the greatest feelings and one of the worst feelings.   I’ve never watched that game. I can’t. My wife had the game on one time and (laughing) I said, « turn that off! »   Möttölä That loss was so tough to swallow. I still think about it. I have never watched that game and probably never will. That last 3 minutes still haunts me. But I’m so proud of that team.   Johnsen Yeah, I’ve watched it. It definitely still stings to this day but it is what it is. I was a freshman and thought, « I’ll be back. » That’s the thing about college basketball or really any team – you just never know if you’ll get another chance.   Jensen It was an amazing thing what we did, but even though we were #2 in the country and made a deep run there’s still a big « what if » for all of us. None of us look back and think we made it. But it was the friendships and the camaraderie that will always tie us together and that’s what made it special.   Miller I was blessed to be around some good dudes and great teammates and coaches that I consider my brothers. It felt like a dream. Now, we’re all grown up and if you see how we look you’d say, « you guys played basketball?! » Now that we’re older we can look back and reminisce.  

Doleac Those three weeks were the most fun I’ve ever had playing basketball. Even ending on a down note like we did. That stung for a while, and it really hurt. But in all my experiences in basketball, that was the highlight. Those are guys I still talk to. That’s who I think about. That’s what makes me smile when I look back.   Hansen I’m so grateful for that experience. It was the most fun I’ve ever had. It was surreal. I love my teammates – we’re like siblings. It could be years without seeing each other and it’s like no time has passed. All of us have a special bond. Part of it is because of the winning and part of it was we just liked each other.   Johnsen It was only three weeks of my life, but people still talk about it. Yeah, we didn’t win it all but they were moments that I’ll never forget. I was just at breakfast today and someone asked me what it was like to play in the Final Four. When you’re part of something like that, it’s special.   Miller We stay in touch. Everybody has families but I can tell you – the brotherhood that we had – once or twice a week we are all thinking about each other. A text every now and then, it’s not that consistent but we are always thinking about each other. The experience that we had at Utah – I use it in my daily life. What I developed in college – the work ethic, the respect – that’s what I learned at Utah and from the moment I wake up every day I think about it.   Möttölä The friendships we made – that’s what I still hold with me. We can go five years without talking or seeing each other and when we do it’s like we didn’t miss a day. It was a deeper relationship because of the things we went through. The camaraderie was special, and it still is. It still carries me after all these years. When I talk to these guys it feels so good. There’s something special there.   Johnsen We didn’t win the championship, but the stars aligned with that group. It was such a great group of people.   Doleac We had so many great teammates and had a foundation. I think back constantly to all four years and the group of guys we had. The dumb stuff we did. Being kids and growing into men. We get together every few years – not as often as we should – but we laugh and tell stories about coach, and it’s so great.   Jensen I still consider that core group of guys my best friends. The genius of Majerus was you have to come together to survive. It’s funny, you won’t see anyone for a couple years and you get together and it’s like you’ve been with each other.   Doleac Coach Majerus was the best coach I ever played for. I learned more from him than any other. He cared about me more than any other coach. He stepped up and helped me off the court and there’s no way our team would’ve been what it was without him. He was so demanding but we all know so much about basketball because of him.  

Jensen Coaching and whatever I’m teaching guys now – I learned it in college. I learned it from Majerus. That time is always in mind, and I always think about the lessons I learned at Utah.   Johnsen Majerus ruined me. I’m in the NBA and playing for Doc Rivers my rookie year and I’m like « that’s not how you guard the pick and roll?! » It was sort of a curse!   Möttölä I think about how Majerus would’ve adapted in today’s game. He would’ve been amazing thinking of new things to do and new schemes.   Majerus was amazing and a genius but none of this would’ve happened without our assistant coaches Jeff Judkins and Donny Daniels too. They were the ones that kept us together and were approachable. They helped us more than I can say.   Miller We came from different families and different homes. They recruited high character people, and our coaches did an awesome job. Donny Daniels and Jeff Judkins – they were amazing and great friends to this day.   I’m forever connected to the school. If I have nowhere else to go, I can go to Salt Lake City and there’s someone I had a relationship with. A teammate, a coach, a professor. I can always go back to Utah and reach out and bring back those memories and will always have that and it’s special.   The BEST thing about the experience – we were able to connect as people. Basketball is basketball but the connection we made and still have to this day is what it’s all about.