Meet
Utah v. Stars Charity Classic
Posted by: Lowery Johnson on November 7th, 2011
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.Utah Jazz players played with and against other NBA players Monday evening at SLCC’s Lifetime Activity Center for the sake of charity.
Jazz favorites such as Paul Millsap, CJ Miles and Ronnie Price took the floor to showcase their talents in front of nearly 3000 fans.
Utah fans also saw the debut of 2011 draft pick Enes Kanter, who left the game late into the first quarter after getting elbowed in the mouth and receiving eight stitches in his lip and chin.
Alec Burks jumped in the game with energy. He seemed timid. While his confidence may not be up to par, his talent is.
Ronnie Price, Derrick Favors and Jeremy Evans showcased their dunking abilities while Stephen Curry, Paul Millsap, and CJ Miles showed off their 3-point shooting.
Wesley Mathews and Jimmer Fredette were among fan favorites on the Stars. Mathews, as expected, has grown up a lot since leaving Utah. His game is stronger, he’s bigger, and his skill set is improving.
Fredette seemed uncomfortable on the floor despite being back in Utah. He put up a couple good shots and seemed to enjoy the fans.
All of the players who participated look as though they’ve put it a lot of work during the off season and through the lockout. I wasn’t expecting everyone to be in such good shape but was pleasantly surprised to see that physically the players seemed ready for the season.
Ronnie Price was as energetic as ever, and also had quite the beard growing. He never lets fans down with his insane speed and athleticism.
Less than 5 personal fouls were called through the entire game. It was great to see the guys just play. No strict rules, no whistles after every play. It allowed for rushes of momentum. The passion for the game was palpable.
Miles tweeted prior to the game that he was going to use his phone on the floor, which he held true to. In a regulation NBA game players are fined for such behavior. Miles tweeted fans, talked with teammates, and kept his phone at the bench.
Utah ended the game on top taking the win.
The best part of the game for me had to be the smiles on all the players’ faces. No one left that game frustrated. All the guys had great chemistry. They hit the floor ready to have fun and give fans a great show.
The proceeds from the game went to the Make a Wish Foundation, the Special Olympics and other good causes.
Maybe they should cancel the NBA season and players can just start a charity league. I mean, that is not necessarily realistic, but I have to say it was worth the 45 bucks I paid for my seat.
This game was a reminder to me that no matter if it’s in a front row seat in the arena, from my living room sofa, or in a community college gym, basketball is a great sport. The sooner the lockout is over the more I can enjoy seeing some of the most entertaining players in the league play a game they clearly enjoy.
Replies: 11
Views: 866
11 Responses
What’s the frown for?
Heard about this after it was over.
Good post! I’ve been looking all over for stats on this game. Do you or ANYONE else know where I can find them? Even better does anyone know where a video or highlights of the game may be?
aw. man I’m sorry Colten.
Chase: My best bet would be on Sltrib.com They had reporters covering the game. :]
How do you find out about these things? I didn’t even know!!! haha
Thanks for posting this Lowery. I had so much fun at this game. I have never been so close to the players, only 5 rows up from the floor. I thought Alec Burks was great and Jeremy Evans was so much fun. Wish we could have seen more of Enes Kanter. Some of Stephen Curry’s shots were unbeievable. Not much defense, but that’s to be expected for this kind of game. A real thrill for me was after the game both Wesley Matthews and CJ came out and walked around the arena, talked to the waiting fans, signed autographs and posed for pictures, all the time with big smiles on their faces. In fact it breaks my heart a little more every time I see Wesley and realize he could have been ours. It slso showed me that there is still a great deal of excitement for Utah JAzz basketball.
@Jazmin Twitter! Follow @tribjazz and @utahjazz they have all the day to day information on the team. :]
@Deb Oh I wish I had of known you went Deb. It sounds like you loved it as much as I did. I left a little to early though. I should have stuck around!
The frown is for these Jerks/trollers. Jazz need about a dozen people to take turns to be moderators and this nonsense would not even make it on the screen.
Better L.K. ?
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