The Alex Jensen hiring has been almost unanimously praised among the Utah faithful, and the hype surrounding the future of the once-storied program has only increased since his introductory press conference.
However, before Jensen decided to return to his alma mater, he was an assistant coach with the Jazz for 10 seasons before taking the same role with the Dallas Mavericks where he will finish out the season before fully conducting his duties with the Runnin' Utes.
During his time with the Jazz, he developed now Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert into one of the best defenders in the league, and when asked about the hiring, Gobert had nothing but praise for his former mentor.
"I was happy for him. It's like a full-circle moment for him, he played there when he was younger, and him coming back home with his family which is really close to me, it's like family to me too so it's really exciting," Gobert said.
"He's really competitive which is something that people don't really know about him, but he's really competitive, and I love that he was always honest with me. He wasn't just telling me what I wanted to hear, he was always trying to push me the right way and help me get better."
As the interview went on, Gobert continued to reminisce on how they came up in the league together and how the two are truly like a family, so much so that the freshman spent his first-ever Thanksgiving with Jensen.
Despite the two going on separate paths, the nine years they spent together have stuck with Gobert and the praise he has for Jensen is yet another positive for the Utah faithful to look towards in anticipation for the 2025-26 season to tip-off.
Related: Utah Basketball Officially Introduce Alex Jensen as New Head Coach
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This story was originally published March 20, 2025 at 11:03 PM.