Football
Associated Press 17y

Jazz take Rice guard in first round

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Jazz took Rice shooting guard
Morris Almond in the opening round of the NBA draft Thursday,
hoping they finally got the shooter they've been missing.

Jazz officials appeared thrilled to see that Almond was still
available when Utah was about to make the 25th overall pick. After
Phoenix drafted Spanish guard Rudy Fernandez with the No. 24 pick,
Jazz owner Larry Miller playfully punched vice president of
basketball operations Kevin O'Connor's arm in congratulations.

A few minutes later, O'Connor walked to the podium at
EnergySolutions Arena and announced that the Jazz were taking
Almond -- much to the delight of fans who had been chanting things
like "Almond Joy!" as Utah got closer to picking.

Coach Jerry Sloan, who is known for being especially tough on
rookies, was even smiling when the Jazz were about to make the
pick.

"He's a guy that looks like can really shoot the basketball and
we felt like that's something our team needs," Sloan said.

Sloan liked the idea of having a 6-foot-6 player who can shoot
or post-up inside. If Almond follows Sloan's orders and works hard
enough, he could be getting a chance to play as a rookie.

"The offense is not the part I'm worried about. It's really
playing to Coach Sloan's liking and the specifications of the
offense and the team structure," Almond said during a conference
call after he was picked. "I feel comfortable that I can come in.
I think it's a good fit."

The Jazz also had the 55th overall pick and selected Providence
forward/center Herbert Hill, then traded the rights to Hill to
Philadelphia for 7-foot Ukrainian center Kyrylo Fesenko. The 76ers
selected Fesenko 38th.

Almond played all four years of college, returning for his
senior year after declaring early last summer but backing out when
no teams promised to pick him in the first round. He led Rice in
scoring and was third nationally as a senior with a 26.4-point
scoring average. He shot 48 percent last season, making 263 of 544
from the field and was 77-for-169 (46 percent) from 3-point range.

Almond worked out and interviewed with the Jazz on June 19. He
said he knew as it got later in the first round that he could end
up in Utah and was hopeful it worked out that way.

"Every team has different styles," Almond said. "Utah is like
hands in a glove. It fit perfect."

The Jazz hope so.

"He's played four years at rice and he's been the guy that
carried that team for a couple of years," O'Connor said. "He's
not going to have that responsibility here."

Utah's lack of a shooting threat was apparent in the Western
Conference finals, which San Antonio won in five games by limiting
the Jazz's scoring to mostly forward Carlos Boozer and point guard
Deron Williams.

The Jazz haven't had a consistent shooting guard since Jeff
Hornacek retired in 2000.

Almond is the fifth shooting guard drafted by Utah in the last
five years, joining 2006 first-round pick Ronnie Brewer, C.J. Miles
(2005), Kirk Snyder (2004) and Sasha Pavlovic (2003). Miles, the
only second-round pick of the bunch, will be an unrestricted free
agent next week after two years of playing little for the Jazz.

Fesenko may be a little more of a project. He averaged 6.7
points, about six rebounds and blocked 32 shots in 20 games last
season for his Ukrainian team.

"He's not a polished player and we're going to see how he
handles the NBA," O'Connor said.

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