Alex Jensen begins his second season on the SLU staff working under his college coach Rick Majerus. After one year as senior graduate manager, Jensen will serve as an assistant coach. "Alex was the best defensive player and rebounder that I have ever coached," Majerus said. "Alex's passion for the game will be evident to the players, and one day he will lead a big-time program. There is no doubt in my mind that Alex as a coach will surpass his considerable success as a player. I feel, as well as the rest of my staff and administration, fortunate that Alex has decided to come on board and forgo the remainder of his pro career to begin what will be a brilliant one in coaching." "I am excited to be here at Saint Louis with Coach Majerus and the Billikens," Jensen said. "I could not think of a better situation than to begin my career here at SLU." Jensen was one of the best all-around players in Utah history while playing for Majerus. Jensen still ranks 20th on Utah's all-time scoring list with 1,279 points and is sixth on the school's career rebounding list with 896, including second all-time with 329 offensive boards. In addition, he is eighth on Utah's 3-point field goals made list with 102, and he is 10th on the assist list with 348. Jensen helped the Utes reach the NCAA Championship game in 1998. As a senior, he was the Mountain West Conference player of the year after averaging 13.1 ppg and 7.5 rpg while shooting 54.2 percent from the field. His squad eliminated the Billikens in the first round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament. Jensen played for the Utes in 1994-95 and 1997-98 through 1999-2000. After his first season at Utah, he went on a two-year LDS church mission to England. In the summer of 1997, Jensen played on the NIT All-Star Team that tourned Japan after returning from his church mission. He went on to have an excellent sophomore year as he notched four double-doubles and scored in double figures 10 times. He played at least 30 minutes in all six NCAA Tournament games and was named to the West Region All-Tournament team. Jensen averaged 12.1 ppg and a career-high 7.6 rpg during his junior campaign. He started all 33 games and was a first-team All-Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division pick. He was named to the All-Defensive team and was the MVP of the WAC Tournament. He earned his bachelor's degree in finance from Utah. After his collegiate career, Jensen played seven seasons professionally in Turkey and also had a stint with the Yakama Sun Kings in 2002-03 and won a CBA title. Jensen was the 1994 Utah Mr. Basketball after a standout career at Viewmont High School. He was honorable mention All-America and selected the Utah Gatorade Player of the Year by USA Today. Jensen was named first-team All-State and the 5A Player of the Year by the Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune as a senior. |
|
|||||||||||
