Boylen must be having fun in Michigan

It’s been quite a weekend for Utah coach Jim Boylen. He’s watched his former team, Michigan State, and the coach he worked under, Tom Izzo, advance to the national finals with an upset win over Connecticut. He also had to be thrilled by the announcement earlier in the week of former Michigan State coach Jud Heathcote into the College Basketball Hall of Fame. Boylen got his first coaching job 20 years ago as a graduate assistant under Heathcote.
Now Ute fans have to hope Boylen isn’t listening seriously to any offers from other schools. Boylen’s name has been mentioned in connection with the Arizona job, which has already been turned down by USC’s Tim Floyd and Xavier’s Sean Miller and others. Fox Sports reported earlier Sunday night that Boylen was next on Arizona’s list after MIller turned them down.
Boylen is unavailable for comment in Michigan now, but here’s what he told us 10 days ago about the possibility of leaving Utah.
“When I get inquiries, I just say ‘I’m very happy here and I’m thankful to be the head coach at Utah’ . . . Dr. Hill and I are committed to building this program and doing it together. That’s what I’ll continue to say.
“I’m not out shopping myself, looking at every job, I’m not. I’m very happy here, I like what we’re building. I like who we’ve brought in. I have guys who have committed to me to come here and play for me, which is important. My A.D. and I have as strong a working relationship as you can have, because we both have the same idea of where we want to go, how we’re going to get there and we both want to be great.
“I’m very happy here and my family is happy I’m excited about what we’ve accomplished, but I’m really excited to coach this new team. I think it’s going to be a blast next fall.”