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The Rocky Mountain Revue with a Possible Return to Utah: The Downbeat #1465

Ugly Christmas Sweaters, Rocky Mountain Revue dreams, All-Acess Jazz, Joe Ingles and Rudy Gobert are making strong impressions with the Utah Jazz!

By dianaallen
Kevin C. Cox

Welcome to the Friday Downbeat. I don't know about you but I am super excited for the weekend. Just one more week of school until Thanksgiving break, woo hoo!  (We get a WHOLE week off in Boise :) ) Speaking of the Holidays, check out the Utah Jazz Ugly Christmas sweater. (H/T Moni) Its not that ugly to me. Maybe I'm getting old. I would wear if if its smallest size wasn't a men's medium...

ugly sweater

Our own Layton met up at Hogwarts to see what Harry and friends thought of the new NBA ugly Christmas sweater trend.

Good news Jazz fans in Utah. There is chatter that the league wants the Jazz to bring back the Rocky Mountain Revue!

I got so excited when I saw this tweet. I hope the Jazz are able to pull it off and bring it back. I went to what would be the last year of the RMR in 2008. I got there early in the day, got a front row seat and sat there all day watching exciting Jazz basketball. Lou was kind enough to stay home with the kids that day so I could treat myself. I loved seeing the who's who of the NBA. Nothing like buying a hot dog and having Gordon Chiesa buying one right in front of you. Gordon Chiesa, Danny Ainge, Kevin O'Connor, countless Jazz players etc all just chilling at SLCC.

Zillgit says in the article that there are NBA execs who would really like to see the Jazz bring back the RMR. They would like to have it be an intimate affair. Maybe the Jazz, a D-League team, and a few Western Conference teams who want their teams to participate in two summer leagues but don't want to fly to Orlando.

From the article:

The Rocky Mountain Revue started in 1984 and had has many as 16 teams participating. Declining participation from other teams forced the Jazz to stop operations after 2008. The last year of the Rocky Mountain Revue included the Jazz, Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, New Jersey Nets, San Antonio Spurs, a team of D-League players and the Iranian national team.

Area fans still crave a summer league in Salt Lake City, and Jazz President Randy Rigby broached the topic in July, 2013, telling The Salt Lake Tribune then, "There seems to be an interest from teams in bringing it back. We have an interest, and I think we have a fan base that would support it."

Wahoo! Good vibes sent to Randy Rigby and Dennis Lindsey to get this done!

If you haven't seen Jazz All-Access yet, go watch it!

I loved seeing an inside look at this new Utah Jazz team. It was interesting to see bits of a Quin Snyder practice. Snyder was very vocal and a leader. Snyder is the leader this team needs especially with how quiet Favors and Hayward. I loved seeing Favors and Enes teasing each other. I loved the whole thing. Go watch it!

Its no secret that I LOVE Rudy Gobert. I think we all do. Every game I think how grateful I am that Denver was silly enough to trade him to the Jazz. Check out this cool stat about Rudy:

Jack Winter at Dime Magazine wrote an article on Gobert. Its good. Read it here.

Players of Gobert’s size – 7-2 with a 7-9 wingspan and 9-7 standing reach – have always been few and far between in the league, and fewer still are those that were anything more than situational paint-protectors. It’s simply difficult for men of such immense dimensions to possess the coordination and fluidity necessary to thrive in a game so fast.

But Gobert is the rare exception. Not only is the 22 year-old fleet of foot, but he has strong hands and quick leaping ability, too. Once his understanding and comfort improve, there’s every reason to believe that Gobert can be a starting NBA center.

Joe Ingles is quickly becoming a fan favorite, or maybe just a Diana favorite.  This tweet from Moni stood out to me during the Atlanta game. I hadn't realized how close Ingles was to Quin Snyder before coming to the Utah Jazz.

Aaron Falk at the Salt Lake Tribune wrote a nice article on Ingles yesterday. Falk goes in depth about Ingles international playing career, why Ingles signed with the Jazz this season and what Dennis Lindsey and Quin Snyder think Ingles brings to the Jazz.

Dennis Lindsey on Ingles:

"We’re not developing Joe Ingles," Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey said. "He’s been a good player on the international scene for a long time."

Quin Snyder on Ingles:

"He’s a versatile guy that could make plays and help his teammates," Snyder recalled. "That system that they played over there is really demanding."

Go check out Falk's article for much more on Joe Ingles.

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