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Just when I was feeling good about the Jazz's drafting of guard Morris Almond, the picture that appeared in Friday's Tribune was enough to send me running from the breakfast table, screaming.
There he was in his Rice University basketball uniform, dribbling against a Utah defender. By the angle of the photo, I could barely make out his jersey number, so I had to verify it by researching the Owls' roster: No. 22.
Nooooooooo!!!!!
Anyone who knows the 28-year history of the Jazz in Salt Lake City knows the number is cursed. As I detailed in February when forward Louis Amundson signed his first 10-day contract and was assigned the No. 22 he had worn at UNLV, the story of the Devilish Deuces covers injuries, suspension, waivers, trades, criminal convictions, an 18-game losing streak and substance abuse rehabilitation.
And then came Amundson, who avoided any such disasters during his 20-day stay with the Jazz and whose two-minute appearance on the court produced no statistics of any kind - making him quite successful, relative to the other 22s.
It will be Almond's turn soon enough. During Friday's news conference where Almond was introduced, I was prepared to intervene if team officials held up a No. 22 jersey. I was momentarily relieved when the jersey presented for the photo opportunity bore No. 1, until realizing that number is retired in honor of Frank Layden and the gift merely represented Almond's first-round draft status.
Afterward, he confirmed he intends to keep No. 22, the number he chose in high school in Georgia because his birthday is Feb. 2, or 2-2. What's more, Almond recently turned 22.
Cute story. But horrifying, just the same.
Feb. 2 is Groundhog Day. In the movie with that title, Bill Murray kept experiencing the same day over and over before finally breaking through, which is much like what Almond will have to do to overcome the Curse of the 22s in Utah.
He was shuttled away to catch his flight home Friday before I could show him the litany of problems that befell former 22s with the Jazz, as I did to Amundson during his temporary service while Carlos Boozer was injured in February. Amundson was good-natured about the whole thing, knowing his chances of sticking around were limited, anyway.
I also know that he switched to No. 20 when he later signed with Philadelphia, and ended up staying the rest of the season.
So as much as I like the pick of Almond, believing he's the kind of shooter - basketball player, as Jazz executive Kevin O'Connor insists - who can help this team and am impressed by the engaging, intelligent personality you would expect from a product of Rice's academic environment, I fear for his future here.
As a community service, I feel compelled to repeat a couple of highlights of the history I shared with Amundson, hoping Almond will reconsider. Maybe it's not too late.
It all started with forward Bernard King, a member of the original Utah Jazz starting five in 1979, who was charged with felony sexual assault and never played for the team again - although he eventually enjoyed much success in the league, wearing No. 30. Among the others who wore No. 22, there was point guard Carl Nicks, who endured an 18-game losing streak with the Jazz and was soon out of the NBA; John Drew, who underwent eight weeks of drug rehabilitation early in his first season, returned and contributed to the Midwest Division championship team of '83-84, then was waived after a relapse the following December; and Curtis Borchardt, the Jazz's only first-round draft choice ever to wear No. 22, who missed the entire season with a knee injury and two years later became part of the five-team trade that brought back Greg Ostertag.
That should be sufficiently scary to Almond, who told me he's not a superstitious person - except when it comes to insisting on No. 22, because 2-2 has relevance to his life.
OK, let me try a more positive spin here before Almond returns to town this month and picks his number for the Rocky Mountain Revue.
Part of the lore of the 22s involves point guard John Crotty. After a three-year stint in No. 25 with the Jazz, Crotty wore No. 22 in Detroit and kept it when he returned to Utah in 2000. Crotty shot 33 percent from the field that season and missed 51 games with a knee injury. After going back to No. 25, he delivered the best year of his career.
That's it: No. 25. Almond was the 25th pick in the draft, and the number would always remind him that 24 other teams passed on him before the Jazz made him a first-rounder, bringing him to a destination he believes was "meant to be."
I have a good feeling about this, too - as long as he changes his number. He appears to have the basketball ability and character to fulfill the team's expectations for him, except this is just too much to overcome. I do promise, if Almond sticks with No. 22 and delivers in the face of all this history, I will be the first to declare the breakthrough. Until then, as the co-curator of the Curse of the 22s with former Jazz publicist Bill Kreifeldt, I can only say, good luck.
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* KURT KRAGTHORPE can be reached at kkragthorpe@sltrib.com. To write a letter about this or any sports topic, send an e-mail to sportseditor@sltrib.com.