They roared when a highlight video was shown.
They clapped when Bogut addressed them.
“This is emotional for me,” he said.
They gave him an ovation when he held his framed jersey up high.
The pomp was thick and the circumstance a bit thin, the celebration coming at halftime of the Utes' game with Air Force, near the conclusion of a season that will remind no one of the success enjoyed last year.
During his sophomore season, before exiting to become the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, Bogut led Utah to a 29-6 record and a trip to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16. The 7-foot, 245-pound postman was the consensus national player of the year, scoring 20 points and getting 12 rebounds per game, and the center of a memorable Ute team that has become even more worthy of note given this season's difficulties.
Apparently, the fond memories go both ways.
“It's unbelievable, my jersey being retired,” he said. “It's something I'll remember forever. It was shocking, how quickly it happened. . . . I only spent [two] seasons here, but it was an incredibly memorable time for me. When I look back at the struggles I had to go through to play basketball in Australia, I see that I've come a long way.”
All the way to the NBA.
Milwaukee selected Bogut with that first pick, and nearly two-thirds into his rookie season, he seems to have adjusted to his new environment semi-snugly. At the All-Star break, his averages include nine points and eight boards.
“You have to be alert, move around, and get around the court more,” he said, a few hours before the festivities. “There are a lot of athletes in the NBA. There's a lot of room for improvement. If I'm rebounding and playing defense, that's what I'm trying to do.”
On offense, the big man said he hopes to eventually boost his production: “Confidence is a big thing. Only getting five or six shots a game is messing with my head.”
Bogut said his body is holding up under the rigors of the pro schedule - “Basketball is basketball,” he said - but that the NBA's off-the-court lifestyle was a major adjustment.
“The biggest shock is the travel,” he said. “It's just crazy. It's a grind. But I enjoy it. . . . I'm pretty much getting to bed early. I don't go out the night before a game.”
Bogut is fresh off a 14-point, 11-rebound performance in Friday night's rookie game in Houston, a part of the NBA's All-Star Weekend. He said he enjoyed playing with Hornets first-year point guard Chris Paul: “I think he will be the rookie of the year. He's amazing.”
But he also added that he is not star-struck, playing against the best basketball players on the planet. “I don't like to be a fan when I'm in the business,” he said. “I'll just be the best I can be. I'm not into asking for autographs before games.”
One part of the NBA season Bogut is interested in experiencing is the stretch run for the playoffs, and the playoffs themselves. The Bucks currently are 27-25, and have the sixth-best record in the Eastern Conference.
“It's getting serious now,” he said.
Before any of that, though, Bogut was happy and relieved to come back to Utah for a short visit, to accept the applause and admiration of fans, and the honor of becoming the seventh Ute in school history to have his jersey unfurled from the rafters.
But also to make Ute players, coaches, and fans feel great, if only momentarily, again.
“It's special for me to come back and see these guys,” he said. “[They] will be good - in a year or two's time.”
