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It's been discussed for years, even if there is little evidence it exists.
Like Bigfoot.
Jerry Sloan, the old-school coach of the Jazz, supposedly hates playing rookies.
He doesn't trust them.
He doesn't believe in them.
He doesn't think they can help a contending team, which the Jazz have been during most of his 23 seasons on the job.
Many believe that Sloan, the farmer-coach from southern Illinois, would rather let a good crop rot in the field than play a rookie.
Not so, he claims.
"I've never felt I couldn't play rookies," Sloan said. "It's just, sometimes, they're behind in what we've been trying to do because we've had a pretty established team since I've been here."
Another factor feeding into Sloan's anti-rookie reputation?
The Jazz have had just two top-10 draft picks since 1983: Deron Williams in 2005 and Gordon Hayward in 2010.
The rookies Sloan has gotten aren't the walk-in-and-play variety. Mostly, they have been late first- or second-round draft picks.
Last season, Wesley Matthews averaged 24.7 minutes a game — the third most by any Sloan rookie — and he was a free agent.
"We've had guys we've gotten down the line," Sloan said. "We never had a [top 10] pick until Deron came along."
As a result, the Jazz's rookies are players who "… have to do a lot of hard work to get better," Sloan said. "It's never been a case of not wanting to play rookies. Everybody just thinks I don't because, here, they have to earn their position rather than just having it handed to them."
"I don't have anything against rookies," Sloan said. "If they know how to play and learn how to do what they have to do, I don't have a problem."
Hayward is the latest rookie to prove that, if you can help Sloan's team win, you will get a chance.
Hayward is averaging 11.5 minutes per game. The No. 9 pick in last summer's draft is on track to play about 950 minutes this season.
In a three-game stretch last week, Hayward averaged 13.7 points in 33.3 minutes.
What happened?
"I've worked hard every day and do my job," he said. "Obviously, some of the injuries we had — people going down — opened up some opportunities for me. But I think, first and foremost, I've been working hard."
According to Hayward, he didn't know anything about Sloan's alleged rookie bias after learning he was headed to Utah.
"I didn't hear that, I was just excited," he said. "Everybody was, 'Oh, you're going to a Hall of Fame coach where you can learn a lot.' So that's how I took it. … I came in with an open mind, ready to work hard."
That attitude might be the key to the success Hayward has enjoyed.
"Just come in and bust your butt every play," said assistant Tyrone Corbin. "That's what coach is looking for.
"Bust your butt. Run hard. Try not to make the same mistake twice. … Just keep your head in it and keep learning."
Special assistant Jeff Hornacek believes the Jazz's schemes make it a little more difficult for a rookie to have an impact.
"Jerry's not hard on rookies just to be hard on rookies," Hornacek said. "It's just a system where the reads have to come quickly.
"They have to make the right pass. If it's not your shot, you have to move it right away. And for a lot of them, it takes rookies time to learn that."
Asked about Sloan's reputation, Hornacek smiled and said, "That's probably where it comes from — that he's hard on rookies.
"He goes, 'OK, until you learn what we're doing, I'm not going to play you.' I don't think it's the fact a guy's a rookie. It's just because they don't know things yet."
First-year players
The five rookies who have played the most during coach Jerry Sloan's tenure as coach of the Jazz:
Year Minutes MPG
1. Deron Williams 2005-06 2,307 28.8
2. Andrei Kirilenko 2001-02 2,151 26.2
3. Wesley Matthews 2009-10 2,025 24.3
4. Blue Edwards 1989-90 1,889 23.0
5. Paul Millsap 2006-07 1,472 18.0 —
Hawks vs. Jazz
P At EnergySolutions Arena
Tipoff • Wednesday, 7 p.m.
TV • FSN Utah
Radio • 1320 AM, 1600 AM, 98.7 FM
Records • Hawks 22-14, Jazz 24-11
Last meeting • Jazz, 90-86 (Nov. 12)
About the Hawks • They are chasing Miami and Orlando in the rugged Southeast Division. … They have won three of their last four games against Utah. … Top scorer Joe Johnson (17.6 ppg) missed only nine games after elbow surgery.
About the Jazz • They are 11-1 against the Eastern Conference. … They are 8-2 in games decided by six points or less. … In past three games, F Paul Millsap has made 20 of 33 shots and 14 of 15 free throws. —
Underdogs who played
Under Jerry Sloan, there are numerous examples of players drafted in the second round, or who were free agents, getting more rookie minutes than Utah's first-rounder:
• In 1990-91, David Benoit (1,161) played over twice as much Eric Murdock (478).
• In 1993-94, Bryon Russell (1,121) played far more than nonfactor Luther Wright (92).
• In 2006-07, Paul Millsap (1,472) played over twice as much as Ronnie Brewer (675).