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Tommy Connor remembers choosing to step away from the Runnin' Utes all those years ago. He wanted time with his family, and the team had gone probably as far as it ever would go, he thought.

The Elite Eight.

This past week, on a different Utes staff, Connor rolled his eyes thinking of when he left in 1997. He missed the chance to be a part of history, when Utah ended up in the national championship game.

"The good thing is, thanks to the kindness of Rick Majerus, I got some pretty good seats to the game," he said. "I would've had a really good seat on the bench."

This weekend, the '98 team will be inducted into the Crimson Club Hall of Fame. One could argue that the hall was made for teams like the '98 Utes - a group that set the bar for almost every Utah team before or since.

To this day, the players and coaches who were a part of that three-week run, culminating in a 78-69 defeat to Kentucky in the final, use the word "magical" quite often to describe it. Several of them say they appreciate it much more now than they did then.

"I was a dumb, young freshman, and I figured we were going back to the Final Four when I got back from my mission," Britton Johnsen said. "It's gotten bigger and bigger as I look back on it."

It should be noted that Utah does have a national championship from the 1944 season, back before World War II was over, and when Larry Krystkowiak was, in his own words, "negative 20."

But the '98 Runnin' Utes have more contemporary weight: They were on TV, many current fans remember watching their March Madness campaign, and heck, Andre Miller is still playing in the NBA. There's banners in the new Huntsman basketball facility for NCAA finishes: the '44 team and the '98 team banners are of equal size and height.

It was an inspiring group. Andre Miller did it all, and had a flair for style all his own. Michael Doleac arose as a star after Keith Van Horn's departure. Alex Jensen, coming off a mission, was a lockdown defender. Hanno Mottola was a physical Finnish big who could score and rebound well. A number of role players stepped up at key moments.

Then over it all: Rick Majerus.

The hefty head coach was famously demostrative, overbearing, and hard to play for. But several players said when Majerus was particularly difficult, it bonded them together. And after they left, they gained a deeper appreciation for why Majerus was so detail-oriented.

The last time many of the teammates saw each other was at Majerus' funeral in 2012, when they whooped over old stories about their colorful coach.

"It'll be different not having him there," Johnsen said. "Some of the stories make you laugh, some of the stories make you want to get in the fetal position and cry. But there will be a lot of talk about Coach."

But the true magic of the run, the teammates say, was the relationships they had with each other. It was the right group of guys at the right time - a group that built on many of the earlier successes of teams that decade. The seniors had belief and self-confidence. The underclassmen were naïve enough to not realize how much pressure they should feel.

Many of the players from that team went on to play in the NBA and overseas. They never felt a bond like the one they had those three weeks in March.

"I think if anyone could put their finger on it, they would bottle and sell it," Doleac said. "It was a a great combination of people and personalities who were all willing to work really hard. That combination is so rare."

To this day, several of the '98 Utes say they haven't watched the entire game footage against Kentucky. It's too painful. They were minutes away from the championship.

History remembers them more fondly. Those who still live in Utah say hardly a day goes by when a stranger or a friend brings up that year. Connor said he still talks about those players often in current Utah practices, referencing Doleac's post moves, or Miller's vision.

"We're lucky Andre is still playing," Connor said. "Some of those guys, these kids don't know them anymore."

But the '98 Utes are well-remembered in the halls of the new facility. They'll soon be remembered in the Crimson Club Hall of Fame. And they'll certainly be warmly received on Saturday evening, when they'll wave to a crowd of adoring fans during Utah's football game against Cal.

That means a lot to a guy like Drew Hansen, who is happy to show his three children what Daddy did before he became a lawyer. But more than anything, he looks forward to the company of the old team.

"Just to have everyone together, to know the things we endured," Hansen said. "I haven't seen some of the guys since I graduated. The thing I'm looking forward to is having the whole team together."

Twitter: @kylegoon —

A closer look

• 30-4 record, No. 4 nationally in points allowed per game (57.6 ppg), 11.4 average point differential in five NCAA wins.

• Three players drafted into the NBA (Doleac 1998, Miller 1999, Mottola 2000)

Full roster of 1997-1998 team: •Michael Doleac, Andre Miller, Hanno Mottola, Alex Jensen, Drew Hansen, Trace Caton, David Jackson, Jordie Mctavish, Jon Carlisle, Britton Johnsen, Nate Althoff, Greg Barratt, Zac Dalton, Brandon Sluga, Doug Gooch.

Online

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