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With multiple spots on their upcoming roster that potentially need to be filled, the Salt Lake City Stars, the D-League affiliate of the Utah Jazz, held an open tryout on Saturday morning at Salt Lake Community College.

And what they drew was a veritable who's who of local college basketball stars, past and present.

The two dominant schools were well represented, as former University of Utah players Dakarai Tucker, Tim Drisdom and Aaron Dotson showed up, with Shaun Green being present in the gym, but not playing. Chris Miles and DeMarcus Harrison were two former BYU players who made the trip.

Trace Cuerton, a quick and athletic point guard, represented Utah State. Jordan Weirick was in attendance as well. The shooting guard was an integral part of a Class 5A state title team when he was at West Jordan High.

Utah, as a state, is a small place when it comes to basketball players. Everybody who plays locally typically knows everyone else through summer league tournaments, regular season matchups and various pick-up games throughout the valley.

That familiarity spawned competitive basketball on Saturday morning, as well as the opportunity to launch a pro career.

"We all know each other, so seeing each other and playing against each other is nothing new," Tucker said. "It's always a great time seeing faces that you know, and it's good to step onto the floor with them."

The motivation for the players were all different, with the common goal, of course, being able to attain an invite to the Stars' training camp, which begins on November 1. Tucker — who was a part of a sweet 16 appearance at Utah two years ago and a second round NCAA Tournament run last year — is trying to launch his pro career. His options for playing overseas weren't all that appealing, and his catch-and-shoot game and athleticism are well suited to the D-League's style of play.

Harrison left BYU and went on to play at Clemson. Since graduating from ACC basketball, he's moved back to Utah and jumped at the chance for a local tryout. Miles and Drisdom are older, with Drisdom largely being out of basketball. Then, he lost 75 pounds and got into shape. He played the point for Team Utah over the summer in The Basketball Tournament, and is trying to resurrect a professional career.

"Getting back into shape took a lot of work and discipline," Drisdom said. "It took time and I had to change a lot of eating habits. I feel better than I've felt in a long time. I'm obviously getting up there a little bit in age, so I wanted to make another run at it and see what happens."

In all, over 40 players showed up for the tryout, which lasted almost four hours. The first half of the morning was devoted to drill work, and implementing a few plays, mostly rudimentary pick-and-roll sets.

Then, it was on to halfcourt and fullcourt scrimmaging, before Stars coach Dean Cooper and his staff made their initial cut down to about 20 players. That second group featured mostly guys who had played Division I college basketball, which made the scrimmaging a lot more competitive.

The Stars are allowed 17 players on their training camp roster. By league rules, they can have as many as four tryout guys in that roster. But for the Stars, that number depends on a number of factors. Cooper said the team could bring four guys, or they could be so squeezed for room that they can't bring anyone.

Either way, Cooper said he was impressed by the level of competition, and by how hard the hopefuls played.

"I thought the games were good," Cooper said. "The competition was good. There are going to be guys on the board we are going to discuss, for sure."

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