"It was to congratulate him," Boozer said, "not to try to get a spot on the team."

Still, Boozer wouldn't mind if his old college coach gave him a call back, maybe with a roster spot in mind. Boozer, who in 2004 won a bronze medal with Team USA in Athens, "would go back in a heartbeat" if offered a role on the team that will compete in Beijing in 2008.

"I enjoyed my experience. I was proud to be a part of it," Boozer said Saturday. "Obviously, it was tough because we all wanted to win the gold and it didn't work out. But if they asked me, I'd love to go."

Jerry Colangelo, chairman of the Phoenix Suns, is in charge of recruiting a team that would represent the U.S. at the World Championships this summer in Japan, then stay together through the Olympics in China. When the Heat were in Phoenix last week, he met with Shaquille O'Neal, who has declined to play, and Dwyane Wade, who was Boozer's teammate in Athens and has so far not committed to the team.

There "is a side of me that wants to make sure things are different this time around," Wade told the Miami Herald.

So does Boozer - he wants to make sure the U.S. wins gold this time, whether he's on the team or not.

Neither Colangelo or Krzyzewski, Boozer's coach at Duke, has called, though Boozer picked up an endorsement last month from Larry Brown, who coached the 2004 team. Considering he hasn't played in more than 11 months, Boozer understands that his injuries might play a part in Colangelo's thinking.

"I don't know if my injuries have anything to do with it. They might be just trying to bring in a new nucleus of guys, said Boozer, who averaged 7.9 points and 6.1 rebounds in Athens. "The coaching staff they've got is terrific. Either way, I hope we bring back the gold."

That's because he's still working toward an eventual return to the Jazz's lineup, something that got a little farther away on Tuesday when he felt tightness in his left hamstring.

"I've been working out hard every day. I was exploding for a dunk, and it just got that feeling again," said Boozer, who missed his 68th straight game on Saturday. "It's not a big thing. Hopefully just a couple of days" before he can resume his workouts."

Briefly

Owner Larry Miller attended the game, but did not want to discuss his controversial removal of "Brokeback Mountain" from his Jordan Commons theater. "I said all I had to say when I pulled the movie," Miller said. . . . Miami point guard Jason Williams, who had 19 points in 37 minutes Friday night in Seattle, sat out the game with Utah to rest his sore right knee. . . . Shaquille O'Neal, whose .539 career shooting percentage against Utah is his lowest against any NBA team, missed his first seven shots Saturday before connecting on an alley-oop dunk with 4:15 left in the first half.

pmiller@sltrib.com

Checking up on Miles

Kevin O'Connor has watched tapes of C.J. Miles' games in the D-League, and has gone over much of them, play by play, with Miles over the phone. He'll get a first-hand look at the Jazz's second-round pick on Monday.

O'Connor will travel to Fayetteville, N.C., where all eight of the league's teams are playing today and Monday, to see how Miles is progressing. He likes what he has seen so far.

"It's going to be good for him. He's getting a lot of minutes," said O'Connor. "He's learning what he needs to work on, what he needs to do to get there."

Miles is shooting 37.9 percent, and averaging 3.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 12.0 points in 28 minutes per game.