Jason Hart keeps on keeping on Posted by Bud Poliquin July 16, 2007 10:20AM Having joined his sixth NBA team with his eighth NBA season on the horizon, he's become a full-blown professional basketball nomad. But Jason Hart remains an employed full-blown professional basketball nomad . . . and good for him. He's with the Utah Jazz now. And after signing with that outfit on Saturday, he'll be with it(according to his contract) for two years. Utah, of course, makes for a nice landing spot for Jason, who led Syracuse University in assists and steals for four straight campaigns -- 1996-'97 (5.8/2.8), 1997-'98 (5.0/2.3)), 1998-'99 (4.3/3.1) and 1999-'00 (6.5/1.8) -- while scoring 1,503 career points. After all, he'll team with Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams, Andrei Kirilenko, Mehmet Okur, Paul Millsap, Ronnie Brewer, Matt Harpring, Dee Brown and all the rest of the members of a pretty nice club. And, for what it's worth, I couldn't be happier for the guy. See, I've always liked (and respected) Jason Hart, who remains -- along with Rafael Addison -- my favorite all-time basketball Orangemen. Believe me when I tell you that Jason was one of those SU rarities because he came in a personable, engaging, accountable athlete . . . and left the same way, when so many other Orangemen ended up guarded, suspicious and only too eager to hide in the aftermath of losses or poor play. Fact is, there is pretty much only one reason why Hart -- a 6-foot-3 guard with a too-often-errant jump shot -- has lasted so long in the NBA: He's worked his way into his longevity. The young man has, simply and forever, been a tough guy who's been more than willing to toil on defense, to hit the boards, to toss his body onto the floor, to find the open man. He has, in other words, taken inventory of himself and his surroundings and done what has been necessary to survive. That Jason, now 31 (if you can believe it), has also been a sound citizen hasn't hurt his cause one bit, either. His role in Utah? After playing in both Sacramento (Kings) and Los Angeles (Clippers) last season and combining to average 6.9 points, 2.9 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 23.6 minutes, he'll serve primarily as Williams' backup . . . although there is the little matter of Brown and what will become of him. Hart will also have to figure out a way to please his newest head coach, Jerry Sloan, who is easy to anger, difficult to impress and often communicates loudly and with the kind of language that can wrinkle a pair of trousers. Hmmm . . . cranky, tough, full-throated, familiar with words not usually heard at mother's dinner table? Central New Yorkers wonder (but not for long) if Jason Hart has ever before played for a coach like that. -- Bud Poliquin [email protected] 315-470-2213 http://blog.syracuse.com/poliquin/2007/07/jason_hart_keeps_on_keeping_on.html --

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