Alex Jensen wants to give Utah basketball fans a team they can believe in again
Oct 20, 2026, 10:23 PM
Utah basketball head coach Alex Jensen at Big 12 media days. Photo courtesy by Utah Athletics.
SALT LAKE CITY — Alex Jensen knows what Utah basketball can mean to the people who fill the Huntsman Center. He also knows his connection to its past can only do so much for its future.
The next step is giving those fans a team worth believing in. His players understand what that requires.
“We know that we have a lot of fans who are used to winning, who have seen a lot of Ute wins,” Jackson Holcombe said. “And so our goal is to just earn their trust back and get back to the same standard eventually.”
At Big 12 basketball media days, Jensen outlined a rebuilding effort centered on player development, roster continuity and restoring the competitiveness that once made Salt Lake City an uncomfortable stop for opponents.
Entering his second season, he believes Utah is better equipped to make progress.
“But I felt playing a lot of catch-up that first year, and I think we’re in a much better place now,” Jensen said.
For Holcombe, that belief began during his recruitment from Utah Valley. Jensen acknowledged the shortcomings of his first season while explaining how he intended to move the program forward.
“Coach Jensen did a great job of taking ownership for the season that they had and also saying that that wasn’t going to be the case, that we were going to continue to grow and build,” Holcombe said. “I just like the belief in the goal that he had for me as a player and as the program for Utah.”
Building belief in the program
That combination of accountability and opportunity helped bring Holcombe to Salt Lake City. Alec Anigbata found another source of reassurance in the staff’s experience with international basketball.
“I love the approach that Coach Alex and his staff has taken,” Anigbata said. “The experience in international basketball really helps me develop here as a player and feel comfortable.”
The challenge is turning that confidence into a team capable of handling the Big 12.
Jensen’s first season provided an education in the conference’s depth. The accomplishments of its coaches stood out to him again during media day, reinforcing the difficulty of gaining ground against programs with experienced leadership.
“I knew and I heard, but I found out how good the Big 12 is,” Jensen said. “And I think it’s gotten better.”
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Holcombe understands the demands awaiting him.
“You’ve got to bring your A game every single night, and if you don’t, you’ll pay the price,” he said.
Jensen has been similarly direct about what he needs from Holcombe and Anigbata. While he appreciates their backgrounds and potential, he said both must improve and provide more for Utah to win.
That makes their development a central part of the season. The staff has earned their confidence. Now comes the work of turning those relationships into consistent production against better competition.
Continuity starts with the roster
Jensen’s confidence in Year 2 begins with having more time to prepare.
He pointed to general manager Wes Wilcox as an important part of that process. The demands of preparing the next roster while coaching the current team convinced Jensen early that he needed someone directing that work.
With a full season together, the staff had more opportunity to prepare for the transfer portal and make deliberate decisions about the players it wanted to bring to Utah.
The longer-term goal is to keep enough of those players together for their development to carry over.
“Everybody wants continuity,” Jensen said. “So hopefully you can have a little bit more of that, which would be nice. Nobody wants a new team every year.”
Continuity would allow the coaching staff to build on what it teaches. It would also give fans a chance to watch players grow into larger roles and become invested in the people wearing the uniform.
Jensen sees that appeal in Holcombe’s journey. He praised the work that brought Holcombe to this point, connecting his development to the kind of player Utah fans have historically embraced.
“The fan base there loves the overachiever,” Jensen said.
Those connections take time to develop. Keeping players in the program gives their stories room to grow, particularly when individual improvement helps produce a more competitive team.
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Restoring the standard at Utah
Jensen wants that progress to be evident in the Huntsman Center, where he hopes to restore the home-court advantage he experienced as a player.
“When I played years ago, that was a hard place to get a win,” he said.
Getting there will require the daily teaching Jensen considers central to the rebuild. Asked about Rick Majerus’ influence, he described the clarity his former coach provided. Jensen understood his responsibilities, and that understanding allowed him to play effectively.
“Where I excelled with Coach Majerus was it was easy for me because I knew what to do in every situation,” Jensen said. “And that’s one thing I’m trying to replicate with these guys, to know what, in every situation, what’s expected of them.”
That provides a practical measure of Utah’s progress: how consistently players recognize their responsibilities and execute them when opponents apply pressure.
For Anigbata, establishing that standard begins with the approach Utah brings each night.
“I feel like we just got to go game by game and bring the energy every night and earn our respect,” he said. “I think that’s the only way.”
Holcombe’s goal of earning back trust will be measured in those performances. Fans will have opportunities to judge the effort Utah brings, the improvement it demonstrates and its response when conference play exposes what still needs work.
Asked about the culture he wants to establish, Jensen offered a standard that applies just as well to the entire rebuild.
“I think it’s one of those things you see and feel instead of talk about.”
Utah’s fans know what that can look like. Jensen and his players want to give them reasons to feel it again.
