Jessie’s Game Is More Powerful Than Alleged Words

Utah guard Brandon Jessie heard the comments and saw the angry glances.

Jessie, a junior who graduated from Edison High, tried to make things right with the Long Beach State players but said they didn’t want to listen. So, confused and hurt, Jessie vented his frustration the only place he could: on the basketball court.

Inspired by comments Long Beach Coach Seth Greenberg erroneously attributed to him, Jessie led the Utes with 22 points and eight rebounds Friday as they defeated the 49ers, 76-64, in the opening round of the West Regional at the Boise State Pavilion.

“I was talking to some of the players before the game and they wouldn’t even look at me,” said Jessie, son of former Ram receiver Ron Jessie.

“It was like I did something bad to them. So I said to myself, ‘Hey, I’m just going to go out and play my game.’ ”

On Thursday, Greenberg told reporters that Jessie made disparaging remarks about the 49ers in a newspaper story. He said Jessie, who has played often with several of the Long Beach players, didn’t think the 49ers were very good when he played with them during the summer.

Jessie was quoted Monday in the Salt Lake Tribune. However, his only comment about Long Beach was that he thought the 49ers wouldn’t match up well with Utah because it has four players 6 feet 9 or taller and Long Beach has one.

As it turned out, Jessie was correct. The Utes’ height advantage was one of their keys to victory.

“I was kind of hurt by what Coach Greenberg said,” said Jessie, who averages 16 points and six rebounds. “I have nothing against those guys. I didn’t mean anything at all.”

What especially upset Jessie was that his father became concerned after reading about the situation. Ron called Brandon on Friday morning before the game.

“He said to me, ‘What did you say about those guys?’ ” Brandon said. “I just think Seth kind of blew it out of proportion. I think everybody who knows me knows I’m not going to do something like that.”

Utah star forward Keith Van Horn said his teammate was motivated by Greenberg’s remarks.

“With all the things he heard, he knew they were going to come out after him,” Van Horn said. “He took the challenge.”

Still, Coach Rick Majerus told Jessie to remain tight-lipped about the Utes’ next opponent, Mississippi State.

“I told him, ‘For God’s sake, don’t say anything about Mississippi State,’ ” Majerus said. “ ‘And if you do, just say they should be in the top 10 and you’re scared to death to play them.’ ”