Utah’s Majerus will miss rest of season

Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2001 | 10:16 a.m.

Utah coach Rick Majerus knows he can handle his own health problems. His mother's cancer is another matter, and it's going to keep him away from the sidelines for the rest of the season.

Majerus announced Tuesday he will take the season off to spend time in Milwaukee with his ailing mother, a cancer survivor who recently was diagnosed with a lung tumor.

"My mother isn't doing so well," Majerus said, choking up. "We're a very small, close family. My father is deceased. I'm an only son, and I have the time and the financial resources to be as supportive as I need to be."

Majerus, 52, plans to rejoin the Utes for the 2001-02 season. Assistant Dick Hunsaker, acting coach for the past 14 games, will continue to handle head coaching duties.

Majerus left the Utes (9-6) in mid-November to rehabilitate a surgically repaired knee. While preparing to rejoin the team, he was hospitalized on New Year's Day after complaining of chest pains.

On Jan. 2, he had two blocked arteries cleared and spent a week in a hospital.