This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Amid the shakeup of the Utah Jazz Thursday, Tyrell Corbin was just as surprised as anyone.
The West High point guard arrived at school at 11 a.m. Thursday. He then started receiving text messages. Jerry Sloan was resigning after 22-plus years as the head coach of the Jazz.
"I was sad about that, because he's such a great guy," Corbin said.
Then the news started to swirl that Corbin's father, assistant coach Tyrone Corbin, was likely to be named interim coach.
Still, Tyrell Corbin practiced with his team Thursday, somehow blocking from his mind the notion that he was about to be a member of the First Family of the Utah Jazz. West practiced at 1 p.m., and coach Bob Lyman cut practice a little short, knowing his star needed to be at a press conference at the Zions Bank Basketball center at 3 p.m.
There, the senior Corbin sat in front of media two seats to the right of Sloan and was named the new coach of the Jazz — and not on an interim basis.
"I didn't really know what to do I was so happy for him," Tyrell Corbin said. "So happy for my dad individually."
While his dad works to reign in a team that Corbin's predecessor reportedly could not, Tyrell Corbin is still in the middle of the chase for the 5A state championship. He has led the West to a 14-3 season, and the Panthers are tied with Murray for the Region 2 lead.
Corbin is one of the state's top college prospects, and Thursday said Louisville, Penn, Hawaii and Cal-Davis are the latest schools to express interest.
He said he is likely to make his college choice after the season. — Bill Oram