Gabe Madsen was out golfing when he received the call.
Utah was set to have an emergency meeting following its Sunday loss to UCF.
Head coach Craig Smith was ultimately fired as the Runnin' Utes head coach that morning, leaving Madsen, the rest of the players and coaching staff to pick up the pieces.
“It was the last thing I expected,” Madsen said. “I just felt a lot of emotions this week, and just obviously very sad the first day it happened, seeing Coach Smith.
“I just feel super grateful for all the opportunity that he gave me. He was the first coach that really believed in me and gave me the opportunity to come here. To not really have that final, final game together or a little bit of closure is kind of sad.”
Josh Eilert was named as the interim head coach in his place. This is the second time the 44-year-old has been given the interim tag in two seasons.
After former West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins was fired for a drunken driving arrest, Eilert spent one season leading the Mountaineers. He finished the season with a league-worst 9-23 record.
(Rick Scuteri | AP) Utah head coach Josh Eilert watches action against Arizona during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in Tucson, Ariz.
Now Eilert is leading another Big 12 program through another round of coaching-carousel chaos.
“I told these guys from the beginning that life’s full of adversity,” Eilert said. “Life’s full of challenges and that goes in every walk of life, right? And there’s a lot of things out of your control, but the way you handle them ... that’s going to be a testament to your character. That’s a testament to the type of people that Coach Smith brought into this program, and how they have handled everything, top to bottom. And, we’re only in day four of this process.”
Eilert still believes in Utah’s chances too.
“If you look at the [Big 12] standings, there’s a log jam in the middle. The top eight teams in the Big 12 at the tournament are going to get a bye. So we have a lot to play for. We have a lot to prove. But like I said, the situations are way different. ... I’ll go to battle with these guys every single day. These guys are high-character guys, and the foundation is here, and we’re gonna finish the season the way it should be [finished].”
Even if Smith is no longer on the sideline, Madsen says the Utes will still be playing for him.
Maybe that will be enough to propel them to a victory down the stretch.
“We talked a lot about just channeling that energy,” Madsen said. “However you feel in the moment, just channel that and play for the guy who brought you here, and that’s something we’ve just been trying to keep as a little bit of focal point.
“You can you can feel sad, you can feel angry, however you’re feeling, but just channel it and use it for good in the games.”
