Utah
Analyzing Utah Jazz’s Selection of John Tonje
The Utah Jazz finalized their 2025 NBA Draft haul on Thursday night with the selection of John Tonje out of Wisconsin. It’s been a wildly successful draft for the Jazz, adding yet another talented player to the crop that already includes Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr.
JT is headed to UT 🏔️💜#TakeNote | #NBADraft pic.twitter.com/emrEmH2KTJ
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) June 27, 2025
Stats: 19.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 46.5% FG, 38.8% 3P, 90.9% FT.
Height: 6’6 Weight: 212 lbs Wingspan: 6’9
Tonje makes one thing ultra clear: the Utah Jazz and new President of Basketball Operations, Austin Ainge, have put a premium on shotmaking, and Tonje is yet another example of this. As a sixth-year senior, Tonje became one of the most productive players in college basketball for the Badgers.
Tonje was a consensus All-American and a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection this season. He scored 32 points in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals to take down the top-ranked Michigan State Spartans.
After leaving a Celtics team that led the league in three-point makes by a wide margin, Ainge tripled down on adding excellent shooters to the Jazz. Tonje shot just under 39% from deep on the season, and like Bailey and Clayton, did so on plenty of difficult looks. His 90-plus percentage from the free-throw line is an example of how good he is as a shooter.
Tonje is also an excellent driver who uses his strong frame to initiate contact and either finish at the rim or draw a foul. While not the most explosive athlete, he is a creative and effective finisher, shooting 62% at the rim this season. He’s a confident shooter who needs little space to get looks off. He did a lot of his damage off the dribble this year, which is impressive for a 6’6 wing.
Get ready @utahjazz pic.twitter.com/prVBRRpdBW
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) June 27, 2025
Many Jazz fans should already be familiar with Tonje after scoring 37 points against the BYU Cougars in the NCAA Tournament. The performance surely caught the eye of BYU alumni Danny and Austin Ainge.
Tonje is a prime candidate to receive a two-way contract with the Jazz. This means that he will likely split his time between the Jazz and the Salt Lake City Stars of the G League. The G-League is something that the Jazz have relied on a lot to give developmental repetitions to their young players. It’s a great opportunity for a player to prove himself, get comfortable within the team’s system, and even fill a role with the big club.
With the Stars, Tonje will have a chance to prove himself as an NBA talent. He can get his shot off the dribble, gets to the free-throw line at an elite level, and overall has a mature offensive game. Already 24 years old, Tonje is yet another older prospect for the Jazz. He’s a guy that will come in, work hard, and try to prove himself as he scratches and claws to get into the NBA.
Recommended Articles
Utah
Here’s who will lead Utah Valley University as its next president
Jon Anderson will be charged with moving the Orem school forward following the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on campus last year.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Incoming UVU President Jon Anderson poses for a photo with his family after an event announcing his selection at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, July 17, 2026.
Utah
Beaver County residents set up thousands of sandbags ahead of flashfloods
BEAVER COUNTY, Utah — A massive community effort is underway as volunteers and Beaver County crews distribute thousands of sandbags to protect homes from the potential path of floodwaters.
After the Cottonwood Fires, residents have been waiting for weeks for relief to come in the form of rain, though officials now warn it may come all at once with an increased risk of flooding and debris flow.
Emergency Service Director Les Whitney believes that the fire has left plenty of debris to bring trouble for residents.
“We got a lot of water. We’re bringing debris with it, so tree branches, tree limbs, logs, lots of different size firewood, and that’s all in the creeks. We’re worried about that plugging up our bridges and stuff, so we have heavy equipment and excavators located in strategic places so that we can keep those bridges open,” said Whitney.
An estimated 140 homes and condominiums were spared from the flames, but remain in the paths of floodwaters.
Residents can also pick up sandbags at the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office or at the Beaver County Rodeo Fairgrounds.
Utah
Utah man arrested again for allegedly abusing dog twice in three months
EAGLE MOUNTAIN — An Eagle Mountain man currently on pretrial release in 4th District Court who is accused of abusing his dog has been arrested again for allegedly punching the same animal.
Keith Reaves Davis, 43, was booked into the Utah County Jail on Wednesday for investigation of aggravated cruelty to an animal.
Utah County sheriff’s deputies were called Wednesday afternoon to a grocery store on a report that a man was beating his dog after it had gotten off its leash and was stopped by a bystander, according to a police booking affidavit.
“I reviewed security camera footage from the grocery store, and an individual matching the description of the suspect was seen holding the dog in the air by one paw and repeatedly striking the dog on the right hind leg area. I observed the male strike the dog several times before dropping the dog from approximately 1-2 feet. The strikes appeared to be as hard as the male could hit,” the arresting deputy wrote in the affidavit. “The dog did not cry out or whimper as if the dog was accustomed to the abuse.”
When questioned, Davis “admitted to striking the dog because it was not behaving,” the affidavit states.
An animal control officer who responded to the scene to take custody of the dog noted it was the same dog he had taken from Davis exactly three months earlier during another animal abuse investigation.
In that case, Davis was charged in 4th District Court with aggravated cruelty to an animal, a class A misdemeanor; and public intoxication, a class C misdemeanor, after deputies received a tip from a neighbor that a dog was being abused at Davis’ home, according to charging documents. When questioned, Davis “acknowledged hitting his dog as punishment,” the charges state.
Deputies also reviewed videos that the neighbor had filmed. The neighbor told investigators “there was blood from the dog on the ground of the garage and (the neighbor) can hear the dog screaming as if it’s being hurt. Deputies got the videos from the (neighbor) and you can hear very loudly the dog screaming and crying with a lot of loud banging noises. In one of the videos, you can hear the dog sounding like it is being choked by a collar and is grasping for air,” a police booking affidavit states.
Davis’ next court hearing in the April case is scheduled for July 28.
In their latest booking report, sheriff’s deputies note that they “believe further harm will be inflicted on this dog if it is released back to the male a second time,” and have recommended the dog not be returned to Davis.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
-
Nebraska2 minutes agoNebraska DHHS evaluating USDA guidelines that could limit food access for undocumented immigrants
-
Nevada8 minutes agoNevada secures $30 million from generic drugmaker in nationwide antitrust case
-
New Hampshire14 minutes agoAntique And Vintage Market | Yard Sales | Farmers Markets | Music | More: The Portsmouth Patch Weekender
-
New Jersey20 minutes agoMeteorite that crashed into New Jersey home contains building blocks of life, astronomers say
-
New Mexico25 minutes agoCrews battling tank battery fire in Lea County
-
North Carolina32 minutes agoSBI IT volunteers pack 5,200 meals, 1,300 food bags for North Carolina families
-
North Dakota37 minutes agoClyde Oster
-
Ohio43 minutes agoHumane agents removing chickens from Youngstown property