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Ryan Smith on Ace Bailey coming to Utah: ‘He’ll feel love like he’s never felt before’

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Ryan Smith on Ace Bailey coming to Utah: ‘He’ll feel love like he’s never felt before’


SALT LAKE CITY — Austin Ainge called landing Ace Bailey a “dream scenario” for the Utah Jazz — and he’s likely not the only one in Utah who feels that way.

For three seasons now, Jazz fans have had to endure an unclear rebuild, looking for a youngster to pin their future hopes on.

Is that Taylor Hendricks? Cody Williams? Keyonte George? Isaiah Collier? Kyle Filipowski? The early returns are … no. Sure, all could end up being helpful players, but franchise-altering guys? That’s a stretch.

After the Jazz fell to No. 5 in the lottery, it once again looked like the team would miss out on that type of talent.

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But Bailey — a consensus top-three pick for much of the last year due to his unique scoring ability — was still on the board when Utah’s pick came up.

Sure, there were red flags (shot selection, defensive intensity, a disappointing freshman year, and everything about how he handled the draft), but his All-NBA talent was obvious.

So in the end, it didn’t matter that his pre-draft process was a bit unorthodox … or that he refused to work out for any team … or that he (or his camp) reportedly wanted him to land in Washington, Brooklyn or New Orleans … the Jazz bet on Bailey’s upside — and took their swing at a star.

“Our philosophy and where we’re at as a team is we want to take the best player on the board, and we love Ace,” Jazz owner Ryan Smith said on the Pat McAfee Show on Thursday. “I got a chance to talk to Ace last night, and all I saw was a kid who was humble. He was grateful. He was excited to be in the NBA. And I think that’s all you can ask for from our standpoint.”

As for Bailey’s apparent hesitancy to come to Utah — a place he’s never visited before — Smith isn’t worried. The Jazz owner said it’s natural for people to be uncomfortable, but he thinks Bailey will fit right in with the organization and the state.

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“Probably doesn’t have a lot of experience out west, here with Utah. That’s our job to go make him love it,” Smith said.

With the Jazz, Bailey should have a long runway to develop. The Jazz have long lacked a go-to wing, and he’ll likely get opportunity — and shots — from the start.

Utah might not have been Bailey’s preferred destination, but Smith is betting it becomes the right one.

“I think the picture is our head can lead us to a really weird spot. It limits all the opportunities in front of us,” Smith said. “I think if you went down the entire draft board and said, ‘What is everyone’s preferred destination?’ It is probably not the right move for them that they think it is in their head.”

Bailey’s pre-draft process was one of the bigger stories leading into the draft. ESPN even reported that Bailey’s representatives informed a team drafting inside the top five not to take him, and that he wouldn’t report if they did.

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Bailey’s agent Omar Cooper defended the pre-draft decisions, telling ESPN: “Every NBA team watched him work out in Chicago. He did 18 interviews. Everyone got his medical. They watched him run and jump. They got his measurements.”

Cooper, though, declined to address questions about the Utah Jazz or Bailey’s future with the franchise when asked by ESPN.

Cause for concern? Not to Smith.

“I’m confident in our state. I know that he’ll feel love like he’s never felt before,” the Jazz owner said. “People are fired up to have him. And the reality is, there’s nothing that Ace and others can’t accomplish here.”

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.

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Utah man dies of injuries sustained in avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon

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Utah man dies of injuries sustained in avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon


A man died after he was caught in an avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon over the weekend.

A spokesperson for the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on Thursday that Kevin Williams, 57, had died.

He, along with one other person, was hospitalized in critical condition after Saturday’s avalanche in the backcountry.

MORE | Big Cottonwood Canyon Avalanche

In an interview with 2News earlier this week, one of Williams’ close friends, Nate Burbidge, described him as a loving family man.

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“Kevin’s an amazing guy. He’s always serving, looking for ways that he can connect with others,” Burbidge said.

A GoFundMe was set up to help support Williams’ family.

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911 recordings detail hours leading up to discovery of Utah girl, mother dead in Las Vegas

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911 recordings detail hours leading up to discovery of Utah girl, mother dead in Las Vegas


CONTENT WARNING: This report discusses suicide and includes descriptions of audio from 911 calls that some viewers may find disturbing.

LAS VEGAS — Exclusively obtained 911 recordings detail the hours leading up to the discovery of an 11-year-old Utah girl and her mother dead inside a Las Vegas hotel room in an apparent murder-suicide.

Addi Smith and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan, lived in West Jordan and had traveled to Nevada for the JAMZ cheerleading competition.

The calls show a growing sense of urgency from family members and coaches, and several hours passing before relatives learned what happened.

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MORE | Murder-Suicide

Below is a timeline of the key moments, according to dispatch records. All times are Pacific Time.

10:33 a.m. — Call 1

After Addi and her mother failed to appear at the cheerleading competition, Addi’s father and stepmother called dispatch for a welfare check.

Addi and her mother were staying at the Rio hotel. The father told dispatch that hotel security had already attempted contact.

“Security went up and knocked on the door. There’s no answer or response it doesn’t look like they checked out or anything…”

11:18 a.m. and 11:27 a.m. — Calls 2 and 3

As concern grew, Addi’s coach contacted the police two times within minutes.

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“We think the child possibly is in imminent danger…”

11:26 a.m. — Call 4

Addi’s stepmother placed another call to dispatch, expressing escalating concern.

“We are extremely concerned we believe that something might have seriously happened.”

She said that Tawnia’s car was still at the hotel.

Police indicated officers were on the way.

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2:26 p.m. — Call 5

Nearly three hours after the initial welfare check request, fire personnel were en route to the scene. It appeared they had been in contact with hotel security.

Fire told police that they were responding to a possible suicide.

“They found a note on the door.”

2:35 p.m. — Call 6

Emergency medical personnel at the scene told police they had located two victims.

“It’s going to be gunshot wound to the head for both patients with notes”

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A dispatcher responded:

“Oh my goodness that’s not okay.”

2:36 p.m. — Call 7

Moments later, fire personnel relayed their assessment to law enforcement:

“It’s going to be a murder suicide, a juvenile and a mother.”

2:39 p.m. — Call 8

Unaware of what had been discovered, Addi’s father called dispatch again.

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“I’m trying to file a missing persons report for my daughter.”

He repeats the details he knows for the second time.

3:13 p.m. — Call 9

Father and stepmother call again seeking information and continue to press for answers.

“We just need some information. There was a room check done around 3:00 we really don’t know where to start with all of this Can we have them call us back immediately?”

Dispatch responded:

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“As soon as there’s a free officer, we’ll have them reach out to you.”

4:05 p.m. — Call 10

More than an hour later, Addi’s father was put in contact with the police on the scene. He pleaded for immediate action.

“I need someone there I need someone there looking in that room”

The officer confirmed that they had officers currently in the room.

Addi’s father asks again what they found, if Addi and her mother are there, and if their things were missing.

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The officer, who was not on scene, said he had received limited information.

5:23 p.m. — Call 11

Nearly seven hours after the first welfare check request, Addi’s grandmother contacted police, describing conflicting information circulating within the family.

“Some people are telling us that they were able to get in, and they were not in the hotel room, and other people saying they were not able to get in the hotel room, and we need to know”

She repeated the details of the case. Dispatch said officers will call her back once they have more information.

Around 8:00 p.m. — Press Conference

Later that evening, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police held a news conference confirming that Addi and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan, were found dead inside the hotel room.

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The investigation remains ongoing.

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Ban on AI glasses in Utah classrooms inches closer to passing

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Ban on AI glasses in Utah classrooms inches closer to passing


AI glasses could allow you to get answers, snap photos, access audio and take phone calls—and now a proposal moving through the legislature would ban the glasses from Utah school classrooms.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Kizzy Guyton Murphy, a mother who accompanied her child’s class on a field trip to the state Capitol on Wednesday. “You can’t see inside what the student is looking at, and it’s just grounds for cheating.”

Mom Tristan Davies Seamons also sees trouble with AI glasses.

“I don’t think they should have any more technology in schools than they currently have,” she said.

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Her twin daughters, fourth graders Finley and Grayson, don’t have cell phones yet.

“Not until we’re like 14,” said Grayson, adding they do have Chromebooks in school.

2News sent questions to the Utah State Board of Education:

  • Does it have reports of students using AI glasses?
  • Does it see cheating and privacy as major concerns?
  • Does it support a ban from classrooms?

Matt Winters, USBE AI specialist, said the board has not received reports from school districts of students with AI glasses.

“Local Education Agencies (school districts) have local control over these decisions based on current law and code,” said Winters. “The Board has not taken a position on AI glasses.

MORE | Utah State Legislature:

Some districts across the country have reportedly put restrictions on the glasses in schools.

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“I think it should be up to the teachers,” said Briauna Later, another mother who is all for preventing cheating, but senses a ban could leave administrators with tired eyes.

“It’s one more thing for the administration to have to keep track of,” said Later.

The proposal, HB 42, passed the House and cleared a Senate committee on Wednesday.

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