The Utes have hired former player Alex Jensen to take over the program. After reports came Thursday morning from ESPN and CBS Sports, the university announced Jensen’s hire Thursday evening.

Jensen is set to take over after Craig Smith led Utah for four seasons and was fired 10 days ago.

The 48-year-old returns to Utah after nearly two seasons as an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks. Prior to that, the Centerville native and Viewmont High graduate spent 10 years on the bench with the Utah Jazz.

“This is an exciting chapter for my family and me, and I’m looking forward to returning to a place that has meant so much to me,” Jensen said in a news release.

Jensen was head coach for two seasons with the Canton Charge in the then-NBA D-League. His last college job came with his former head coach at Utah, the late Rick Majerus, at Saint Louis from 2007-11.

As a player, the 6-foot-7 Jensen played four seasons at Utah (1994-95, 1997-2000). He started all 34 games for the 1998 national runner-up team. He averaged 9.6 points and 6.2 rebounds in 133 career games.

Matt Norlander of CBS reports Jensen was in the mix four years ago before withdrawing, leading Utah to choose Smith, and was the university’s top target this time. He also reports that Andre Miller is under consideration to join Jensen’s staff. Miller, the former NBA veteran and Utah teammate of Jensen’s, has been head coach of the G League’s Grand Rapids Gold for three years.

Smith was 65-62 in four seasons at Utah without an NCAA Tournament appearance. Utah is looking for its first Big Dance invite since 2016.

Both Norlander and ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported correlations to BYU’s recent hire of Kevin Young, a former NBA assistant who has the ranked Cougars surging down the stretch with road wins at Arizona and Iowa State.

Though an alum, Jensen isn’t the first NBA assistant to lead Utah’s sideline. Before Smith, Larry Krystkowiak coached the Utes for 10 seasons.