Former BYU Cougar Noah Hartsock has been invited to a pre-draft workout with the Utah Jazz on Saturday at the Zions Bank Basketball Center. Hartsock was BYU's leading scorer this past season at 16.8 points per game and led the Cougars to a 26-9 record and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. He earned All-WCC and All-District honors. Here is the press release from the Jazz.

SALT LAKE CITY (June 15, 2012) – In preparation for the 2012 NBA Draft, the Utah Jazz will hold pre-draft workouts on Saturday, June 16 at the team’s practice facility, Zions Bank Basketball Center (1414 South 500 West).  Six players will work out for the Jazz basketball staff.  Media availability will begin on the court immediately following the workout; media members are encouraged to arrive by 10:45 a.m. (MT).

Draft profiles for each player are attached and are also available via the Jazz’s online press room (http://pressroom.utahjazz.com).  High resolution headshots of each player are also provided through the site.  Please use the user name media and the password utahjazz to access the site.

Audio from the workouts will be available on the online press room shortly following each session.

The Jazz currently holds the 47th overall selection in the second round of the 2012 NBA Draft, which will take place on June 28 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

The Deseret News posted an article online today about former Cougar big man Chris Miles. The 6-foot-11 center is coming off a successful season with the Hanau White Wings in Germany where he averaged 12.6 points and 7.7 rebounds. He helped Hanau to a 13-9 record and a spot in the postseason. 

According to Dick Harmon's Deseret News article, Miles attended a major workout in Chicago in front of NBA scouts and was told that he stood out. With the Jazz, Knicks, Hornets and Lakers in attendance, here's hoping Miles gets a shot with an NBA team.

The main focus of Harmon's article was the charity work Miles is involved with. Miles is working with TSXL to benefit the Eaton Alliance, which assists people with autism. Miles and TSXL will host a gourmet dinner and auction at The Manor at the Shops at Riverwoods on June 25 at 5:30 p.m. BYU coach Dave Rose will be the guest speaker and vacations, sports equipment, hunting and fishing trips and more will be auctioned off. Visit www.truesportsmanxl.com for more information.

Check out this article written by Harmon when Miles was playing for BYU. Miles has two younger brothers who are autistic and he was very involved in caring for his brothers while growing up.

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame today uploaded several induction speaches to its YouTube page today. One that was uploaded was the induction of the late Kresimir Cosic, one of BYU's all-time greats and one of the most influential figures in the history of basketball in Europe. Cosic was enshirned to the Hall of Fame as part of the class of 1996.

His wife Ljerka accepted the nomination and induction and gives a touching account of his life. The video is worth the eight minutes it takes to watch.

For those that prefer to read instead of watching, here are some highlights. Ljerka discussed Kresimir's great basketball career and his greatness as a man. She mentioned how he was a a caring husband and father and talked about his courage to live as a man of God and a representative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during the communist era in eastern Europe.

"Kreso wasn't just a great basketball player and coach. He was also a man of God, a believer and a patriot. A wonderful husband and a kind father."

"In the communist era he had the courage to be a believer. A Mormon, a time when worship of God was dangerous for an ordinary person, let alone for a public figure of his stature."

"Kreso's imagination set him apart. It was as if he was of another day and age, a true visionary."

Cosic was a visionary player and has been called the "first great international player to play college basketabll in the United States (Billy Packer)." He was an All-American (the first non-American to earn the distinction), All-WAC and led BYU to two WAC titles and two NCAA Regional Tournament appearances. He turned down multiple offers to play in the NBA to serve as an ambassador for the game in Europe. As a player he won three Olympic medals as a member of the Yugoslavian National Team — two silver and one gold. He then served as the coach of the Yugoslavian National Team for many years and guided the team to a silver medal in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.

Following coaching he served as a Croatian diplomant at the embassy in Washington, D.C. He died in 1995 of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Ljerka shared a great quote from Kresimir during the inducation that sums up the way Cosic played and the way he felt about the game of basketball:

"The thrill of the game is in pure competition, not in the competition that money buys." 

Cosic is also a member of the Cougar Club Hall of Fame.

Cosic's jersey was retired by BYU on March 4, 2006.

LDS Church News article on Cosic.