WEST VALLEY CITY — All week, the Jazz have had a secret to keep. From players, management, coaches, staff, and personnel all didn't want to spoil the surprise for about 3,200 students at Granger High School.

The effort paid off. As the students filled the overpacked Granger gym, the Jazz Dancers came in, performing alongside the Granger cheer team. Then, the Jazz Dunk Team came out, flying high above the rim to the shouts of the kids.

Finally, the big reveal: the Jazz players themselves, coming out on the court for a four-quarter, 32-minute scrimmage. Craig Bolerjack hyped up the students, then arena PA announcer Dan Roberts announced the lineups, just like a real game.

"It was very fun, you could see the excitement. When we rolled on campus, everyone wondered who it was," said guard Rodney Hood.

"When we got into the gym, they went crazy."

Throughout the scrimmage, the kids stayed excited. Chants of "Let's go Jazz", "De-fense", and even a short lived "We love Neto" rendition. The wave was broken out. Screams were heard repeatedly, but especially on some strong dunks from Hood and big man Rudy Gobert.

And when it ended, a big check to the school from the Jazz was presented, along with a team-autographed ball Granger will keep in thits trophy cabinet to remember the experience.

"It was a cool experience," said Dante Exum. "I loved it."

Basketball impressions

It was also the first time we've seen this Jazz team play basketball in this 2016-17 season. Real, meaningful impressions are a little bit difficult, for a bunch of reasons.

First, it was a high school court, and while NBA lines were painted, it still wasn't ideal from a size point of view. Once, Rudy Gobert tried to take a free throw from a painted volleyball line, a foot closer than the standard FT line. The rims were really unforgiving, too: anything that wasn't a swish didn't seem like it had much of a chance. No stats were kept for the public, no consistent video recorded. And finally, a lot of time was given to likely waivees Marcus Paige, Quincy Ford, Henry Sims, and Chris Johnson.

Still, I had some takeaways:

• Rudy Gobert was cleaning up on the glass, and did a great job of getting boards and putting baskets back up down low. He also stayed in the post some, and got some easy dunks when his defender went to help.
• Joe Johnson looked so strong. On one play, he ran the pick and roll, forced a switch so that Trey Lyles was guarding him, and went to work with a series of moves that got him an easy look, which he made.
• Derrick Favors looked strong down low early, including a sweeping jumper against Gobert in the paint. But the highlight was definitely at the end, when Favors hit two consecutive threes. The first, from the top of the arc, was a scramble situation after an out-of-bounds play with a quickly shrinking shot clock. The second, though, was a set play for Favors to take the outside look from the elbow, and he swished that one too. If that's a weapon for Favors, it gives the Jazz some really interesting spacing possibilities.
• Exum played his first game outside of the friendly confines of Zions Bank Basketball Center for the first time in 14 months, and looked okay. He too easily was steered baseline and towards the corners of the court, which often resulted in turnovers. He missed two jumpers from the elbow, as well as a corner shot. He did seem more aggressive in the open court, but the offense didn't flow very well out there when he ran it. He did try to deliver an alley-oop pass to Hayward, which was intercepted by Joe Johnson.
• George Hill was better. He did much more snaking through the court, operating out of pick and roll and finding space for himself and teammates. He's going to have the ball very frequently this year, and is a clear level above Exum.
• Rodney Hood punctuated the end of both halves. The first half he finished with a buzzer beating three, which he sank. Then, at the end of the game, he threw down a twisting 360-ish dunk that delighted the Granger students. He still gets higher than anyone on the team with his jump shot, which allows him to have a good look from anywhere.

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