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ORLANDO — Collin Sexton jumped off the bench in excitement, clapped his hands hard and screamed as Walker Kessler got his second block of the game.
He did that after a Talen Horton-Tucker drive … and a Lauri Markkanen 3-pointer … and just about any other semi-meaningful play in Utah's 131-124 win on Thursday over Orlando at Amway Center.
Sexton has been sidelined since before the All-Star break with a left hamstring strain, but that hasn't stopped him from being among the loudest Jazz players in the arena. In voice and — on Thursday at least — in dress.
"Terrible shirt he wore tonight, though," Jazz coach Will Hardy said of Sexton's white shirt that, to Hardy looked straight out of the '80s. "He was like 40 years late on that shirt — was he not? Am I crazy?"
Sexton response: "He's just mad he can't pull it off."
But aside from the fashion critique, Hardy is appreciative of Sexton's level of engagement, even as he waits for his chance to get back on the court.
"Collin loves basketball, Collin loves being on a team. He has one of the purest elements of joy to him," Hardy said. "There's part of him that's still just a kid playing basketball with his friends."
And so he cheers for his teammates like he would if they were still 10-year-olds playing pick-up hoops at the park.
Hardy said he's been told time and time again by officials to try and get Sexton to sit down more during the game (there's a new rule this season that no longer allows players to stand in the corner). He tries; he often fails.
"That's how he is; that's just who Collin is," Hardy said. "Like, his energy is the same as if he was playing."
The media seats are on the baseline near the visiting bench in Orlando, which gave the Jazz media an up close look at that energy. Sexton was loud, he was excited. It would have been downright impossible not to notice his reactions — and that had nothing to do with his shirt.
"He's pouring it into the game. He's very focused. He's listening to the timeouts. He wants to win. He wants our team to win. And it comes from a really pure place, like that's one of the many reasons why we all root for Collin," Hardy said.
It's a pureness that Hardy admits took a few weeks for him to recognize. Sexton has said "yes, sir" to everything Hardy has asked this season, and Hardy didn't think it was genuine at first.
"It took me like three weeks to realize that he's not a smart ass," Hardy said. "I was that smart ass when I was a kid, so I thought that that's what he was doing. And then all of a sudden you realize like, no, this is who Collin is; like he is a caring, polite, engaged, look you in the eye, 'yes, sir.' 'No, sir.' type of kid. We're lucky to have him in Utah."
Even when all he can do is cheer.
"He's dying to play, like dying to get out there and play, and he's getting close," Hardy said. "He's working through his hamstring stuff, and it's frustrating because he's such a competitor and he wants to be out there. But he finds a way to channel all that energy into letting it rip on the bench."
