SALT LAKE CITY — On Monday, East High students attended an assembly, and they had no idea what was in store as the 2025-26 Utah Jazz took the court in front of the entire student body.
"They said there was going to be a special assembly on Monday," said East High student Frank Nyandagro. "My heart dropped because I was so excited to see them. It's just a dream come true."
"I was excited, but then kind of nervous," added fellow student Billie Jackson. "But being here, the nerves have gone away. It's just a cool experience and good opportunity for the school, everybody to come together and watch the Jazz."
EHS Assistant Principal Justin Spencer added: "We talked about it, and I thought this is a great opportunity for our students. This has been even better than we thought."
The Jazz donated $10,000 to East High School and said community outreach will continue to be a major emphasis for their organization.
"I think the support we have here is second to none. This team has been and still is a centerpiece of this community," said Utah Jazz Head Coach Will Hardy. "We can all kind of lose touch where we all fell in love with basketball. High school basketball for a lot of us was some of your best memories growing up. There's nothing like the energy in a high school gym when it's packed, and the kids here have been going crazy."
All-Star Lauri Markkanen added: "It's always awesome to give back to the community and do an event like this. It's been fun, and I know it's a big deal to the students."
The Utah Jazz open their season at home in the Delta Center on Oct. 22 at 6 p.m.
