Utah Jazz senior vice president of basketball operations, Kevin O?Connor, announced today that the team has signed guard Morris Almond, the Jazz?s first-round selection (25th pick overall) in the 2007 NBA Draft. Per team policy, terms of the offers were not released.

Almond (6-6, 215, Rice) was the 2007 Conference USA Player of the Year as a senior at Rice after setting conference records for scoring average (26.4 ppg), total points scored (844) and free throws made (241). His 26.4-point scoring average ranked third in the nation as he scored 30+ points 10 times, including a career-high and C-USA record 44 points vs. Vanderbilt and 42 points at the University of Utah. Almond also led C-USA in three-point accuracy (.456), ranked second in free throw percentage (.846) and fourth in rebounding (6.6 rpg), all team highs.