Logan Stutz: Ready for the Sudbury Five to Take the Court

By: Cole Shelton

Logan Stutz has had a busy summer. Normally, the Missouri native would be working out and preparing for his next season of professional basketball. However, this is not one of those summers. Stutz's decided to retire at just 30-years-old and take on a new challenge of being the inaugural head coach and general manager of the National Basketball League of Canada's newest franchise the Sudbury Five.

Stutz didn't know he was going to retire from basketball until the Five called him and offered the job.

Not many people knew Stutz was going to step away from the game, and neither did the Five. They were looking at a wide-list of candidates before Stutz called the owners letting them know he is interested.

"I actually reached out to them right after their press conference, I believe it was May 8. I saw they were launching their team so I was able to get in touch with their team," said Stutz in a recent phone interview. "After that, I went into the interview process and it wasn't up until July 8, that they made the phone call to hire me.

"I didn't know what they were looking for at the time, I didn't know if they had someone lined up. It just worked out that they were looking for a head coach and a GM," Stutz continued. "The GM was really the business side of the NBL and getting players situated and getting their contracts figured out. Trades and transactions. I was able to do that, and the head coaching job they wanted someone who knew the league, the ups and the downs. What kind of players fit in the league and they thought I was a good fit for both of those. It just worked out really well."

When Stutz was hired as the GM and head coach the work began trying to find players to sign in Sudbury. Nobody knew what the fan base was going to be like or what the team was like. The Five had no returning rights early on before the NBLC approved them to take over the Niagara River Lions, which was a huge help to Stutz.

"Definitely helps having something, something I can add value to trade or to keep. Starting out with nothing is hard," the former NBLC veteran added. "I would have loved to have their rights a month earlier but at the end of the day, I am very fortunate to get them. At the end of the day, it gives you something to work with whether you want to sign them or trade them somewhere else."

Not only was having no players a challenge but getting players to come to an expansion team with no evidence it will succeed was also quite difficult.

"I kind of have to paint the picture knowing the amount of work I have put in. I have to kind of bet on myself and not oversell what we are trying to be," added Stutz. "Just a very realistic viewpoint of the product, the fan support and the entertainment value. I try to be as honest as I can be with everybody. It is going to be a good situation."

With Stutz starting to figure out what to do the next step was the NBLC draft. The new expansion team had the first-overall pick and was set to take a high impact young Canadian. However, that was not the case, as Stutz traded the pick to the Moncton Magic for Juan Pattillo, who he then flipped for Grandy Glaze. It was a successful draft day for the brand new GM.

"Everybody is going to have a different few on that. Basically, when I went down to the draft, I didn't know if I had the Niagara player rights, I technically didn't have anybody's players rights. There was a couple of guys that I had targeted and one of them was Grandy Glaze through the first-round pick right then and there," he said of why he traded the first-overall pick. "I went down there with nothing and came back with something and some guys that have played in the league. I had to put the team first and get some experience."

Getting some players who have played in the NBLC is important for any team, especially for an expansion team. What has also helped Stutz is his deep connection throughout the game of basketball. Stutz has contacts from all over the world from former players, opposing players, and coaches, all of which has helped Stutz get players to Sudbury and learn more about his job.

"That is going a lot farther than the NBLC. I have been a professional basketball player for eight years. Really from, the day I started and in college, I have been making connections and it is coming around," the 30-year-old said. "My best advice is never to burn any bridges and stay in contact with everybody. It is a small basketball world, everybody knows everybody and if you can keep good relationships it will really help you out."

With the season slowly approaching, Stutz is ready to make his coaching debut, something that has had to take a backseat this summer as the GM job was the priority. With the team almost filled out, Sudbury will start to know the player's names, and if all goes well will have a successful team to cheer on.

For what Stutz's goal for the Five this season is simple.

"I just want to be a team on the court that fans and the community fall in love. Not just in Sudbury, maybe the NBLC. Just a fan favourite that maybe you want to root for these guys," said Stutz. "I'm bringing in the right guys, right talent guys. I'm not too concerned about the performance on the court because I know what I am bringing and what I am going to get. I want to keep the team doing things right and a team that everybody likes to cheer for at the end of the day and we will build on our success.