President Monson cheers on Jazz

He drew a big crowd courtside while trying to leave EnergySolutions Arena after the Utah Jazz game on Friday night. He chatted and laughed with some excited basketball fans, waved at others, patted a baby on the head, and smiled a lot as numerous cameras flashed.

He even shocked Jazz coach Jerry Sloan and players by his presence and greeting.

Karl Malone? John Stockton maybe?

Not exactly.

The excitement and buzz courtside during and after the Jazz's 121-101 win over the Los Angeles Clippers wasn't for a basketball player. It was actually for President Thomas S. Monson, the new leader of the LDS Church who attended the game on a date with his wife, Frances.

"I thought it was a wonderful game — well played," President Monson told the Deseret Morning News after spending time mingling with the crowd.

"Glad that we won."

This wasn't the first Jazz game for President Monson. In fact, his secretary said he attends one or two a month. Usually, however, he watches the game from Jon Huntsman Sr.'s private box suite, so the crowd often doesn't even know he's there.

This time, though, he was almost front and center. President Monson and his party sat on the third row. He cheered, clapped, joked with fans and had a fun night at the game even while surprising many there.

His unexpected visit might have surprised Sloan and his players most of all.

With about five minutes remaining in the third quarter, the game was in a timeout when President Monson and his group returned to their seats from their halftime break. As they passed the Jazz bench, the affable church leader stopped at the Jazz huddle. He then greeted players by smiling and pointing at them in a friendly manner.

President Monson then really surprised Sloan. During the timeout, he walked by and patted the coach on the shoulder and gave him a cheerful salutation. Sloan, who was celebrating his birthday, looked stunned and admitted he didn't exactly know what was happening or who was behind him.

"I was trying to see what was going on, but I couldn't see who it was because I had my head down," Sloan said. "When I turned around, they were leaving and I couldn't see."

It wasn't until after the game that Jazz officials informed Sloan who had greeted him. The coach had never met President Monson personally before Friday's timeout. He said it was "fine" after he found out who patted his shoulder. The Jazz even went on a 27-11 run after his quick visit.

"Well, I'm always a little gun shy. Somebody gets in a huddle (and) you never know what's happening, especially if you're the coach," he said with a laugh. "Somebody might want to yank you out of there."