New pro team to boost basketball fever

OREM — Local roundball fever is near an all-time high in the valley — and could get a booster shot from a pro newcomer.

Success on the hardwood at Brigham Young University, Utah Valley State College and a number of local high schools just added to the Jazz fever spreading across the state. Beginning this fall, Happy Valley residents will have a whole new outlet from which to satisfy their hoops cravings.

The newest face on the scene is the Utah Flash, the expansion franchise for the NBA Developmental League that will be based in the Provo/Orem area. With their inaugural season to kick off this November, the Flash front-office personnel are set to make their team a leader as the D-League develops into a true minor-league system for the NBA.

"We're trying to focus in and make sure the level of basketball here is exceptional, that it's the best possible basketball you would see in the minor league," said Flash owner Brandt Andersen. "One of the major things that we've said is that we're trying to run this team like a major league team, not like a minor league team. What that means is that our decisions get driven by basketball decisions even more than they do strictly by dollars and cents decisions."

Leading the way is Andersen, the perfect man for the job considering his successes thus far. At the ripe old age of 29, Andersen is the founder of uSight, a provider of software products and services for small businesses, as well as the general partner and owner of two large real estate development projects. He is joined by business partner Joe Brown, the team president and a BYU graduate (2002).

The next major step of the building process came in late May when Andersen announced the signing of Brad Jones as head coach of the Flash. Jones, currently a regional scout for the Utah Jazz, brings six years of NBA experience along with an impressive coaching resume at Lambuth University in Jackson, Tenn., where he earned two Mid-South Conference titles and two coach-of-the-year awards. He also led the team to its first national tournament appearance in school history.

"He's the guy that the Jazz said they would choose," Andersen said. "He's a young guy who has a lot of energy; he's not afraid to get excited if necessary. I kind of see him as a guy who, if he needed to break a clipboard, he'd break a clipboard. He's very much cut from the same stuff as Jerry Sloan."