Nevill, Cummard join forces for Utah Flash

Lee Cummard and Luke Nevill have been on the court simultaneously plenty of times. Cummard, who starred at Brigham Young, and Nevill, who ruled the middle for Utah, had several worthy battles throughout their collegiate careers.

Now the two will not only play on the same court, they'll be wearing the same uniform. And they will be a part of the Utah Flash's goal to win the NBA Development League championship.

The Flash, in just their third season, begin the regular season at Tulsa with a pair of games on Friday and Saturday, after a preseason exhibition against Idaho in Burley (Idaho) Monday night.

Flash head coach Brad Jones has to remind himself that his team's schedule is balanced — 25 games both at home and on the road — since they will be away from home for a monstrous road trip to begin the season.

Of their first 22 games, 16 are on the road and another is against Tulsa on a neutral site in Boise. After that, though, the Flash play 13 of their next 17 games at the McKay Events Center, on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem.

"We just have to remember that at the end of the season, we'll play 25 at home and 25 on the road," Jones said.

Cummard and Nevill would rather be playing either in the NBA or in a European league — but both are still happy to be here and eager to hone their skills.

After being cut by the Cleveland Cavaliers, Nevill said he considered some other options before deciding to return to the state of his college playing days.

"I took a couple calls from some European teams, but I thought this was the best way to progress my career," he said.

As for Cummard, after his playing days at BYU, he signed a contract with Alba Berlin in the Germany League, but things didn't work out as he had hoped.

"Me, my family and agent were all ready to stay there, but it turns out the team wanted a bigger player to fit their needs, so they worked a buyout," he said. "But I'm excited to be here; I think it's a great opportunity."

It was mutual admiration coming from both Nevill and Cummard.

"We just did a photo shoot, and he (Nevill) had his hand on my shoulder. That was weird," Cummard said, laughing. "But I'm glad he's on my team now instead of having to play against him."

Nevill's thoughts were similar.

"He's a great player, and he always gave us problems," he said. "But I always welcome a great player as a teammate."

The Flash are returning five players — guards Andre Ingram (American) and Dontell Jefferson (Arkansas) and forwards Bennet Davis (Northeastern), Gavin Grant (North Carolina State) and Carlos Wheeler (Campbellsville, KY.) — to go along with their four draft picks. Those picks are guards Jason Richards (Davidson) and Orien Greene (Louisiana Lafayette), center Garret Siler (Augusta State) and forward Jordan Brady (Utah Valley). Local tryout, forward Sylvester Morgan — who played at Georgia State — rounds out the roster.

With so many games on the road right off the bat, Jones hopes his team comes together quickly.

"There's always an adjustment period with any team," he said. "And we've only been practicing together for about a week."

While Jones admits it's a plus for fans to have two of their own in Nevill and Cummard playing for the Flash, he emphasizes that the important factor is the players' growth.

"At the end of the day, the goal of the D-League is to help these guys get better," Jones said.

e-mail: cpeterson@desnews.com