SALT LAKE CITY – The Salt Lake City Stars, the NBA Development League affiliate of the Utah Jazz, announced today that Dean Cooper will return as head coach for the team’s inaugural 2016-17 season in Salt Lake City.
Watch the Stars YouTube channel for a personal introduction to the head coach of the Salt Lake City Stars.
Cooper enters his third season as the head coach for the Jazz’s D-League affiliate. Before joining the organization in 2014, Cooper spent two seasons as an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets on Kevin McHale’s staff. He began his NBA career with the Rockets in 1999 as a video coordinator, eventually becoming an assistant coach to Rudy Tomjanovich. When Jeff Van Gundy succeeded Tomjanovich, Cooper transitioned to the front office as a personnel scout for one season before eventually becoming the Director of Scouting (2004-07) and Vice President of Player Personnel (2007-08).
He spent the 2008-09 season as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves when McHale was the interim coach. Following a one-year stint as a regional scout for the Timberwolves (2009-10), Cooper became Director of Player Development for the Portland Trail Blazers under Nate McMillan.
Prior to the NBA, Cooper coached four years at the collegiate level. For two seasons he was an assistant coach at his alma mater, Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Mich., before taking a similar role at the University of Buffalo for two years. While at Aquinas, he also served in an advance scouting role for the Connecticut Pride of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) for one season. Cooper began his coaching career at a pair of Michigan high schools, spending five years at Belding High School and three years at Caledonia High School.
A native of Belding, Mich., Cooper has been a camp director in the NBA’s Basketball without Borders program since 2005.
Season tickets for the Stars are on sale now and prices start as low as $3.25 per seat/per game. Season ticket membership benefits include the best ticket prices, exclusive events with Stars players and coaches, and more. Fans interested in purchasing season tickets for the 2016-17 season should call a Stars season ticket representative at (801) 325-7232.
