Salt Lake Stars Name Scott Morrison As Head Coach
Oct 12, 2022, 1:26 PM
Salt Lake City Stars head coach Scott Morrison (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz G League affiliate the Salt Lake City Stars have named Scott Morrison as their new head coach.
Morrison served formerly as an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics from 2017-21 under Brad Stevens.
Prior to his time in Boston, Morrison was the head coach of the Celtics’ NBA G League affiliate the Maine Red Claws between 2014-17. The coach lead Maine to a 35-15 record and won the Dennis Johnson G League Coach of the Year Award in his first season.
We are happy to announce our new Head Coach @scott_morrison and GM @JuiCEBOxx___ ⭐️
Welcome to SLC!#𝙄𝙩𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙨𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚 https://t.co/nFcCs5KjvJ… pic.twitter.com/Ckz3c0H62a
— Salt Lake City Stars (@slcstars) October 12, 2022
A native of Prince Edward Island, Canada, Morrison originally joined the Celtics organization as a player development coach for the Red Claws in 2013.
“Scott is a terrific basketball mind with an outstanding track record of player development and someone who understands the importance of establishing culture.,” Utah Jazz general manager Justin Zanik said. “He is a perfect fit for what we are trying to accomplish with our G League program.”
Thomas Jackson, Lowell Egan, and Lawrence “Trend” Blackledge will also join Morrison’s coaching staff with the Stars.
Morrison replaced former coach Nathan Peavy who had held the job since 2020.
Stars Name New General Manager
In addition to naming Morrison as the new head coach, the Stars have also promoted Marquis Newman to the role of general manager.
Newman was the Stars assistant general manager last season under Bart Taylor but was promoted ahead of the 2022-23 G League season.
Taylor has been promoted to Jazz vice president of player personnel.
“Marquis is someone who has been with our club for several years and has grown immensely in every role due to his work ethic, basketball acumen and commitment to the team,” Zanik said. “It’s a testament to the importance of internal growth within our organization. He has a tremendous eye for talent, and we have the utmost confidence in his ability to locate the kind of players the Jazz want to bring in and develop. We are thrilled to have Marquis take on this new role.”
Stars Announce Schedule, New Home Arena
The Stars will play their home games at Maverik Center for the 2022-23 season.
The Jazz G League affiliate announced the move on Monday after spending the last several seasons playing at the Salt Lake Community College Redwood Campus.
“The Stars look forward to starting this new era in our new home at the Maverik Center and to enhancing the game-night experience for both our fans and players,” Stars President Jonathan Rinehart said in a release from the team.
The @slcstars will be playing their home games this season at the @Maverik_Center after years at the Salt Lake Community College. #takenote | @utahjazz https://t.co/Qlp9ZDmqYZ
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 10, 2022
“Based in West Valley City, the Stars will maintain our proximity to the Jazz and continue to serve an important development role for the franchise, while also growing our commitment to that community.”
The Stars 2022-23 campaign will consist of 24 home games, 24 road games and two neutral site games at the 2022 AT&T NBA G League Winter Showcase in Las Vegas.
The two-part schedule returns with teams playing 16 games to determine qualification and seeding for the annual Showcase Cup tournament from Nov. 4-Dec. 17. Following the Showcase Cup, team records and statistics reset for the traditional 32-game regular season.
The Stars home opener will be held on November 21-22 at the Maverik Center against the Santa Cruz Warriors and will face Scoot Henderson and the G League Ignite on November 28.
The season concludes with a three-game homestand against South Bay Lakers on March 19 and Austin Spurs on March 21 and 23.
