SALT LAKE CITY (Sept. 18, 2014) – The Utah Jazz today announced that Andrae Patterson and Travis Walton have been named assistant coaches on Idaho Stampede Head Coach Dean Cooper’s staff. In addition, the Jazz announced that Brady Howe will serve as the head athletic trainer and strength-and-conditioning coach and Hans Steinbrenner as the director of basketball operations for the Stampede, the team’s NBA Development League affiliate. Per team policy, terms of the agreements were not announced.
“Both Andrae and Travis are talented young coaches with strong pedigrees and winning backgrounds,” said Stampede coach Dean Cooper. “I look forward to working closely with our staff and the Jazz to build a team that is both growth-oriented and competitive.”
Patterson arrives to Boise with domestic and international playing and coaching experience, most recently spending two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Texas at Arlington after two years as the school’s director of basketball operations/video coordinator and one as a student assistant. Prior to joining UT Arlington, Patterson enjoyed a successful professional playing career that began when he was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 46th overall pick of the 1998 NBA Draft, where he played from 1998-2001. Following his NBA career, he played nine seasons internationally for clubs in the top European leagues, including both CB Estudiantes (2001-05) and Bàsquet Manresa (2005-06) of the premier Spanish ACB League, as well as KK Zadar (Croatia-A1) and Panellinios BC (Greece-A1) in 2006, Ironi Ashkelon (Israel) in 2007, before finishing his playing career with Egaleo AO (Greece-A1) from 2007-09. As a collegian, the native of Abilene, Texas, played for Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight for four seasons at Indiana University (1994-98), where he was an All-American and four-time All-Big Ten selection and led the Hoosiers to four NCAA Tournament appearances while earning a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.
Walton brings NBA Development League experience, having played from 2011-12 for the Dakota Wizards, Fort Wayne Mad Ants as well as the Canton Charge, under then Charge head coach and current Jazz assistant Alex Jensen. Walton also played professionally for ratiopharm Ulm (Germany-1) from 2010-11 and Lugano Tigers (Switzerland) from 2009-10 following a four-year standout career playing for head coach Tom Izzo at Michigan State (2005-09). One of three three-year captains in Michigan State history, Walton finished his collegiate career as the Spartans all-time leader in games played (143), and ranking fourth in school history for steals (167) and sixth in assists (555). Selected as the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year his senior year, Walton led the Spartans to the NCAA Tournament all four seasons, including being selected to the NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional All-Tournament Team en route to the Final Four and appearance in the 2009 National Championship Game. Walton served as a student assistant coach at Michigan State for the 2009-10 season while completing his bachelor’s degree in family child ecology, and has run his own basketball skill development and motivational speaking company, Team Walton, since 2012.
Howe previously served as head athletic trainer, strength coach and equipment manager for the Utah Flash (now the Delaware 87ers) of the NBA D-League from 2009-11, as well as the assistant athletic trainer/strength coach and clubhouse manager for the Ogden Raptors (Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate) of the Pioneer Baseball League from 2011-13. He has also worked as the head athletic trainer for basketball, head strength-and-conditioning coach for basketball and softball and an adjunct professor at Weber State University since 2011. Howe earned a bachelor’s degree in sports medicine and clinical athletic training from Weber State, and a master’s degree in sport performance and strength-and-conditioning from Southern Utah University.
A native of Boise, Idaho, Steinbrenner earned a bachelor’s degree in statistics at the University of Utah while serving for four seasons as student manager for the Utes’ men’s basketball program under former Stampede and Milwaukee Bucks head coach and ex-Jazz player Larry Krystkowiak.
The Jazz and Stampede have a single affiliation partnership that begins with the 2014-15 NBA D-League season. The partnership, also referred to as a “hybrid affiliation,” is the ninth of its kind in the NBA D-League and enables the Jazz to manage all aspects of the Stampede’s basketball operations, while the existing local ownership group headed by Bill Ilett maintains primary responsibility for the team’s off-the-court business operations and community initiatives.