Know Your Team: Logan Stutz
Sudbury Five
Player-Coach
6'9
Forward
From Kansas City, Missouri
2016 MVP
1xAll-NBLC
One of the most recognisable characters in the NBL Canada, when Logan Stutz accepted the head coaching job with the Sudbury Five he thought his playing days were behind him, but it turned out he could not ignore the call of the basketball for long.
Stutz's journey began playing for Plaza Heights High School, after which he went on to Butler County. After an eye-catching debut season for the Grizzlies, Stutz was recruited to the Washburn Ichabods in NCAA Division II. He improved year on year with Washburn, and his senior year averages of 20 points and 7 rebounds per game led not just his team, but his conference.
His professional career began in central Europe with Wels in Austria, after which he played for Wohnbau Baskets in Germany. He quickly emerged as a team leader, and was Wohnbau's top scorer and rebounder in the 2012-13 season. His leadership and ability to put up big numbers followed him for the rest of his time in Europe, which also saw him play in Bulgaria and Sweden.
Stutz first came to Canada in 2015, when he joined the Niagara River Lions in a highly impressive NBL Canada debut, going on to become the season scoring champion and winner of the Most Valuable Player award.
He rejoined the River Lions after a short spell in Japan, then signed with the Windsor Express for the latter part of the 2016/17 season. The following season he averaged 18.2 points and 8.0 rebounds per game for the Express, after which he would take on a new role in the sport.
Ahead of the 2018-19 NBLC season, the newly formed Sudbury Five announced Stutz as their first coach. It was his first time in such a position, but he filled it with ease. His experience and work ethic rubbed off on the team, who finished the season with a 21-19 record and took their playoff series to a deciding game, which they lost to eventual Central Division champions St. John's Edge.
Retained for the 2019-20 season, Stutz and the short-handed Sudbury side shocked the NBLC community shortly after the season's start by announcing his coming out of retirement to suit up for the team. It was a show of great character to step up and help his team in this way. Basketball fans in Sudbury will now be hoping it will be just like old days now he is back on the court.
Picture:John Lappa/Sudbury Star/Postmedia Network
