There's been a restructuring in the Utah Starzz's front office this week as the team moves to fill some of the void left when Tim Howells left last winter.
Dennis Haslam, president of the Larry H. Miller Sports and Entertainment Group, has named Jay Francis as the team's senior vice president of operations and promoted Kim Free from director of operations to vice president of marketing and business operations. Kevin O'Connor will continue as vice president of basketball operations for both the Jazz and the Starzz."We are pleased with what Kim Free has done this past year in her role with the Starzz," Haslam said. "She is committed to the success of the Starzz and her imprint on the organization has shown it."
In her term as director of operations, Free reorganized the Starzz support staff, making the franchise independent of the Jazz. She has also established a dedicated sales and marketing staff focused only on the success of the Starzz. Free's responsibilities will now include the marketing and selling of tickets and the coordination of affairs in the Starzz front office.
As well as overseeing all of the front-office operations of the Starzz, Francis will continue in his responsibilities as senior vice president of marketing for the Larry H. Miller Sports and Entertainment Group.
In other Starzz/WNBA news this week, Team USA has suspended training until the conclusion of the 2000 WNBA season. Starzz forward Natalie Williams finished her training with solid stats. In her 31 games with Team USA since September, Williams averaged 10.0 points a game, 58 percent field-goal shooting, 71 percent free-throw shooting and 6.1 rebounds a game.
Also, the WNBA has announced that its annual Pre-Draft camp for free agents will be held in Chicago next week, April 13-15, at Moody Bible Institute. The Pre-Draft camp allows WNBA coaches and general managers to evaluate skills of draft prospects in advance of the 2000 Draft on April 25. The camp is where the Starzz first discovered, among others, 7-foot-2 Margo Dydek and 5-4 Debbie Black, who were starters last season.
Next week's camp will include college seniors, veterans with prior professional experience and international players. In addition, about 25 players who were eligible to be selected in the 1999 WNBA Draft will participate in the 2000 Pre-Draft Camp. These players will not be eligible for the 2000 WNBA Draft and will be assigned to teams following the Draft.
WNBA team training camps open Wednesday, May 3, at the teams' respective training facilities. The WNBA tips off its fourth season on Monday, May 29, with a championship rematch between the Liberty and the three-time defending champion Houston Comets. The Starzz's season opener is May 31 at Los Angeles. The home opener is June 1 with Minnesota.