Utah Prospectors (1978-1979)

The Utah Prospectors, or Pros as they were sometimes called, were a Western Basketball Association team that lasted only one season and played their home games at the Salt Palace in downtown Salt Lake City. Sometimes the team is referred to by its original name, the Salt Lake City Prospectors.

The WBA as a whole was a league set to rival the NBA and pick up where the ABA had failed, but with a regional aspect. The Prospectors represented another attempt to establish professional basketball in Utah following the departure of the Utah Stars of the American Basketball Association.

Although their existence was brief, the Prospectors occupied an interesting place in Utah basketball history. They attempted to revive the excitement surrounding the former ABA franchise just as Salt Lake City was preparing for the arrival of a permanent NBA team.

The seven-team league included the Fresno Stars, Great Falls Sky, Las Vegas Dealers, Reno Bighorns, Tucson Gunners, Washington Lumberjacks, and, of course, the Prospectors.

The names and locations of the teams tried to play off the history of their respective communities. The league was founded by Larry Cregar, who had been an assistant coach in both the NBA and ABA, and businessman Neil Christiansen.

The Utah team was owned by Frank Nelson, a Salt Lake City-area businessman.

The Western Basketball Association attempted to distinguish itself from the NBA by combining regional basketball identities with elements borrowed from the ABA. However, the league would struggle to balance its ambitions with the financial realities of operating professional basketball franchises.

The team was coached by former Utah Stars player Dick Nemelka. The WBA had regional territorial picks, much like the NBA had in the earlier days of its existence. Much as it had in the NBA, the WBA rule caused a lot of hurt feelings.

Utah had six colleges assigned to its region, while other teams were not as lucky. This was thought to be a huge advantage for Utah, as both the University of Utah and BYU had produced several players who went on to the NBA over the years.

A Deseret News article written by Linda Hamilton on August 25, 1978, attributed a statement to Great Falls coach Bill Klukas, who said he would not trade the Big Ten Conference for the schools the Pros were allowed to select from.

This was likely hyperbole, as even at their best, Utah schools did not produce the same number of star or talented players as the Big Ten.

The territorial system was intended to help teams establish stronger connections with local basketball fans. In Utah, the rule was particularly appealing because of the state's established college basketball traditions and the popularity of the former Utah Stars.

The Pros wanted to court the past and be like the Utah Stars of the ABA. The team hired several former Stars personalities and even adopted the same color scheme as the old Stars.

The Utah Stars had put Utah on the map as a major basketball-loving state. When the Stars disbanded and the ABA merged with the NBA, it looked as if Salt Lake City was not going to have another professional basketball team, and the Pros hoped to fill that void.

The Utah media also tried to generate excitement surrounding the new team.

While the Pros courted the past, the league itself did not follow the ABA's approach in every respect. However, it did keep the no-foul-out rule and the three-point shot.

These rules reflected the influence of the ABA, which had helped popularize a faster and more entertaining style of professional basketball before its merger with the NBA in 1976.

The league was seen as somewhat of a sideshow once it got going, with a number of antics that made fans laugh and cry at the same time. The ABA had liked antics, too, but generally kept them in a more professional environment.

Buffoonery aside, the WBA did have some success as a minor league to the NBA, and several players received opportunities in the NBA.

Sam Smith and the Los Angeles Lakers

One such player was Utah's Sam Smith, who joined the Lakers in 1978.

In Smith's first game, he hurled a three-quarter-court shot off the backboard and into the hoop, which was a WBA specialty.

Smith would go on to earn All-WBA Third Team honors for his performance with the Prospectors.

Bruce Seals and the Problems of the WBA

The contrast between professionalism and circus sideshow plagued the league and most of its teams, and Utah was no exception.

One common problem was players simply quitting in the middle of games. Utah's Bruce Seals did just that when he confronted coach Nemelka over playing time. Nemelka told him to go home, and Seals did. This was not the only time such an incident happened.

These incidents reflected some of the organizational problems faced by the league during its only season.

Player Conditions and Roster Rules

Yet despite these kinds of setbacks, the league did provide better lodging and a better overall experience for the players.

Unlike the NBA at the time, which had 12-player active rosters and could have up to 15 total players on their rosters, the WBA allowed only 11-player rosters and only nine traveling players.

The league paid well for its stature, with a minimum of $10,000 a year per team.

The Canceled WBA All-Star Game

The first WBA All-Star Game was scheduled to be held in Salt Lake City on January 18, 1979, but financial issues forced its cancellation.

The game would have given the Prospectors and the Salt Palace an opportunity to host one of the league's showcase events.

Utah's Final Record

Despite the high hopes for the team, the Pros won only 19 games and finished in sixth place.

Sam Smith earned All-League Third Team honors, providing one of the team's notable individual achievements during its brief existence.

Several factors led to the demise of the WBA. One was the announcement in April 1979 that the New Orleans Jazz would be relocating to Salt Lake City.

This put the WBA and the NBA in direct competition in what would become the NBA's smallest market, but what had been one of the WBA's largest markets.

The WBA began actively looking to move the Prospectors and considered cities such as Provo, Cheyenne and Barstow. During this period, news came that the Continental Basketball Association wanted to pursue a merger.

This looked like a great deal, and both sides agreed to it. All the teams except Utah would join the CBA, while Utah would disband because it could not compete with the Jazz.

Unfortunately for the WBA, none of its teams could make the financial commitment, and before the merger could be completed, the entire league folded.

Several players who would go on to play for the Utah Jazz had played in the WBA, including Jeff Cook, Brad Davis and Duck Williams.

The Prospectors disappeared after just one season, but their brief history connected two important eras of Utah professional basketball: the ABA's Utah Stars and the NBA's Utah Jazz.