South Atlantic
11-12-2004, 10:46 AM
The Almost Basketball Assn.... - Nov. 12, 2004 - by Gianni Pascucci
The 2004-05 regular season of the ABA will start in less than two weeks, and most of the teams are yet under way, not only in completing the player rosters, but even in organizing their team yet. Read the three examples down, please: A) The Gwinnett Gwizzlies, a team which brought around the ABA trademark all over the past summer, does not exist anymore: a brand new franchise, now named the Atlanta Mustangs, replaced the Gwizzlies, run by a new owner, Arthur Crawford, a new GM, James Bynum, and a new coach, Brook Steppe, who is hardly working to complete the players roster B) Ron Eford, owner of the Jersey franchise, communicated yesterday that the Jaguars will not be playing in 2004-05. Or, better, a team from New Jersey there should be, but NOT with the nickname Jaguars, due to a partnership breaking in the ownership. And all the contracts of the players signed last week have been canceled. C) The practice sessions of the Jacksonville Wave team have been interrupted some days ago by the mayor of the Camden County, Georgia, town in which the Gym was located. It seems that the prior GM of the team, Larry Jacobs, had set up the deal with the County, and when he left the team a few weeks before, nothing was paid to the facility. The team is also rumored to have no money to pay any of the players, and the Head Coach, Clemon Johnson, is seriously considering to return to his old job of coaching high school basketball.
Here are some quick hitters...
So now New Jersey looks to be pulling out, Jacksonville seems to have been pulled out by city officials, Ontario is in a whirlwind, and all a week before tip off.
I think if a city is looking into minor league basketball, they will have a tough time if it is associated with the ABA. These black eyes add up and soon it will be a knockout.
I have read the background on some owners involved, or key personnel involved, and many struggle with business backgrounds. If I had a team involved with the ABA, my concern wouldnt be selling my team to the community but selling the idea that there would be an entire season played.
How many background checks were ran on interested owners? Financial as well as criminal? It caught up with Wally Backman.
I wish that Mr. Newman would stop with the expansion process for next year and clean up this year.
The WBA seems to be set in several cities where the ABA is lined up right now, so it will be interesting to see where the corporate dollars go, assuming there will be corporate dollars.
If a team can not provide a line of credit worth $250,000 then they shouldnt be allowed a franchise. The ABA, whether Newman and his staff are great people, can't keep taking these shots without responding. It starts with them and it needs to end with them.
If Newman and his staff are ran out of the ABA, where and when will the next ABA start-up?
The 2004-05 regular season of the ABA will start in less than two weeks, and most of the teams are yet under way, not only in completing the player rosters, but even in organizing their team yet. Read the three examples down, please: A) The Gwinnett Gwizzlies, a team which brought around the ABA trademark all over the past summer, does not exist anymore: a brand new franchise, now named the Atlanta Mustangs, replaced the Gwizzlies, run by a new owner, Arthur Crawford, a new GM, James Bynum, and a new coach, Brook Steppe, who is hardly working to complete the players roster B) Ron Eford, owner of the Jersey franchise, communicated yesterday that the Jaguars will not be playing in 2004-05. Or, better, a team from New Jersey there should be, but NOT with the nickname Jaguars, due to a partnership breaking in the ownership. And all the contracts of the players signed last week have been canceled. C) The practice sessions of the Jacksonville Wave team have been interrupted some days ago by the mayor of the Camden County, Georgia, town in which the Gym was located. It seems that the prior GM of the team, Larry Jacobs, had set up the deal with the County, and when he left the team a few weeks before, nothing was paid to the facility. The team is also rumored to have no money to pay any of the players, and the Head Coach, Clemon Johnson, is seriously considering to return to his old job of coaching high school basketball.
Here are some quick hitters...
So now New Jersey looks to be pulling out, Jacksonville seems to have been pulled out by city officials, Ontario is in a whirlwind, and all a week before tip off.
I think if a city is looking into minor league basketball, they will have a tough time if it is associated with the ABA. These black eyes add up and soon it will be a knockout.
I have read the background on some owners involved, or key personnel involved, and many struggle with business backgrounds. If I had a team involved with the ABA, my concern wouldnt be selling my team to the community but selling the idea that there would be an entire season played.
How many background checks were ran on interested owners? Financial as well as criminal? It caught up with Wally Backman.
I wish that Mr. Newman would stop with the expansion process for next year and clean up this year.
The WBA seems to be set in several cities where the ABA is lined up right now, so it will be interesting to see where the corporate dollars go, assuming there will be corporate dollars.
If a team can not provide a line of credit worth $250,000 then they shouldnt be allowed a franchise. The ABA, whether Newman and his staff are great people, can't keep taking these shots without responding. It starts with them and it needs to end with them.
If Newman and his staff are ran out of the ABA, where and when will the next ABA start-up?