moses
03-10-2004, 11:05 AM
Semi-pro basketball league to set up team in Statesville
By Brian Meadows
Record and Landmark
Tuesday, March 9, 2004
Make room Iredell Warriors, you're about to have minor-league company. The Carolinas Basketball League is coming to town.
Statesville will be home to a CBL expansion team this coming summer, according to league founder and commissioner John Jordan. The team will play its games at Statesville Christian School's Kester Memorial Gymnasium.
"We're pretty fired up," said Jordan, who also coaches Statesville Christian's varsity boys basketball team. "I think Statesville is going to be a good location for our league. We've got a nice facility with Statesville Christian -- the perfect size. We draw anywhere from 300 to 500 fans a game, and that's kind of our goal."
The league is entering its third season. The 2004 schedule runs from June 1 through August 1, which includes an 18-to-20-game regular season in addition to playoffs.
Statesville replaces Charleston W.Va., and joins 2003 league members Wilmington (Wave Rockers), Salisbury (Steaks) and two-time defending champion Hickory (Nutz). The league is negotiating with other places like Durham and Raleigh and hopes to field possibly five to seven teams once the season gets under way.
Jordan said he believes the Statesville and Iredell County community will be receptive to a semi-pro basketball team.
That hasn't totally been the case with the Iredell Warriors, a minor league football team that competes in the Southeastern American Football League. Even though the Warriors went from 1-9 (as the Cougars) their first year to 12-2 last season, the grandstands were never close to complete occupation last summer and fall.
"Our level of talent will make it different because we get a lot of players who people have seen or watched on TV," Jordan said. "We've got a lot of ACC-level players, as well as some ex-NBA names, so I think seeing that level of play is something that will take us over the top."
Last season former Duke player Nate James won league MVP honors as a member of the Hickory Nutz. Other former ACC stars that have played in the league include Robert O'Kelly and Randolph Childress from Wake Forest, and Ishua Benjamin from N.C. State.
Depending on their talent, players make a paltry $100-$300 a week. They also have their housing -- hotel or apartment -- taken care of by the team. Chump change for five- and six-figure salary players, some locally, returning to the United States for the summer after a regular season on teams based overseas.
In an effort to make the CBL more locally identifiable, each team is required to carry four regional players. These are players that have ties to that area, either in high school or college.
"That gives them a chance to get some exposure, maybe turns some heads and get a job themselves," said Jordan, who used the example of former Hickory High and North Carolina player Will Johnson.
Johnson played in the CBL last summer and earned a professional basketball job in Spain making around $50,000, according to Jordan.
The other major selling point Jordan touts about bringing a CBL team here is fan accessibility. In their contracts, players are required to give back 10 hours per week of volunteer service to the community they represent. That includes things like running camps and coaching youth leagues.
"We don't want them sitting around all day in a hotel room doing nothing," Jordan said. "They don't practice or play but so many hours a day.
"We try to get them out to everything and anything we can."
A league-wide regional player draft camp will be held April 24th, which offers localized talent a chance to try out and make the team.
Ten players will be placed on Statesville's roster.
Jordan will serve as the interim general manager of the team. Jordan also said he has begun his search for a suitable coach.
A team name has yet to be selected because the entire process is still in its initial stages. A "name-the-team" campaign is one approach Jordan said they are considering.
By Brian Meadows
Record and Landmark
Tuesday, March 9, 2004
Make room Iredell Warriors, you're about to have minor-league company. The Carolinas Basketball League is coming to town.
Statesville will be home to a CBL expansion team this coming summer, according to league founder and commissioner John Jordan. The team will play its games at Statesville Christian School's Kester Memorial Gymnasium.
"We're pretty fired up," said Jordan, who also coaches Statesville Christian's varsity boys basketball team. "I think Statesville is going to be a good location for our league. We've got a nice facility with Statesville Christian -- the perfect size. We draw anywhere from 300 to 500 fans a game, and that's kind of our goal."
The league is entering its third season. The 2004 schedule runs from June 1 through August 1, which includes an 18-to-20-game regular season in addition to playoffs.
Statesville replaces Charleston W.Va., and joins 2003 league members Wilmington (Wave Rockers), Salisbury (Steaks) and two-time defending champion Hickory (Nutz). The league is negotiating with other places like Durham and Raleigh and hopes to field possibly five to seven teams once the season gets under way.
Jordan said he believes the Statesville and Iredell County community will be receptive to a semi-pro basketball team.
That hasn't totally been the case with the Iredell Warriors, a minor league football team that competes in the Southeastern American Football League. Even though the Warriors went from 1-9 (as the Cougars) their first year to 12-2 last season, the grandstands were never close to complete occupation last summer and fall.
"Our level of talent will make it different because we get a lot of players who people have seen or watched on TV," Jordan said. "We've got a lot of ACC-level players, as well as some ex-NBA names, so I think seeing that level of play is something that will take us over the top."
Last season former Duke player Nate James won league MVP honors as a member of the Hickory Nutz. Other former ACC stars that have played in the league include Robert O'Kelly and Randolph Childress from Wake Forest, and Ishua Benjamin from N.C. State.
Depending on their talent, players make a paltry $100-$300 a week. They also have their housing -- hotel or apartment -- taken care of by the team. Chump change for five- and six-figure salary players, some locally, returning to the United States for the summer after a regular season on teams based overseas.
In an effort to make the CBL more locally identifiable, each team is required to carry four regional players. These are players that have ties to that area, either in high school or college.
"That gives them a chance to get some exposure, maybe turns some heads and get a job themselves," said Jordan, who used the example of former Hickory High and North Carolina player Will Johnson.
Johnson played in the CBL last summer and earned a professional basketball job in Spain making around $50,000, according to Jordan.
The other major selling point Jordan touts about bringing a CBL team here is fan accessibility. In their contracts, players are required to give back 10 hours per week of volunteer service to the community they represent. That includes things like running camps and coaching youth leagues.
"We don't want them sitting around all day in a hotel room doing nothing," Jordan said. "They don't practice or play but so many hours a day.
"We try to get them out to everything and anything we can."
A league-wide regional player draft camp will be held April 24th, which offers localized talent a chance to try out and make the team.
Ten players will be placed on Statesville's roster.
Jordan will serve as the interim general manager of the team. Jordan also said he has begun his search for a suitable coach.
A team name has yet to be selected because the entire process is still in its initial stages. A "name-the-team" campaign is one approach Jordan said they are considering.