2007 USBL Pre-Preview

[The Magician]

With the USBL season scheduled to tipoff in April '07 ... What kind of excitment do you think we can expect from the United States Basketball League this year?

http://www.usbl.com/index.php

Albany Patroons
Brooklyn Kings
Delaware Stars
Dodge City Legend
Gary Steelheads
Jackson Wildcats
Kansas Cagerz
Long Island Primetime
NEPA Breakers
Oklahamo Storm

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

With the USBL season scheduled to tipoff in April '07 ... What kind of excitment do you think we can expect from the United States Basketball League this year?

http://www.usbl.com/index.php

Albany Patroons
Brooklyn Kings
Delaware Stars
Dodge City Legend
Gary Steelheads
Jackson Wildcats
Kansas Cagerz
Long Island Primetime
NEPA Breakers
Oklahamo Storm

Scratch NEPA and add Boston.

Expect the Steelheads to run away with the championship. They are a high-end NBADL type organization in a budget-minded spring league. They also have extremely knowledgeable and resourceful fans (fan?) that other teams would die for.

[The Magician]

Scratch NEPA and add Boston.

Hey Ken ... Use your influence to get that USBL Team Page updated to reflect Boston!

http://www.usbl.com/teams.php

[panchess]

..I have said all along that one big advantage the Patroons are going to have in the USBL is the ability to retain players and have most of their CBA team playing in the spring. They might even get G-Mac for the spring, who I assume is now a USBL free agent since NEPA folded (for the record, the Patroons bought the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs franchise, and would retain whatever rights they had in the league).

D-League type franchise in Gary? Look up to the rafters of the Genesis Center and how many championship banners do you see.

The Washington Avenue Armory has banners won by Phil Jackson.

The trick for both of these teams will be to retain the winter fan base in the spring.

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

..D-League type franchise in Gary? Look up to the rafters of the Genesis Center and how many championship banners do you see.

The Washington Avenue Armory has banners won by Phil Jackson.

The trick for both of these teams will be to retain the winter fan base in the spring.

If you look closely at this pic, I think you can see the 2006 CBA Eastern Conference Championship banner hanging in the Genesis Center:
http://steelheadshoops.com.ismmedia.com/ISM2/NewsManager/376.jpeg.300.jpeg
...well, maybe this is too early a photo.

Phil Jackson? Is there anything more recent--like something within the last two decades?

[TEN]

I think some folks in Dodge, Enid and Salina might have something to say about that!

They won't let Gary come in and run roughshod over the rest of the league. Remember that there is a salary cap so they can't pay any more than anybody else can.

Should be fun though!

[panchess]

..the Patroons were out of business from 1993-2005, so they didn't win anything then.

This year, though, here comes the double for Albany, a CBA championship and a USBL championship!

[MJHankel]

I'm thinking that the chang of leagues for the Steelheads could deffinitely be a good thing. Either way I am looking forward to it sense the USBL plays when collge is on summer break.

[BreakersFan]

I'm thinking that the chang of leagues for the Steelheads could deffinitely be a good thing. Either way I am looking forward to it sense the USBL plays when collge is on summer break.

I think it is good for both the USBL, which gets another badly-needed quality organization to go the three remaining midwest teams, and Gary, which keeps the Steelheads for local fans.

The addition of Gary gives the USBL six solid teams in Gary, Oklahoma, Dodge City, Kansas, Brooklyn, and Albany. Time will tell on Long Island, Delaware, Jackson, and Boston..... I hope to get to 1-2 games in each of Albany and Delaware this spring. Can't wait for the schedule to be released.

[BreakersFan]

I will freely admit that I am a pesimist, but today is February 10 - we're just over two months out - and no word on the Boston franchise..... I guess they are on the schedule (which is also overdue), but we all know that doesn't mean anything....

[MJHankel]

I will freely admit that I am a pesimist, but today is February 10 - we're just over two months out - and no word on the Boston franchise..... I guess they are on the schedule (which is also overdue), but we all know that doesn't mean anything....

Honestly I have been thinking things like this for a little while now.

Here are my problems:

A. Jackson Wildcats (http://www.jacksonwildcats.com/) - Sense the press release stating that they existed, they have all but disappeared. The website has not changed at all. No tryouts, no nothing.

B. Delaware Stars (http://www.usbl.com/teams.php?tid=46) - showed up, already late. They used a rip off place holder logo, they still have no website, (though I guess that is ok seeing as how the Primetime don't either). They also have not released any more info sense their inception.

C. NEPA Breakers (http://www.usbl.com/teams.php?tid=34) - everybody says they are done with pro ball yet the USBL still keeps them on the league site. Are they intending to run another team on their own in NEPA for balance?

D. Long Island Primtime (http://www.usbl.com/teams.php?tid=40) - are they still owned and opperated by the league? Either way you would think that if the league operated them, they would do it right (like a model franchise). The never even made a website for the team. Is the team successful? do they have fans??

E. Boston - of course, I don't know what else to say about this one.


Personally I think it would be good for the league to persue the Chicago Rockstars, they at least exist, have a venue/players/sponsors/website/fans. That is already more than some of the other teams and definitely more than Baltimore. It would definitely make sense geographically, giving the Steelheads someone to form a rivalry with.

I don't know, but this league sure does like to keep its possible fans in the dark about everything. (technically I guess that is mostly just the teams)

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

I will freely admit that I am a pesimist, but today is February 10 - we're just over two months out - and no word on the Boston franchise..... I guess they are on the schedule (which is also overdue), but we all know that doesn't mean anything....

Heck! There's no public word on ANY of the 2007 USBL franchises...unless you count Gary hiring Renee Connelly and announcing cheerleader tryouts as news. The Steelheads also announced that they would unveil a new website by mid-January. No USBL schedule available to the general public, obviously no new Gary website. The USBL constantly leaves me scratching my head. I prefer a wee-bit more organization in my life.

Boston is in. NEPA is out. Forget what you see on the USBL website because the website is outdated. If it's not true about Beantown then it's news to me. You can blame the USBL if there's no Boston because I'M the reliable one. 8)

MJ,
Yes, the Rockstars would improve travel for Gary. And yes, the Rockstars are as flakey as it gets. Their latest press release doesn't inspire much confidence either, IMO. BTW, It's Boston, not Baltimore.

[MJHankel]

MJ,
Yes, the Rockstars would improve travel for Gary. And yes, the Rockstars are as flakey as it gets. Their latest press release doesn't inspire much confidence either, IMO. BTW, It's Boston, not Baltimore.

Yeah, I know that the team is not that great, but hey it'd be nice to have another team for them to play in the area.

as for the Baltimore thing, I honestly do not know where that came from, I guess my mind is a bit shot I hadn't been sleeping for about three days. Sorry about the glitch. :redface:

[BreakersFan]

Honestly I have been thinking things like this for a little while now.

Here are my problems:

A. Jackson Wildcats (http://www.jacksonwildcats.com/) - Sense the press release stating that they existed, they have all but disappeared. The website has not changed at all. No tryouts, no nothing.

B. Delaware Stars (http://www.usbl.com/teams.php?tid=46) - showed up, already late. They used a rip off place holder logo, they still have no website, (though I guess that is ok seeing as how the Primetime don't either). They also have not released any more info sense their inception.

C. NEPA Breakers (http://www.usbl.com/teams.php?tid=34) - everybody says they are done with pro ball yet the USBL still keeps them on the league site. Are they intending to run another team on their own in NEPA for balance?

D. Long Island Primtime (http://www.usbl.com/teams.php?tid=40) - are they still owned and opperated by the league? Either way you would think that if the league operated them, they would do it right (like a model franchise). The never even made a website for the team. Is the team successful? do they have fans??

E. Boston - of course, I don't know what else to say about this one.




Yikes - that is 40% of the league. If the USBL faces another few midseason folds, that may be all she wrote. You have to wonder about the wisdom of adding Jackson to the league, which increases travel costs for everyone else. And the Wildcats travel budget must be horrendous. If they ever release a schedule, I hope to get to Albany and Delaware.

[BreakersFan]

According to the Stars website, www.DelawareStars.net, the Stars will unveil a new logo and their 2007 schedule on Monday. Guess that means that Boston will be announced before then. (Either that or the Stars will "out" them on Monday!)

[Storm Tracker]

Scratch NEPA and add Boston.

Expect the Steelheads to run away with the championship. They are a high-end NBADL type organization in a budget-minded spring league. They also have extremely knowledgeable and resourceful fans (fan?) that other teams would die for.

Yeah an Albany when coming to play in the USBL thought the samething as they play in the CBA as well. :rolleyes:

Welcome to to the league Gary but don't think an expect a cakewalk...Do I smell fried fish?:p

[panchess]

..the Patroons last season literally had a pick-up team to finish the season and get the franchise cheap.

Even Ken wouldn't judge Albany's future success based on those two weeks.

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

Yeah an Albany when coming to play in the USBL thought the samething as they play in the CBA as well. :rolleyes:

Welcome to to the league Gary but don't think an expect a cakewalk...Do I smell fried fish?:p

Fried fish? Why? Are the ABA Razorsharks joining the league too? ;)

panchess,
No, I wouldn't judge Albany based on last season. I don't think it's a good idea to run two teams in two different leagues because Albany is diluting their financial resources. However, I'm too smart to judge Albany on last season's performance (at least I'm always telling myself how smart I am). ;)

TEN,
The salary cap is more like guidelines, correct (from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean)? Not a hard cap? Gary can afford to attract the top talent then.

...or am I thinking of the IBL? Hmmmmmm.

[BreakersFan]

The USBL does NOT have a salary cap.

[BreakersFan]

I just checked the website to see if the schedule was up, and I noticed that NEPA is now gone from the teams page. No team has replaced them. Perhaps the league will be going with 9 teams this year....

Of course, this may not mean anything. The investor information has not been updated since an interview from before the 2005 season.

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

I just checked the website to see if the schedule was up, and I noticed that NEPA is now gone from the teams page. No team has replaced them. Perhaps the league will be going with 9 teams this year....

Of course, this may not mean anything. The investor information has not been updated since an interview from before the 2005 season.

No, the league will have ten teams. The missing piece of the puzzle is Boston. The hold-up is that the Storm was extremely displeased with their original schedule. Changes had to be made.

Thanks for the salary cap information...more like guidelines then.

[panchess]

..Scottie Pippen is available, for the right price.

[gunnar1073]

Typical for Oklahoma to whine... Just picking up where their coach left off last year... hehe

[BreakersFan]

Honestly I have been thinking things like this for a little while now.

Here are my problems:

A. Jackson Wildcats (http://www.jacksonwildcats.com/) - Sense the press release stating that they existed, they have all but disappeared. The website has not changed at all. No tryouts, no nothing.

B. Delaware Stars (http://www.usbl.com/teams.php?tid=46) - showed up, already late. They used a rip off place holder logo, they still have no website, (though I guess that is ok seeing as how the Primetime don't either). They also have not released any more info sense their inception.

C. NEPA Breakers (http://www.usbl.com/teams.php?tid=34) - everybody says they are done with pro ball yet the USBL still keeps them on the league site. Are they intending to run another team on their own in NEPA for balance?

D. Long Island Primtime (http://www.usbl.com/teams.php?tid=40) - are they still owned and opperated by the league? Either way you would think that if the league operated them, they would do it right (like a model franchise). The never even made a website for the team. Is the team successful? do they have fans??

E. Boston - of course, I don't know what else to say about this one.


Personally I think it would be good for the league to persue the Chicago Rockstars, they at least exist, have a venue/players/sponsors/website/fans. That is already more than some of the other teams and definitely more than Baltimore. It would definitely make sense geographically, giving the Steelheads someone to form a rivalry with.

I don't know, but this league sure does like to keep its possible fans in the dark about everything. (technically I guess that is mostly just the teams)

It's six weeks till the season, and except for NEPA being taken off the website, there seems to be no progress anywhere. Boston still not announced. No schedule publicly announced. Me worried....

[MJHankel]

Ok, I just learned of something from a random google search. The Jackson Wildcats held an open tryout in January in houston. http://www.houstonblaze.com/leagues/newsletter.cfm?leagueID=4602&clientID=2003&link=P3D

[BreakersFan]

Ok, I just learned of something from a random google search. The Jackson Wildcats held an open tryout in January in houston. http://www.houstonblaze.com/leagues/newsletter.cfm?leagueID=4602&clientID=2003&link=P3D

And the Wildcats have a new website. Still needs alot of info and is clearly a work in progress, but the look is pretty sharp - nice graphics but still very clean.

www.Jacksonwildcats.com

[Minor League Man]

Okay, why won't the league admit that Boston's in?

All the other teams do!

[MJHankel]

did boston fall through??

[BreakersFan]

did boston fall through??

It sure is looking that way, isn't it? My guess is that they are a placeholder now or that the league may kill Long Island an re-do the schedule...

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

It sure is looking that way, isn't it? My guess is that they are a placeholder now or that the league may kill Long Island an re-do the schedule...

Beats me! I'm all out of scoops, for now. Ol' Ken has no idea what is going on with Boston. The Gary home schedule is supposed to be set in stone though, so don't expect any changes there. The Steelheads schedule has appeared in local newspaper ads and certain people have made plans based on this published home schedule.

[MJHankel]

Their listed on pretty much everybody's schedule. They were even mentioned in a newspaper article for another team (search for "Boston Freedom" on google news). I don't know, it just seems a bit late now to start a team from scratch. Do they plan on announcing them right before the open tryouts?

[TEN]

Ken....Don't know where you heard that Oklahoma was displeased with their schedule....I'm in charge of finalizing it and the only thing we asked to change was a road game at Albany that has us sitting on the east coast for an extra four days doing nothing. We are also working with Dodge City to make their schedule a little better. Both Oklahoma and Dodge have NBDL coaches who won't be available until April 14...and they have Dodge opening on April 18 and Oklahoma on April 20. That's not much time to put things together.

We are trying to push our opener back to April 22 at Jackson so we have a week of training camp. The one game we will move is a game at Dodge on April 20. It will be rescheduled in May.

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

Ken....Don't know where you heard that Oklahoma was displeased with their schedule....I'm in charge of finalizing it and the only thing we asked to change was a road game at Albany that has us sitting on the east coast for an extra four days doing nothing. We are also working with Dodge City to make their schedule a little better. Both Oklahoma and Dodge have NBDL coaches who won't be available until April 14...and they have Dodge opening on April 18 and Oklahoma on April 20. That's not much time to put things together.

We are trying to push our opener back to April 22 at Jackson so we have a week of training camp. The one game we will move is a game at Dodge on April 20. It will be rescheduled in May.

Ahhhhhhhhh! So YOU'RE the one holding things up!?! :eek:

Strike the words exetremely displeased then. I think I wanted to be a novelist in one of my past lives and dramatic effect often re-surfaces in my present life. Let's use, not happy with or this schedule ain't gonna work instead.

[gunnar1073]

Ease up fishy... Why the hurry to lose?

:-D

[HAC]

I was told Oklahoma was very unhappy with the original schedule, and it may have been me that passed that info on to Ken. (Sorry!)

How is the enthusiasm level out there?

It's pretty quiet here in Salina. I know some Cagerz diehards and even they're kind of ho-hum.

I think the yearly we're not back, we're back, we're not back, etc., eventually wears out the crowd base.

I've probably been to as many home Cager games as anybody and I even find myself a bit indifferent, especially after seeing a schedule that has them playing 12 of their first 17 at home and wondering where the heck is some news about Boston.

Salina's not a hot bed of activity but getting good crowds on back to back to back type nights is tough for anybody.

Sidenote: All we heard last season was that Des Moines was definitely coming back for 2007. Guess that didn't pan out.

[HAC]

Heard that Gary might be signing Nate Johnson. Any truth to this?

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

Heard that Gary might be signing Nate Johnson. Any truth to this?

If Nate Johnson is one of the best players in the USBL, then Gary will be signing him. If not the best, then some other team will pick him up.

BTW, if you didn't already know--that was just fanatical homer talk. I have no idea about Nate Johnson. The USBL draft is supposed to be this upcoming Tuesday (April 3rd) and if so, we all should know a lot more about a lot that's going on with the USBL.

[panchess]

..not experienced players. If you are an experienced player (unless a USBL team holds your rights), you are a free agent.

I'm not sure in the USBL draft how long a team holds a player's rights, or if the rights are transferrable (the Patroons technically bought the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs franchise and operated it at the end of last season, so I would think any draft rights they have would transfer).

I assume the Patroons get the first pick in the draft, given they had the worst record during the 2006 season, due to Pennnsylvania's many forfeits.

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

..not experienced players. If you are an experienced player (unless a USBL team holds your rights), you are a free agent.

I'm not sure in the USBL draft how long a team holds a player's rights, or if the rights are transferrable (the Patroons technically bought the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs franchise and operated it at the end of last season, so I would think any draft rights they have would transfer).

I assume the Patroons get the first pick in the draft, given they had the worst record during the 2006 season, due to Pennnsylvania's many forfeits.

Doh!
Yes, I know about the draft. I just figured a lot of questions will be answered around that time. I wasn't being clear again in my previous post.

The Draft Party is the highlight of the season for me. It's one of the few times I actually pry myself away from the computer and mingle with actual living beings. Question: Are white socks with black dress shoes still fashionable? It's been awhile. :rolleyes:

Edit:
Forget what I said about April 3rd. The draft has been pushed back to April 10th...I'll just have to wait another week for the party.

[BreakersFan]

The draft is postponed until April 10? The season BEGINS April 13! Not much time to contact players and get them into town. Although if memory serves, very few draft picks end up playing anyway.

Also what is going on with Boston? Are they going to be a road team? 10 days isn't much time to sell tickets and sponsprships!

I hope we're not looking at a repeat of last year's debacles in Allentown and here in Scranton. :(

[HAC]

The draft is postponed until April 10? The season BEGINS April 13! Not much time to contact players and get them into town. Although if memory serves, very few draft picks end up playing anyway.

Also what is going on with Boston? Are they going to be a road team? 10 days isn't much time to sell tickets and sponsprships!

I hope we're not looking at a repeat of last year's debacles in Allentown and here in Scranton. :(


Postponements? Schedule changes? Teams folding?

That just means the season is about here.

[BreakersFan]

Postponements? Schedule changes? Teams folding?

That just means the season is about here.

Yes, but usually that stuff means the ABA season is here. The last few years, the USBL has been getting alarmingly more ABAish....

In 3 days, Boston is scheduled to play Albany. An announcement might be nice....

[HAC]

Yes, but usually that stuff means the ABA season is here. The last few years, the USBL has been getting alarmingly more ABAish....

In 3 days, Boston is scheduled to play Albany. An announcement might be nice....

That gives them two more days than they should need. Why announce the forfeits ahead of time, it would take away from all that exciting USBL draft news.

[HAC]

"Based on the average player salary of $700 a week, Alexander at least would have a few bucks for gas."

I pulled that comment from the end of a feature on Gary player. (By the way, that paper is doing a bang-up job of coverage. Nice player features.)

Anyway, if that is the average salary for Gary players I believe they're exceeding the player salary guidelines set forth by the league. If that's the average, then that means some guys are making even more.

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

"Based on the average player salary of $700 a week, Alexander at least would have a few bucks for gas."

I pulled that comment from the end of a feature on Gary player. (By the way, that paper is doing a bang-up job of coverage. Nice player features.)

Anyway, if that is the average salary for Gary players I believe they're exceeding the player salary guidelines set forth by the league. If that's the average, then that means some guys are making even more.

Geez! Am I the only one who has Pirates of the Caribbean on DVD? To paraphrase Keira Knightley, The USBL salary cap is not a set rule--it's more like guidelines.

Yeah, they kept saying something like that throughout the movie. :shock:

[HAC]

Geez! Am I the only one who has Pirates of the Caribbean on DVD? To paraphrase Keira Knightley, The USBL salary cap is not a set rule--it's more like guidelines.

Yeah, they kept saying something like that throughout the movie. :shock:

Hated the movie. Sequel was worse. (And I love Depp.)

I know it's guidelines, but I think they're really supposed to keep salaries around $400 to $450 per player. The league wants some parity.

$700 ... that's a pretty good jump.

The league took a lot of heat from other teams when it was discovered that the now defunct ValleyDawgs were paying out big salaries and bonuses to players. They (allegedly) paid players to NOT go to other teams.

[HAC]

USBL has postponed the season opening game of Delaware at Long
Island. No reason or makeup date given.

[BreakersFan]

It was cancelled because the Primetime staff were all busy working on the team's website :p

Seriously, I am not sure that the Primetime really exist. The gym listed as their home court is in a youth center.