The ABA's Big Fortnight Playoff's, All-Stars And More Playoffs, Part II
by Ed Gross
March 13, 2008 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Barring any unforeseen calamity, the ABA's mini-playoffs and Final Eight will be set in time for All-Star weekend. Held in Barre, Vermont (half of the home of the Frost Heaves), this All-Star game will be held after the end of the regular season, but will be sandwiched in between the two playoff tournaments.
Friday night, March 21st will be the slam dunk and three point competitions as well as some local high school and promotional events, followed on Saturday afternoon by the East versus West All-Star game. The East will be coached by Vermont's Will Voigt and the West by Texas head coach Jean-Paul Afif. Still somewhat of a mystery are how East and West are divided and how the players have been selected. In the ABA, this is where an updated stats page would be of great help to fans. The All-Star game itself, will be carried on the Internet. One can only hope that this gives the league some sort of merit in a less than organized season. Should any playoff turmoil come into the picture, such as teams dropping out, as they've done in the past, the ABA can only hope it will be handled away from the backdrop of the festivities themselves.
-Movin' on up...
Thursday, March 27th thru Sunday March 30th will see the ABA season come to an end in Quebec City. Thursday and Friday will see two quarter-final games each, followed by semi-finals on Saturday, and the Championship game on Sunday. Following another slam dunk contest at 2 p.m., the game is scheduled to begin at 4 o'clock. All of these games are currently scheduled to air live, and on demand, on the internet. This game will in all likelihood run into the start of NCAA elite eight games on Sunday. In Canada, that may not be a problem, however in the states, some who have interest in the ABA may be turned away from the live feed. This may have been an oversight by the league. Once final, even the in-demand game may receive less interest.
With all due respect to Barre and Quebec City, one would hope that all goes well with these tournaments. With as little coverage as the ABA receives, it would be interesting to see how these games are accepted locally. With a champion crowned, it is safe to say that the ABA will go into its usual off-season binge and purge mode. Over the course of these two weeks, it would be refreshing to see someone step forward with a "state of the league" and "future plans" address.
To follow the ABA as a minor league circuit, it would need better some continuity in the number of teams, schedule, venues, earlier plans for the All-Star game and playoff system. For the players sake, stats, profiles and an ability for them to move up based on how they perform would give the league much more credibility as well.
Otherwise, the plan for the future? League followers know all too well will be not to plan at all.
Note: OurSports Central no longer actively covers the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a professional league due in part to its inability to publish and play a schedule and the transitory nature of many of its teams. For information on professional minor leagues, please see OSC's basketball section.
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The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
