Update on the IBL from Commissioner

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iblvoice
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Update on the IBL from Commissioner

Post by iblvoice » Sun Jun 19, 2011 1:10 am

The IBL is having the best year ever in terms of talent; the IBL season is almost finished and playoffs will occur on July 1, 2 and 3 at Clark College in Vancouver Washington. The following are some random notes and clarifications for the OurSportsCentral readers-
• Yakima is not in the IBL but we do plan to have a team there shortly; timing is a bit off but this would be a great IBL market if an IBL team played in that beautiful arena.
• USA All Stars is 11 players who meet in a city to play a 3-game set; in the past, they would win a game because we asked that the players are at the collegiate level or higher but it is hard to win now as the IBL talent keeps going up each year. USA All Stars next season will be more selective and the IBL (who runs USA All Stars) will work with agents in recruiting a slightly more competitive player- in an effort to tighten up the spreads as this year the USA team finished 0-18 and about 1/3rd of the games were really huge blowouts.
• IBL Commissioner Mikal Duilio owns 0 teams this year- but the IBL itself runs two teams that serve the league giving everyone else great home dates since they do not play at home (West Coast Hotshots and USA All Stars)
• Branding teams are teams that play between 3 to 10 games in an effort to build a brand, learn the business; this is something the IBL is expanding on and something we feel is very healthy. Branding teams are more competitive than the USA All Stars as they are from an actual city, ran by an owner that wants this to move to being a full team someday. Branding teams win from time to time but we find them typically losing by 10 points.
• Every year in mid June, rumors run rampant that ‘another league is forming’, ‘everyone is leaving IBL’, etc. We hear this every single year, but this year has been nothing, but either way- at the end of the day, the IBL provides a service which is- schedules given to teams 4 to 6 months in advance with only 1 flight on that schedule. The IBL charges dues but again, teams get two great things- 1- a schedule 4 to 6 months in advance and 2) they only have one flight on that schedule.
• The IBL is not looking to expand as it is happy with the teams we have, we will only take teams into the branding mode for the most part as that is a healthy way to enter/learn about how to safely navigate minor league basketball.
• The IBL Winter league (separate from our main season, the summer season) is fine with 4-teams, which is all we need. The IBL is not trying to get 5 teams or more; four teams works out great actually (other teams participate partially but only 4 teams play 20 games).
• Teams with 15 home games to only 5 away games have an advantage, you bet they do- but in the end, all teams play at a tournament site with great referees and that tournament has always been fair, right down the line and so seeds do not matter much (yes, the 15 home games is an advantage in terms of win-loss record).
• Why does one team even have 15 home games and only 5 away games? Answer: we have to get teams down to just one flight for our good (we want to know that teams can survive the costs in the season and with only 1 flight, we believe they will be fine) and for their good too (once they pay dues to get such a schedule, they are almost ‘home free’- not necessarily making money but again- they can get through the season with just 1 flight)-so yes, with isolated markets like Edmonton or Albany New York, they need to get to 15 home games and only 5 away games to keep the flights to 1.
• IBL Commissioner Mikal Duilio might be transferring league to a new owner if he feels a new commissioner/owner will do better job with the league (new owner maintains the same systems- mainly a one flight guarantee). This is the case every year. Duilio in 8 seasons as Commissioner never got national sponsors or national TV revenue into the league. Mikal’s primary focus was in building efficient schedules and efficient systems so that team owners could spend considerably less money to get through a season than in other leagues. The league is in a perfect spot to where, if someone with revenue skills came in, it is setup well because our systems/teams run so efficiently.
• The IBL vision is that teams are efficient but professional and healthy financially either making money or losing an amount they feel comfortable with. IBL vision is that the league maintains a great looking national and/or international brand and like any league, the IBL hopes to continue growing in professionalism and quality to where the games can be on television, especially with our slightly faster paced game that starts and ends in just less than 2 hours.
These were some random IBL notes, hope you enjoy the rest of the season and if you can make it out to the playoffs on July 1st, 2nd or 3rd, they are going to be really fantastic. Sincerely- Mikal Duilio http://www.IBLhoopsonline.com

Shootmaster_44
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Post by Shootmaster_44 » Sun Jun 19, 2011 1:41 am

[quote=""iblvoice""]• The IBL is not looking to expand as it is happy with the teams we have, we will only take teams into the branding mode for the most part as that is a healthy way to enter/learn about how to safely navigate minor league basketball.[/quote]

My one question about this is in regards to comments you made regarding Saskatoon and Calgary. It appeared that you had left the door open for them to become full teams next spring. It seems to contradict what is said above.

Depending what the ownership of the Saskatoon team wants, a branding schedule could possible doom the team to failure. As Sean Tyson (who I imagine is behind the prospective franchise) knows, Saskatoon sports fans are fickle. A team playing 4 or 5 games and then disappearing for another year, is not a way to build a brand. I certainly hope that you are open to having Saskatoon and Calgary play as full franchises next season.

minorleagfan09
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Post by minorleagfan09 » Sun Jun 19, 2011 4:24 am

This is pretty much the same recycled interview we get every year. First, it is very positive that players get an opportunity to keep their dream alive, I’m not going to comment on the overall talent in the league and focus more on the business side.

I’m kind of curious how many teams in the league are at least partially league owned? I can find just from the website that it costs between $20,000 and $65,000 for the new team entry fee and that is in addition to yearly dues. And as he mentions in the interview the two things you get for all this money is a schedule and a one-flight guarantee. Unless he has a 1500 fans in the stands guarantee that is in my personal opinion a rip-off. I’ve been to IBL games in the Midwest in the past that had 150 fans in the stands.

In leagues like the CBL, EBA, West Coast League and others you don’t have to fly anywhere. The IBL was probably a good idea in 2004 or 2005, but ultimately it was just a hybrid of the same old model that doesn’t work now that the NBA has partnered with the NBDL. I suspect the IBL was holding out hope that the NBA would partner with them for summer league play and unfortunately that just didn’t happen.

The IBL can probably hold onto the Northwest USA if they regroup and focus on that, but they’ve had dozens of franchises that have failed and have never pointed the finger at their own system.

The IBL should be fine but the CBL and WBA are going to have some serious competition next summer.
Since minor league basketball has sunk so low it should be noted that all my comments are merely my personal opinions. They are purely my views that I wish to express using my constitutionally protected right. There are basic standards I believe a pro league or team should adhere to. If you want to know those standards shoot me a PM.

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