A look around the leagues

by Walter L. Johnson II
April 17, 2003 - NBA G League (G League)

With the NBA playoffs fast approaching, let's take a look at how some other professional basketball leagues are shaping up.

First up is the NBA's minor league, the National Basketball Development League, or NBDL for short. Unlike their big league counterparts, the postseason in the NBDL was relatively short, as the Fayetteville (NC) Patriots, who finished with the league's best regular-season record at 32-18, swept the Roanoke (VA) Dazzle, while the third-seeded Mobile Revelers disposed of second-seeded North Charleston (SC), also in two games.

That set up an interesting match-up between the Patriots and Revelers in the 2003 NBDL Finals. The Revelers traveled to North Carolina and knocked off the Patriots 93-82 on April 4th. That meant the Patriots had to go on the road themselves and pull out a victory to force a third and deciding game. And Fayetteville did just that, as the Patriots downed the Revelers 77-71 in Mobile, Ala. five nights later to even the series at one game apiece. Then on April 11th, the series returned to Fayetteville for the 2003 NBDL Championship, and the Revelers won in shocking fashion, 75-72. Mobile became only the second champion in the NBDL's brief history, despite barely the finishing the regular season above .500 at 26-24. Just goes to show that the postseason is a whole new ball game, no matter what league it is.

UPBL: Speaking of which, there was a huge upset in the postseason tournament of this fledgling league, as the Frankfort (KY) Statesmen stunned top-seeded Mansfield (OH) 100-97. The Statesmen advanced to the championship game despite winning only three games during the regular season. Keep in mind, the UPBL has only four teams, although expansion is just around the corner. In the other semifinal game, the Louisville Eagles defeated the Kentucky Coyotes 133-130. In the UPBL title game, Louisville thwarted Frankfort's Cinderella run with a 106-93 victory. Who knows, by next season, there'll not only be more teams, but maybe fewer chances for a team like Frankfort to advance in the postseason.

USBL TIPS OFF 18TH SEASON: Or is it really the 19th? But who's really counting these days? Whichever way you put it, the United States Basketball League has managed to thrive despite the constant comings and goings of franchises over its almost two decade existence. In fact, the USBL has seen many of its players move on to stellar careers in the NBA, including Mario Elie, who won three championships with the Houston Rockets and the San Antonio Spurs, and Darrell Armstrong of the Orlando Magic. That's not to mention players like Chris Childs, Avery Johnson, Sam Mitchell, and Charlie Ward. Even a certain football wide receiver from Minnesota had a brief stint in this league, whose season is already getting under way as you're reading this article. The 2003 regular season, by the way, will run through June 22nd. Of course, the NBA Finals should be over by then, and we'll all know at that time whether the L.A. Lakers can take home yet another title. Ho Hum! At least the basketball season won't stop once the NBA season is over.

WNBA WOES: Last time we checked in on the WNBA, NBA commissioner David Stern issued a deadline of April 18th (or Friday by the time it reaches cyberspace) in which both the players and the union either had to reach an agreement or not only face cancellation of the 2003 season, but also the potential extinction of the league as a whole. But what's that I'm hearing, are they getting close to a deal actually? An article in Thursday's Arizona Republic notes the WNBA Players Association is stressing some non-economic issues in reaching a deal, although there is a $900,000 difference in terms of the salary cap. Still, any progress is good progress. There may be a lucky seventh season in the WNBA after all, and the dreams of many girls playing professionally in the states might still have a glimmer of hope.

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