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ABA finishes with high after season of lows

by Chris Munson
April 1, 2008 - American Basketball Association (ABA)


The ABA season has come to a merciful conclusion and the season was filled with its highs, lows, and well, more lows.

First off, before the playoffs even started, we saw the latest casualty of the troubled league as the Halifax Rainmen pulled out of the loop before their first playoff game. Nancy Shepard, the Rainmen's PR representative said the decision was made due to the lack of stability in the league, and the fact teams could not be counted on to show up for games. The proverbial last straw was when the Bahama Pro Show informed the Rainmen less than 24 hours before the first of two games that they would not be making the trip. As a result, the Atlanta Vision pulled their team together and filled in for the Pro Show with the two teams splitting a delayed weekend series. Hats off to Atlanta owners Quinton Townsend and Carter Patterson for getting the team together and up to Halifax on such short notice. The loss of those two home games could have been financially devastating to the Halifax ownership.

The ABA All-Star Game in Barre, Vermont, home of the defending champion Vermont Frost Heaves, was a huge success. A crowd of about 1,500 turned out for the exhibition that was won by the East squad 161-140. Manchester's Anthony Anderson won MVP honors with a team-high 33 points, while San Diego's Cardell Butler had a game high 34 for the West. ABA CEO Joe Newman was in attendance along with Manchester GM Ian McCarthy, Atlanta owner Quinton Townsend and a strong contingent of NBA and CBA scouts. Kudos to Frost Heaves owner Alex Wolff and his staff for putting together a great show for the fans of central Vermont.

Not surprisingly, the Great Eight playoffs had its share of issues. First off, congratulations to the Vermont Frost Heaves for winning their second straight title. The Heaves are a class organization which deserve the honor.

Unfortunately, the crowds were sparse at best. Estimates ranged from 1,500 for the Quebec/Texas game, to a paltry crowd of between 700 and 800 for the championship. This is not the crowd one would expect for a championship game. High school basketball title games in Vermont draw between 2,000 and 3,000.

The games that were supposed to be broadcast live on Play-On Sports never materialized. Due to technical issues, they were either shown on tape delay, or in the case of the semifinals and the title game, the games were not shown, at least as of this writing. So much for promoting the league to the few remaining fans.

One of the biggest debacles was the game between Manchester and San Diego. With the score tied at 104, Jerome Hamel appeared to tip in the game winning shot, giving San Diego a 106-104 victory. Not so fast. To many observers, the shot came after the buzzer, but the officials ruled it good, and both teams left the floor and went to their locker rooms. In a bizarre turn of events, with San Diego on their team bus, CEO Newman went to video replay and ruled Hamel's shot did in fact come after the buzzer and ruled that overtime was to be played. Of course the problem with this is that there isn't a provision for replay in the ABA by-laws. Basically, Mr. Newman made up the rule on the fly. San Diego ended up winning the game, but not without more problems. In the aftermath of the controversial shot at the end of regulation, Manchester's Cedric McGinnis reportedly shoved an official, as did one of the Manchester coaches. McGinnis, who was released from the PBL's Wilmington Sea Dawgs after an alleged physical altercation with his coach, was ejected, but not the Manchester coach who committed the same transgression. This is yet another black mark for a league that seems to make things up on the fly.

Equally as disturbing was the press release sent out by the Millrats following their loss to San Diego. In a pair of sentences I have never seen in a release, it said, "Cheering each San Diego made free throw at the end was a large contingent of Vermont Frost Heaves fans, for whom their fear of the playing the Millrats must have exceeded any loyalty for their Northeast rivals." Talk about a little bias and trash talking there. Wait, this is what I expect of the ABA, so never mind.

Commentary on the state of the ABA:

One would be hard-pressed not to call this season yet another unmitigated disaster for the ABA. The league started the season with 36 teams and was down to roughly 16 or so by the end of the regular season. How is this for a statistic? Just about 38 percent of the league's originally scheduled games were played this year, perhaps the most telling indicator of the league's troubles. How can a league expect to survive when only 38 percent of its games were actually played? In between teams folding, teams like the Houston Takers failing to show for a game due to an "ice storm" (the temperature that day was 67 degrees and other local teams played games), arena issues, etc, it was another train wreck of a season for the league.

I had the opportunity to meet CEO Newman at the All-Star Game in Barre. I found him to be pleasant, polite, and a total and complete gentleman. But the fact remains that the only way this league has a chance of survival is for Newman to resign. The ABA website isn't filled with news on the league; it is cluttered with releases regarding Mr. Newman's various business ventures that have nothing to do with the ABA. The standings are never updated, and simple things like scoring averages, three point percentages, and statistical information is nowhere to be found on the ABA website. There isn't even any updated information on the Great Eight. Mr. Newman was good enough to supply scores through email, but one would think that the post season tournament deserves some mention on the league's official website.

Finally, another statistic: Since Newman took over the league in 2000-2001, there have been 172 teams that have left the ABA.

Newman says he wants to expand the league to 50 teams next season, but logically, how can he keep expanding when he can't keep his existing teams? What it boils down to is once the $10,000 market reservation fee is received by the ABA office, or arrangements are made to pay it, Mr. Newman's involvement is more or less complete. Due diligence is apparently not being performed on prospective teams, marketing plans are not reviewed, and simple things like the ability to write a press release are not taught or emphasized. See the Georgia Gwizzlies releases for typo-filled, grammar-check-exploding excuses for writing. All of this not only makes the league look bad, it makes all of minor league basketball look bad. For the sake of the game and the fans, this league needs to start from scratch.

Here are some suggestions. First of all, leave the teams in the league that are doing well, and then limit expansion to a reasonable number of teams. The league has had problems keeping teams, so the teams that are in the league need to be stable.

Secondly, Mr. Newman has said the market reservation fee will go up to $30,000 and a line of credit will be required to help in covering expenses. I say this needs to be taken one step further and perform due diligence on each and every team entering the league. Conduct a background check, make sure ownership groups have enough cash to get through the season, and make sure each team not only has a signed arena deal in place, but review marketing plans, website designs, and require each team to have a radio deal in place so games can be broadcasted. Teams not only need to agree to a letter of credit, they need to actually submit it. This will ensure a prospective owner has his/her act together and is committed to building a fan base.

Finally, more disturbing developments from the ABA office.

CEO Newman has repeatedly said that he has not, and will not recruit teams from other leagues to play in the ABA. A copy of an e-mail has been obtained from CEO Newman to PBL teams that certainly give the appearance that he is in fact trying to get PBL teams to return to his troubled league. The e-mail says in part:

"Hope all is well with you. Congratulations on completing your season. I hope that you did well. Just wanted to let you know that you would be welcome back into the ABA next season. We have significant expansion in your area with solid new teams in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York et al. New teams are posting a $30,000 LOC and a non-compete. If you are interested, please let me know. Thanks. Best personal regards.

Joe Newman

ABA CEO"

Now I don't know about you, but this certainly looks like Mr. Newman is in fact trying to get former ABA teams back into the league. Newman has gone on record in the past saying that he will never recruit teams from other leagues for his own. It does not appear he is standing by his own statements.

There are owners and personnel in this league who are making a positive difference. Alex Wolff of the Frost Heaves has done incredible things for the State of Vermont, and especially Barre where the economy has been suffering and crime has gone up. Alex and the Heaves have given this area something to cheer for. Quinton Townsend and Carter Patterson in Atlanta are world class guys, and Jean-Paul Afif and Michael Senters of Texas are not only NBA caliber coaches, but are two of the nicest guys I have ever met. That being said, these guys deserve better.

The good and bad of the ABA season:

The good:

The Vermont Frost Heaves, Halifax Rainmen, Manchester Millrats, Quebec City Kebekwa, Atlanta Vision and the Texas Tycoons.

Teams like Atlanta, Vermont, Halifax and Manchester stepping to the plate and filling in for teams that folded. The loss of even one home game in the world of minor league basketball can be devastating for the finances and fan base of a franchise.

The All-Star Game in Barre, Vermont which was an incredible success. The place was packed, the cowbells were ringing, (I suggest Advil by the dozen when attending a game for the guaranteed post-game headache), and the players put on a fantastic show. The guys were signing autographs before the game and after until their hands nearly fell off.

The bad:

38 percent of the original schedule being played.

19 teams folding during the season.

Houston Takers owner Larry Leonard failing to appear for a scheduled game against the Texas Tycoons because of icy road conditions. It was 67 degrees outside. The only thing icy were the ice cubes in Leonard's morning orange juice.

The Georgia Gwizzlies announcing they had made the ABA playoffs.......in December!

Oh, more on the Gwizzlies. When Atlanta went to play the Gwizz, the total attendance was estimated at 15. There were no concessions, no ticket takers, and one individual who was at the game said, "It looked like we were going to a rec league game."

The fact that the Great Eight was supposed to be broadcast live, but none of the games were actually aired live. Some were later available on tape delay, but others have not been shown up until this writing, including the title game. Note to the ABA, if you are going to promise live telecasts, provide live telecasts. Use a little forethought and work out the technical problems in advance, don't just assume everything is going to work.

Did I mention that only 38 percent of the league's scheduled games were actually played?

Rumor mill runs rampant:

At the All-Star Game, CEO Joe Newman told me next season there will be a team in Oakland, CA and two teams in Las Vegas. Plans for a team in Concord, CA, a San Francisco suburb, seem to have fallen through. Having grown up in the Bay Area, I can tell you this is another team that would fall into the infamous ABA graveyard. The area east of the Caldecott Tunnel can barely support high school basketball, so professional basketball would be a stretch.

ABA Vice President of Operations Brad Hester, and step-son of CEO Newman has resigned from his position with the league. Numerous sources have said Hester resigned in part because of the fact he has not been paid since August and well, he does have a family to support.

The rumors continue to fly regarding a possible merger of the CBA and the PBL. Added to this are reports from a couple of different sources that if asked, the ABA's Vermont Frost Heaves, Manchester Millrats, Montreal Royal and the former Halifax franchise would be joining the new league.

Chris Munson is a contributing writer for Our Sports Central and US Basket.. Chris is the former Sports Director for ESPN Radio Vermont and has written for Varsity Magazine, d3football.com, the Vermont Guardian and the Vermont Times. Chris has also been selected by the Vermont chapter of the ALS Association to represent the state at ALS National Advocacy Week in Washington DC. The event takes place May 11th-13th with the goal being to raise awareness of the disease to the public and to lobby our leaders to push for greater funding for ALS research. For more information on the ALS Association, go to www.alsa.org.

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.



American Basketball Association Stories from April 1, 2008


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.


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