Admirals Prepare for PBL Season Home Opener
January 6, 2012 - Premier Basketball League (PBL)
Lake Michigan Admirals News Release
St. Joseph, MI - The Lake Michigan Admirals finalized their 12-man roster in preparation for Sunday's home opener against the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Steamers, Sunday, at Benton Harbor High School. The Admirals added 6-foot 11 center Garrett Schmidt and 6-foot 1 guard Greg Plater.
The Admirals, 20-6 as ABA members in 2011, enter the Premier Basketball League in the Eastern Division with Rochester, New York, Dayton, Ohio, Charleston, West Virginia and the Steamers. They were 2-2 in pre-season competition, averaging 112 points a game.
Team owner Chris Glisson says the final starting five is not solidified, but expect to see 7-foot 3 Shagari Alleyne at center with 6-foot 6 Florentino Valencia and 6-foot 7 Rodney Alexander at the forward positions.
The Admiral offense "is there" according to Glisson. Alexander is averaging over 20 points a game in pre-season competition. "We'll score a lot of points and the fans will see an intensity on defense they haven't seen in the past. This will be high-flying entertainment."
Scranton Wilkes-Barre, 0-1, opened their season on the road against the two-time PBL defending champion Rochester Razorsharks, losing 107-98. The Rochester bench outscored the Steamers 55-5.
"You need a strong bench in this league or you're going to lose," Glisson said. "We have that bench starting with Steve Strong, Odgra Bobo and Courtney Blackmore. Courtney is a triple threat. He has a 6-foot 3 body as a guard but can still get up with the 7-footers. Courtney has the heart of a lion." Glisson added.
Steamer forward Chris Commons (6-foot 8) scored 34 points against Rochester, including five three-pointers. The team's other forward, 6-foot 8 Rob Robinson, added 26 points and Vincent Simpson, 20 as the trio accounted for 80 of the team's 98 points.
"Commons shot the ball 37 times," Glisson said. "One player is not going to beat us. I'm sure Coach Che Eddie has a plan for him."
Scranton Wilkes-Barre is co-coached by Dennis Mishko and John Bucci. Mishko was 520-160 during his 25-year tenure at Keystone College including two national tournament appearances.
The Admirals travel to Rochester, New York to play the Razorsharks January 22. Rochester visits St. Joseph January 28 at Lake Michigan Catholic High School and the Charleston Gunners follow on Sunday, January 29, at Michigan Lutheran High School.
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- Admirals Prepare for PBL Season Home Opener - Lake Michigan Admirals
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