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All-Star Classics Create NBA Stars

December 26, 2002 - United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Ohio Valley Greyhounds News Release


Boise, Idaho (December 26, 2002)— The 2002-03 Continental Basketball Association campaign not only marks the league's 25th season as the CBA (Named the Eastern Basketball Association from 1946-78), it also signifies the silver anniversary of the 57-year-old league's first All-Star Game. On January 13 and 14 the CBA will again honor the league's best, at the 19th CBA All-Star Classic, in Sioux Falls, SD.

On a stormy January evening in Rochester, N.Y., the 1979 CBA-All Stars tipped off the inaugural midseason classic with the Rochester Zeniths, the league's newest expansion team. No sooner had the first half ended, with the Zeniths leading 57-48, when a power failure blacked out the entire city. The CBA brass decided to resume the game the next day, retaining the score but playing an additional two halves. Rochester defeated the All-Stars 182-168 in the six-quarter affair.

After a two-year hiatus the All-Star Game returned in 1982, pitting the best of the Eastern Division against the best of the Western, in which Bill Klucas' Western squad prevailed 101-91. For the next seven years, the midseason classic returned to the All-Star squad versus the host city team format. During that span current Los Angeles Lakers Head Coach Phil Jackson and former Minnesota Timberwolves Head Coach, the late Bill Musselman, piloted teams to two victories apiece.

In 1990, the annual All-Star Game was combined with a Slam-Dunk Championship and Long-Distance Shootout to form the league's first ever, two-day All-Star Classic, in Moline, Ill. Rookie coach Eric Musselman of the Rapid City Thrillers continued his father's tradition of All-Star success by leading the National Conference squad to a 107-105 victory over the American stars. Musselman, the current Golden State Warriors head coach, would go on to coach a CBA record five All-Star teams in his seven year career.

Over the next seven years, CBA head coaches and players would use the All-Star Classic as a launch pad to successful NBA careers. Among them are current NBA head coaches, George Karl (1-1) of the Milwaukee Bucks and Flip Saunders (2-0) of the Timberwolves, who each coached two games apiece. Following these All-Star Classics of the 1990s the NBA summoned veteran players Vincent Askew, John Starks, Anthony Mason, Mario Elie, Tim Legler, George McCloud, and 2002-03 CBA-to-NBA call-up Anthony Goldwire.

After another two-year absence the Classic was restored on Jan 18, 2000 in Sioux Falls. The 18th contest featured current NBA talents Early Boykins of the Warriors, Jeff McInnis and Charles Smith of the Portland Trail Blazers, and Moochie Norris of the Houston Rockets. Following the 135-124 East All-Stars victory, a CBA record 11 players were called up to the NBA, tying the mark established in the 1995 game.

CBA Head Coaches and beat writers will select the American Conference and National Conference All-Stars for the 2003 CBA All-Star Classic. The CBA All-Star coaching staffs will be awarded to teams with the highest quarter-point average in each conference at the conclusion of games completed on Saturday, January 4.

The 10-man American Conference roster will be announced Monday, January 6, and the National Conference players will be released on Tuesday, January 7. The festivities begin at 10 a.m. CST, January 13, when the National Conference squad will hold a public practice at the Sioux Falls Arena. The American Conference will run drills at 12 p.m., and at 3 p.m. the All-Star Fan Jam begins, featuring the Slam-Dunk Competition and Long Distance-Shootout. There will be an All-Star Reception at 7:00 p.m. in the arena.

Both clubs will conduct shootarounds at 10:00 a.m. (National) and 12:30 p.m. (American), which are open to the public, on Tuesday, January 14. The 19th CBA All-Star Game will tip-off at 7:00 p.m. During the contest, reporters and NBA scouts will make their selection for All-Star Most Valuable Player honors, to be announced after the game.

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