Arkansas Aeros best kept secret in Northwest Arkansas
January 8, 2007 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Arkansas Aeros News Release
SPRINGDALE - They have been the No. 1 team in the American Basketball Association's Power Rankings for six straight weeks, but the Arkansas Aeros are still living in anonymity in their inaugural season in the ABA.
The early season success of the Aeros has failed to be noticed by many in Arkansas, including people in the northwest part of the state where the team makes its home at the All-Star Sports Arena in Springdale. Currently owners of a 17-2 mark and a six-game winning streak, the Aeros are not only the ABA's top team record-wise, they are also the league's highest scoring team, averaging 131.0 points a contest through the end of 2006.
Putting together a quality coaching staff along with talented players, combined with providing family entertainment was something general manager Keith Newton quickly envisioned for the Aeros in their initial ABA campaign. Now that both of those ideas have come to fruition in the first half of the season, Newton said the end result of winning games is something he hopes basketball fans will take notice of as the team prepares to make a stretch run to the ABA playoffs in March.
"The success of the team has been everything that I had hoped it would be," Newton said. "Having a great coaching staff and exceptional players has made the difference in us being able to provide professional quality entertainment to Northwest Arkansas. We as an organization truly believe we have a team that can win the ABA championship."
Though the 131.0 points a contest might not come across as a dominating factor to the Aeros success in the offensive-minded ABA, head coach Bob Hoffman's squad is making its presence felt by wielding an impressive 19.3 scoring margin over its opponents.
"I knew coming in that we had guys that were all part of winning programs," Hoffman said. "So, we knew we had the opportunity for success. We just didn't know what to expect from the other teams. Just the overall competitive nature of our guys has been phenomenal so far."
Hoffman, a former assistant under Kelvin Sampson at the University of Oklahoma who was also a highly successful bench boss at colleges across the plains of Oklahoma and Texas, isn't a smoke and mirrors, X's and O's kind of coach either. He is as intense as coaches come on the sidelines, exalting his team for a full 48 minutes, even if it is an encouraging "get in there" on a free throw attempt with his team leading 135-115 in the closing seconds of a contest.
The team's early success in the ABA's Power Rankings, which is the ultimate source at the end of the season for the league's playoff system, has paid individual dividends for Hoffman. He was honored Sunday by being named head coach of the West All Stars at the ABA All Star Game to be played Jan. 28th in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
"The immediate goals coming into the season were putting a team together and finding ways to win games," Hoffman said. "This (being named an all-star coach) was something that I never really thought about it, but it is truly a tremendous honor."
As far as the team's roster, casual fans in the state and region would easily recognize the name of former NBA player and Arkansas Razorback standout Todd Day (21.7 ppg), the university's all-time leading scorer. There is also ex-Hog Larry Satchell (4.6 rpg) who rocked the All-Star Sports Arena crowd in November with a backboard-shattering jam that put an early exclamation point on a 146-116 victory over the Arkansas RiverCatz, a Pine Bluff-based team who is also playing in their first ABA season. The fact that 9 of the remaining 10 Aeros on the squad have regional collegiate roots gives credence to two factors - the Aeros aren't just an "all-star team" that was put together with players from across the country, and the fact there are good players from different size schools in the this part of the country.
Backup guard Lonnie Smith (6.8 ppg) is the only other Aero to play collegiately in Arkansas (Harding University in Searcy), but Oklahoma bloodlines run very deep on the team. For example, former University of Oklahoma teammates Daryn Selvy (22.9 ppg, 9.1 rpg) and Quannas White (11.6 ppg, 8.5 apg) played on a Sooner team that went to the Final Four in 2002. Oklahoma Christian University is represented by Jarred Merrill (19.4 ppg, 10.3 rpg) and Brandon Kephart, while key reserves Steven Alexander (Cameron University) and Jamell Coachman (Oklahoma Baptist University) also played their college ball in the Sooner State.
A key cog to the Aeros success the first half of the season has been the play of former Oklahoma City University standout Curtis Haywood, a sleek 6-7, 190-pound guard/forward who currently averages 29.8 points, 10. 5 rebounds and 5.9 assists a game for the team. Haywood, who had a triple-double of 32 points, 20 rebounds and 14 assists in a 149-126 win Dec. 30 against the Houston Undertakers, is shooting an astounding 57.9% from the field for the Aeros, including an eye-popping 49.7% from behind the three-point stripe (90 of 181).
"I think Curtis does a great job for us, but more importantly out guys do a better job finding him when he is hot," Hoffman said. "We have a lot of other threats on this team, so it's harder for other teams to key on him."
The team's two defeats this year have come at the hands of the Texas Tycoons who currently stand third in the ABA's Power Rankings after the Aeros and the Vermont Frost Heaves. The Dallas-based squad is also the second highest scoring team (129.8) in the league behind Arkansas and is set to play the Aeros in Springdale for the first time this season on Feb. 4.
Besides the Tycoons, the Aeros have gone toe-to-toe with four other teams in the ABA that rank in the top 14 in scoring offense. A true test for the team will come Jan. 21st when the league's fourth-rated team, the Minnesota Ripknees, come to the All-Star Sports Arena for a 4:05 p.m. tip-off. The contest with the Ripknees, who lead the league in scoring defense (91.6 ppg), was recently added as a "Prize Money Play Game" where cash bonuses will be awarded to both the winning and losing teams.
"The game with the Ripknees will give us a good idea as to where we are as a team," Newton said. "We feel like the fact this is a money game will give our players more of an incentive to do well, plus it gives the people of Northwest Arkansas another chance to see that we are a professional sports franchise and can provide quality family entertainment. We heard those were two things people in this area have wanted for some time. Now, that we're here and can give that to the people, we hope they respond and can come out and support us.
For more information about the Aeros, visit www.arkansasaeros.com or at www.abalive.com.
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.
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