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Casey aims to make Fame matter

by Sam Amico
October 26, 2006 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Hollywood Fame


There is reason to be excited about ABA basketball in Hollywood.

You can start with an ownership group that includes pop singer Nick Lachey and NASCAR driver Brian Vickers. You can throw in the fact that former NBA champion John Salley is one of the faces of the team. And now you can add a coach with NBA experience.

That would be none other than Don Casey -- a longtime NBA assistant and one-time head coach of both the Los Angeles Clippers (1989-90) and New Jersey Nets (1999-2000). He was named the expansion Fame's first coach at a press conference earlier this week.

Casey is excited about his new gig, referring to it as "the adventure" in an exclusive interview with ProBasketballNews.com.

His son, Mike, is the team's general manager -- which is how Don became affiliated with the club.

"(Mike) became involved with the group here, and I was trying to help them find a coach," Casey said. "But in the end, it turned out that all the other candidates were occupied. So that's when I decided to do it."

Besides Lachey, Vickers and Salley, the ownership group also includes celebrities such as A.J. DiScala and Stacy Keibler, and former and current athletes such as pro baseball player Brady Anderson and NFL quarterback Kyle Boller.

Salley, who is co-host of the popular Best Damn Sports Show Period on Fox, is also the league‘s commissioner. He has promised a newer, tougher approach with teams, bringing an instant dose of brains and credibility to the ABA.

"To be honest, (Salley's) involvement had a lot with me deciding to get involved (with the Fame)," Casey said. "He's been in the limelight, and it has more to do with just his TV show. He owns some championship rings from his playing days. He knows what he is doing."

The same can be said for Casey -- who believes the Fame can become a "resurrection vehicle" for the ABA.

"A lot of the players trying out for this team are 26 to 29 years old," Casey explained. "Some of them have no place to go. They can't get into the NBA and they don't necessarily want to go overseas. If we can put them in an NBA setting here, as opposed to a rec-league type of thing, then maybe we can all make a go of it."

Casey plans to implement a zone defense that he hopes will be a springboard to the Fame's offense. Having been out of the NBA for five years, he admitted to being a little rusty -- but he expects that to change by the time the season tips off in November.

He also seems to understand that when you coach in the minors, you are more than just the coach. You are an ambassador to your team and your league.

"If we can offer basketball with a little sizzle, and attract people to games and investors to the ABA ... well, those are some good goals to have," Casey said. "Done right, this is a winning situation."

And so far, Casey and the Fame are off to a sparkling start.

MORE FAME NOTES

• Former NBA point guard and Japanese star Yuta Tabuse is listed on the Fame's training camp roster. Tabuse is 5-foot-9 and has spent time in training camp with Denver and the Clippers. He played in four games for Phoenix during the 2004-05 season.

• The Fame will play home games at the Los Angeles Sports Arena and are scheduled to open the season Nov. 11 at the Las Vegas Venom.

• You can check out the team Web site, clearly among the best-designed of any minor league site in any sport, at thehollywoodfame.com.

AROUND THE ABA

• The defending champion Rochester Razorsharks landed a good one when they signed center Mike Mackall last week. Mackall played for the Oklahoma Storm in the USBL this past spring, and was regular on PBN.com's list of the top 20 minor league players. Mackall averaged 15.2 points and 5.6 rebounds for a team that compiled the best record in the USBL.

• Former NCAA Division II coach Bruce Kreutzer has been named coach of the Atlanta Vision. Kruetzer led Queens (N.Y.) College to the D-II Final Four in 2003.

• Seattle SuperSonics point guard Luke Ridnour has ties to the ABA -- as his dad, Rob Ridnour, is coach of the Bellingham Slam.

• Houston's franchise has been named the Undertakers. In one of the league's more creative slogans, the Undertakers are hoping to "Bury the Competition." Let's just hope they're cool with sportswriters.

• Our ABA notebook will be posted each Thursday during the season. Also be sure to check out PBN.com's CBA notebook (Fridays) and NBA D-League notebooks (Saturdays).

NOTE TO ABA TEAMS

Send your media guides/programs to PBN.com to win a chance for a free ad. We'll pick the best one, with the winner receiving an ad on this page for the rest of the season. Deadline to enter is December 1. Mail to guides and programs to: ProBasketballNews.com, P.O. Box 381, Greentown, Ohio, 44630.

Sam Amico is the editor of ProBasketballNews.com. He can be reached at amico@probasketballnews.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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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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