CBA Insider

by Chris Westerbeek
Published on December 29, 2001 under Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1)

by Chris Westerbeek

Turmoil North of the Border

The front-office situation in Saskatchewan has not been conducive to a winning basketball team this season. Majority owner Tom Tao has not been heard from in several weeks, and head coach Laurian Watkins has been forced to run the team alone. The Hawks started the season 2-7 while averaging just 2.1 quarter-points per game.

The Continental Basketball Association decided that enough was enough on Thursday as the league office, led by Commissioner Gary Hunter, took control of the struggling franchise. Now Tao is out as owner, and Bill Klucas has replaced Watkins as head coach. The First Heritage Nations Group, which currently owns 20 percent of the team, will likely purchase the entire franchise from the league.

Needless to say, Laurian Watkins was not impressed with the immediate coaching change. Watkins' goal was to run a clean organization, and he talked openly about his desire to move some players out of Saskatoon. Now his chance his over, as the league office has ousted him from the role and assigned Klucas to attempt a turn-around of the ailing franchise. The veteran Klucas has 15 years of CBA coaching experience.

Mr. Tao, of course, has not commented. The Taiwanese owner clearly has little concern, however, for the Saskatchewan Hawks. Only time will tell whether the Hawks are a going concern for anyone.

Wizards' Week

The Dakota Wizards made the most of their holiday week, winning four games over the last six days. The spurt enabled the team to hold onto its spot atop the National Conference.

Dakota began its streak on Sunday, December 23 will a 120-83 whipping of the Saskatchewan Hawks. Ken Johnson led the way with 22 points and 15 rebounds. On Christmas Day in Sioux Falls, the Wizards used a big fourth quarter to down the Skyforce 104-103. Six players scored in double-figures to lead a balanced effort against American Conference-leading Sioux Falls.

On December 27, the Wizards continued their run by dominating Gary in a 126-92 win. Dakota took all seven quarter-points in the game. Seven Wizard players reached double-figures in the game. The next day, Dakota knocked off the Steelheads 101-94 in overtime to improve their record to 8-4. Miles Simon poured in 28 points in the victory.

Line of the Week

Time again to select the best individual performance of the week! This week there are co-winners, and both are from the same game. The December 27 battle between the Skyforce and Lightning featured outstanding performances from Silas Mills of Sioux Falls and Jeff Sanders of Rockford. Check out their important stats below:

Name            MIN FGM FGA   PCT FTM FTA   PCT 3FGM 3FGA   PCT PTS OR  DR  TR AST
Mills, Silas     46  15  18  83.3   9  10  90.0    4    6  66.7  43  0   3   3   2
Sanders, Jeff    48  13  19  68.4  10  11  90.9    0    0   0.0  36  4  12  16   7

Continental Basketball Association 1 Stories from December 29, 2001

• CBA Insider - OSC Original by Chris Westerbeek

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