CBA Insider
by Chris Westerbeek
April 7, 2002 - Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1)
Dakota Claims Championship
Two seasons, two leagues, two titles. Last season, first-year coach Dave Joerger led his Dakota Wizards to the International Basketball Association title. On Saturday night, Joerger's Wizards completed a sweep of the CBA playoffs to claim a second consecutive championship trophy.
Dakota defeated Rockford, 116-109, in the CBA's one-game championship round. The game was played at the MetroCentre in Rockford before a league-announced crowd of 7,201 fans. Miles Simon, who was named the postseason Most Valuable Player, led the Wizards with 24 points. Simon, who was also the league's regular-season MVP, collected 9 assists on the night. Power forward Chris Porter secured the victory for Dakota with 11 fourth-quarter points; the strongman tallied 21 in the game despite playing limited minutes due to foul trouble. Courtney James scored 15 points and grabbed 9 boards for the winners.
Dickey Simpkins scored 32 points and pulled down 16 rebounds for Rockford. Ray Weathers and Versile Shaw contributed 18 points each. Lightning coach Stacey King got little production from the rest of his roster, however. Guard Kelley McClure struggled to find his rhythm, scoring 10 points on just 4-13 shooting from the field. Forwards Jeff Sanders, Emmett Hall, and Terrence Shannon scored just 6 points each.
Ex-IBA Can Compete
At the beginning of the season, many around the league wondered whether the ex-IBA teams (Dakota, Fargo-Moorhead, and Saskatchewan) could compete with the established, larger budget CBA franchises. The league even separated the two groups of teams, placing the low-budget ex-IBA squads in the National Conference (along with the expansion Flint Fuze) and CBA stalwarts such as Rockford and Sioux Falls in the American Conference.
Dakota and Fargo-Moorhead answered the questions all season long as they competed evenly with the American Conference squads. The Wizards ended any debate on Saturday night as they claimed the CBA championship on the home court of the Rockford Lightning.
Granted, this year's Dakota team is not the same one that took the IBA crown last season; coach Dave Joerger was able to upgrade his roster with ex-D1 stars like Miles Simon, Chris Porter, Courtney James, and Ken Johnson. The F-M Beez also made important acquisitions to ensure their competitiveness in the new league.
Still, it is clear that ex-IBA teams and players have been an excellent fit in the CBA. They played an integral role in the success of the league this season, and should be commended for their respective achievements. Hopefully the CBA newcomers in 2002-03 will follow the example of this season's top IBA transfers, the Dakota Wizards and Fargo-Moorhead Beez.
Note
I would like to thank all of you who read this column during the season. I enjoyed covering the CBA for you, and hope that you enjoyed reading my work as well. CBA Insider will not be published on a weekly basis during the off-season. I will continue to write occasionally, particularly as news is released concerning planned expansion franchises or new player signings. Look for the column to appear on Sunday evenings approximately once per month throughout the off-season.
Continental Basketball Association 1 Stories from April 7, 2002
- CBA Insider - OSC Original by Chris Westerbeek
- Dakota Wizards Win 2002 CBA Championship - CBA 1
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.
