Gary Common Council Honors Steelheads

April 4, 2006 - Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1)
Gary Steelheads News Release


GARY, Indiana (April 3, 2006) - The Gary Common Council honored the Gary Steelheads for their incredible season which took the team from worst in the CBA a year ago to first in the CBA this year, and from the back of the pack to the CBA Finals.

"The Steelheads made us proud," said Roy Pratt, President of the Council. "This Council played a role in supporting the Steelheads when there were some people who were in doubt. Each individual Council person has always been supportive. We had some bad things happen in our city, but this is a good thing that went all over the United States."

Indeed, the Steelheads earned considerable notoriety as they moved up the CBA ladder to playoff contention. And when Gary ran off a nine-game winning streak in February, they overtook the Rockford Lightning for the lead in the Eastern Conference. By the end of the season, the team had earned the top playoff position in the league by virtue of their league-leading quarter point average.

A year ago, the Steelheads had finished at the bottom of the league with a 17-31 record and 135½ quarter points (2.8 QPA). One year later, Gary improved a net total of 24 games from 14 games under .500 to 10 games over .500 at 29-19. They raised their quarter point average to 4.10, an increase of 1.3 quarter points per game over the previous year. And the Steelheads won an incredible 25½ more quarters of basketball than a year ago.

Gary Steelheads' coach Jaren Jackson, a rookie coach in the CBA, was named the league's Coach of the Year on March 16th. Forward Randy Holcomb was named MVP of the CBA All Star Game, played at the Qwest Center in Boise, Idaho January 17th. And All Star guard Jimmie "Snap" Hunter shattered the team's single-season scoring record on Valentine's Day. This year's Steelheads virtually rewrote the team's record book.

Jackson told the Council that his Steelheads' coaching experience was his indoctrination to Indiana basketball. "You know I came here knowing that I was coming to the state of Indiana where all over the country you hear about the knowledge of Indiana basketball fans and that they are the greatest fans in the world," he said. "It really showed in those final games. I noticed the pride and the basketball knowledge of many of the fans in the state of Indiana, and particularly here in Gary at the packed house across the street (the Genesis Center)."

The Common Council also honored Steelheads' Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel Jewell Harris Jr. for his steady day-to-day leadership through the challenges of the season. For Harris, it marked a triumphant return to the franchise after spending the last season in Phoenix working with the Harlem Globe Trotters.

"The last five years I suffered a little bit too, waiting for this day to come, and this was a great season" he said. "On behalf of the entire team, I want to say thank you to each and every Council member for your support. I think throughout the course of the year, we converted quite a few doubters into believers. We were successful in winning the hearts of the citizens of this community throughout Northwest Indiana, and we hope to continue that going forward. We believe we created a public-private partnership that was successful. Over the last Series weekend, we brought over 7,000 people to the arena. That's what it's all about...creating civic pride."

Jackson and Harris then presented a pair of autographed Steelheads' basketballs to the Council.



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