Hindsight 19/17 – A Look at the 2008 ABA Season That Was... And Wasn't

by Ed Gross
April 10, 2008 - American Basketball Association (ABA)

It's all in the books...Of course in the ABA's case, those books only exist by a few followers of individual teams or divisions. Hence, one of the many problems faced by the ABA for the future. History in this league, is more about teams coming and going than it is about player and team statistics.

First off: A look at the teams and how they've faired since the third quarter of the season. Since the ABA standings weren't updated since mid-February, standings are unofficial, and based primarily on what was provided to OurSports Central by the teams and media sources.

The Good:

-Halifax Rainmen (12-20) Ownership promised, and delivered, hosting 18 home games. At times, this wasn't easy including a last minute, late season cancellation by the Bahama Pro-Show. This, coupled with the ABA's lack of wherewithal in securing a home play-in date for the Rainmen may have been the last straw. Halifax ownership pulled the franchise from the league at the end of the regular season. While league brass insisted that Halifax was at fault, Halifax ownership refused to take the bait and return the barbs. The franchise has announced its return, but to another, yet to be specified league for the 2008-09 season.

-Manchester Millrats (27-11) Organized, and well received franchise. One of two franchises to play its quota of 36 games this season. Rumors exist that the club is looking towards the D-league for the future, but other leagues may also be in play.

-Orange County Gladiators (15-13) Playing games in a difficult region was not an easy task. The franchise seems to have solid ownership, and it will be interesting to see if, and in what league, the Gladiators return to in 2008.

-Quebec City Kebekwa (15-19) Franchise seemed to develop a following, but was hurt by lack of attendance at Great 8 tournament. It will also be interesting to see if the Halifax exit will affect future plans.

-San Diego Wildcats (22-7) Runners up in the Great 8 tournament. As mentioned previously, this franchise is hurt by overall lack of interest and promotion of west coast teams.

-Vermont Frost Heaves (32-4, 2-0 in "exhibition" games vs. Atlanta) ABA champions for second consecutive year. Easily, the most well run franchise in the league.

Moved up from "Still on trial" to Good:

-Atlanta Vision (8-5, 0-2 in "exhibition" games vs. Vermont) With the turmoil in the South, Atlanta was still able to finish the season and reach the Great 8. Ownership is solid, but this franchise seems mired in a region of the country where minor league basketball seems a distant afterthought. It remains of interest to see if this franchise can overcome travel costs, and still be a player in the ABA.

-Texas Tycoons (12-2) Still "a franchise without an opponent," the Tycoons managed to work through the year and to the Great 8 this season. Not counted in their standings were several games versus non-ABA opponents this season. This franchise was rumored to be doubling as the Dallas PBL entry at various times this season.

Moved up from Bad to "Still on trial":

-Maywood Buzz (3-25) One of the longest tenured ABA franchises, although in more than one location. Lack of any information hurt this, like every other west coast team, and more negative press came, or didn't, in the fact that Maywood hosted the West playoff tournament but didn't bother to report on it. What takes this team above the level of bad is ownership's willingness to accept and try to work above normal ABA problems.

Moved down from "Still on trial" to Bad:

-Beijing Aoshen Olympian (23-4) With the lack of ABA headlines, this franchise just doesn't cut it. Crowd size, television, and interest can at best, be rumored. With its winning percentage and "Power ranking" of three, the ABA still could not include this team in it's post-season. Reasoning existed that overseas players were preparing for international play. But based on the over-hype of an overseas team, this still shouldn't have happened this way. If this is a part of the ABA's proposed overseas expansion, fans are only left with more questions than answers.

-Long Beach Breakers (11-10) Already hurt by a lack of publicity, this franchise did itself no favors by letting its website be suspended for non-payment. As a member of the West's Mini-Playoffs, they took it upon themselves to put up no releases about it.

-Montreal Royal (10-20) While 30 games played by ABA standards is impressive, this franchise seems to be less solvent then the rest of the Northeast.

The Bad:

-Bahama Pro Show (1-7) If hype equaled results, this franchise would be in the top five. Pulled out of final series with Halifax without as much as a phone call. Yet, this franchise has already "renewed its commitment to the ABA" for two more seasons.

-Boston Blizzard (7-20) Were obviously getting some games played. In real need of a home court and local identity, they were also known to travel with eight or less players.

-First State Fusion (1-7) Here lies one of the problems with the ABA, a new, expansion team that couldn't even get off the ground. Talk continually surrounded them "making up" games toward the end of the season, but never materialized. First State, along with the defunct Cicero team may have won the prize having the most irritating sound byte on their web page.

-Georgia Gwizzlies (1-9) If this franchise played as many games as it posted non- comprehendible press releases, it would be on to something. Since February 1st, this franchise announced two games versus Atlanta, three versus First State, one versus Bahamas, and two versus West Texas. Of these games, one was played: at Atlanta. Also, alienating the miniscule fan base: an announcement of a team MVP eight games into the season; an announcement of a playoff berth in December; an announcement of players being selected for the All-Star game, before it was even planned; an announcement of Macon hosting the South playoffs -- later postponed. When promises don't produce results, what is a potential follower supposed to think?

-Houston Takers (4-6) Fell off the ABA planet in December. Still insisted it would play games right up to a proposed "Southwest playoff." Latest rumor is that the team will return in 2008.

-Jersey Express (6-11) Meant well, but was swept under the Northeast mat of teams that could actually schedule and play games. Crowds were admittedly small, "disappointing," and needed work. It will be interesting to see if the franchise returns, and how it changes its marketing strategy in 2008.

-San Francisco Rumble (4-10) In and out of active status, this team somehow managed a trip to the Great 8.

-West Texas Whirlwinds (1-8) "Whirled" out of the ABA equation in February. Perhaps they didn't have enough opponents to stay active, but they weren't part of the solution.

-Westchester Phantoms (8-7) True to their nickname, this club seemed to appear and disappear at will. First included in the Northeast play-in games, they were removed by the ABA without an explanation.

The ABA did its share of reshuffling this season: Of 36 teams that began the season, two never saw action, four played one game, and a total of 18 played less than ten. The league lost its entire Central Division, as well as reshuffled most of the divisions in its Blue Conference. To put it in another perspective, any franchise which played double digit games, aside from Georgia, Houston, and Maywood, finished in the Top 15 of the ABA's power rankings. The actual Great 8 seeds were ranked: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12 and 14.

-The ABA's Big Fortnight, what could have been?

Two weeks of playoffs led to little hype from the ABA other then a few sales pitches. The west "mini-playoffs" held in Maywood went on as scheduled but without a word from any of the participating teams or league. In the South, Georgia, which was supposed to host this playoff was forced, along with West Texas, to cancel hours before tip-off. The winner of that game was supposed to meet Atlanta for a berth in the Great 8. ABA officials insisted that the cancellation was due to Georgia and West Texas not possessing post-season rosters of players that had three or more regular season games played. In fact, an ABA rulebook listing what makes a player or team playoff eligible (among other ABA facts), is news to most involved with the ABA. In fairness to Atlanta, they would have just returned from a last-minute trip to Halifax in time to play this game. Most observers believed that the Vision deserved the trip to Quebec City after handily beating Georgia several times. Had a fatigued team lost to Georgia or West Texas, it would have been hard to overlook the result of their "good deed."

The Northeast mini-playoffs also took its share of hits. Boston and Westchester, both already removed, gave Montreal and Jersey a chance to play for the right to face Halifax. Unfortunately, with Halifax's departure the two clubs faced off for the lone right to go the Quebec City. Again, the ABA was quiet with a result or even a venue for this game.

The Great 8 tournament itself was held in front of smaller than expected crowds. This could be attributed to Quebec City's early playoff exit. The more significant development was PlayOn's inability to show games live over the Internet. Once again, the casual or interested fan was left asking questions as to what happened, and the ABA was less then willing to give an explanation. To the league's credit, depending upon your perspective, a late call in the San Diego/Manchester game was reviewed by video replay, and league officials ruled the game had to be finished with the proper call taking place. Unfortunately, no one outside the league CEO knew the call could even be reviewed. The call itself was a game winning basket at the end of regulation. After review, it was plain to see that the tip-in came well after the final buzzer. After much ABA like confusion, both teams returned to the court for overtime.

-Over and back (A look at the biggest ABA blunders of 2007-08)

(TV, Internet deals)

PlayOn, originally a pay-per view offering featuring "over 300 games" and "games from every team," was limited to home broadcasts of Vermont, the All-Star game, hosted by Vermont; and the Great 8, finally aired on-demand.

ColoursTv was supposed to air "Friday Night Live" in January and February. It never came into existence, nor was any explanation ever offered by the ABA. As of this writing, ABAlive still possesses a banner for these games.

Voice America aired a weekly ABA talk show. Modeled more in the way of an infomercial, the program seemed to steer clear of game play and accentuate business deals. In the future, it would be refreshing to hear less from the league CEO, and more from the players, owners and coaches.

BASN, Currently airs an ABA talk show, but any games being aired will have to wait until next season.

Games from the west coast quietly aired on KBCSports.com. Just as quietly, scheduled games were removed, sometimes as late as game time.

NeulionTv was to air games on a live and pay-per-view basis. Based in China, this seemed to have little or no consequence to those in the States. The setup itself seemed too complicated to have much value and never became available to North Americans.

(Los Angeles, Pushed. Reno, Sharp shot and other expansion fiascos.)

Chicago, Chicago... Everywhere: The league began this season with no-less then three franchises in the Chicago area. Of them, the Inferno would play no games, while the Throwbacks would play two before moving to the Premier Basketball League due to a lack of ABA teams in its region. A third, the Cicero Cometas, played three games before withdrawing from the league.

Rochester Fire(d): Added early enough, the Minnesota based franchise was one of three operated by the same owner who would later disappear from the league. In Rochester's case, the franchise was "Signed over to new ownership" by league CEO Joe Newman, in a way that made it seem official. New ownership scrambled to play one game, officially called an exhibition, though it apparently counted in the standings. Later, a lack of venue, players, money and opponents forced new ownership to close up shop. A somewhat famous statement of, "I guess I'm still shocked to think it was all a con..." was murmured in reference to how the previous owner absconded.

Place your bets: In Reno, where the Sharpshooters set up shop late in the summer, the team just as quickly lost an arena (oversight of cost minus potential income), attempted to move to area high schools and in the end failed to play a game. Vowing a return in 2008, this franchise has since been removed from the ABA's expansion list.

The Pasadena Push: Another late addition was the franchise in Pasadena, which quickly moved to Los Angeles. Playing six games, the franchise quickly fell out of favor of ABA brass and was suspended from the league.

High on a hilltop: The Corning Bulldogs spent an entire year preparing for their entry into the league. Confidence swelled when the franchise won its first several games, but quickly diminished when losses and low attendance kept adding up. In the end, and somewhat unexpectedly, the franchise folded in early December. Using the reason that low crowds were contributed to the fact that the arena was "built on a hill" and was hard for fans to get to, the Bulldogs have since relocated to Elmira in the NPBL.

No bull here: The Syracuse Raging Bullz, much like Corning spent a year being formed, and less then one month on the court. Ownership plans to move the franchise to Rochester, New York for 2008-09.

How about No-Shows: The Bahama Pro Show, based in Miami spent most of the season in a stop-and-go mode. Like most teams in the South, they saw scheduled games constantly pass without seeing the court. In the end, they played eight games and may be credited with being the final straw on the back of Halifax.

We aren't the Champions, my friend: Actually not an expansion franchise, Anderson, Indiana, once again was home to a team - for one game. Started and suspended in 06-07, this comeback was even shorter. Placed on expansion hiatus for 2008-09, the league has since removed the team from its expansion list altogether, though team ownership will be involved in a new entity.

Welcome back Minnesota?: After a jump to the PBL, the ABA felt like it scored a victory in the franchise's failed start in the new league - and return to its roots in the ABA. Upon struggling to play one game, the club was dropped and not heard from since.

Just Stunning: The second year St. Louis Stunners played two games and disappeared from the standings, before returning to the league in time for a two-game Singapore road trip. The club still sits among the actives on ABAlive.com.

How 'bout a nice Hawaiian Punch?: The ABA's attempt to maintain a franchise off the Pacific mainland once again failed. The expansion Hawaii Hurricanes failed to play a game before being reassigned to new ownership and re-christened the Pacific Rim Rockers. Scrambling to find a venue, players, and funds days before the first scheduled home game, the franchise talked about being ready in time for opening day, then on delay. All the while stories filtered through the media involving individuals who charged season tickets on credit cards having more unauthorized charges added to their cards by the former Hurricanes owner.

New ownership's attempt to right the ship came too late, and with little interest. Coupled with the already negative credit card fiasco, Hawaiians didn't seem to care. As of this writing, the Rockers are still included in the ABA's 2008-09 expansion team list. For those keeping track, Hawaii has seen two franchises and three ABA names. The Mega Force, of 2006-07 are officially listed as having no record. As a side note, the Hurricanes may have possessed one of the nicer logos in the league.

-More Blunders (The ABARedWhiteBlue Tour)

In the bat of an eye, Snoop Dogg's picture was removed from ABAlive as was the press release stating that he was headlining a tour in ABA cities beginning in December. Short of some local talent in some arenas, the ABA once again failed to bring any "Tour" to its cities.

(Can't get enough of those ABA souvenirs?)

An agreement with Jaws Marketing was supposed to change that. Promising everything from water bottles to travel mugs of "your favorite ABA team," we have still seen very little produced. Souvenirs are pretty much left up to individual teams.

(Marketing deals)

The ABA office was busy this season signing deals for everything from shoes and socks, to a clothing line geared towards th "older woman." A prominent vice-president of entertainment was also named. Once again, these deals seemed to end as abruptly as they were announced. In particular, the clothing deal was announced less than two weeks before opening night and was to also supply a line of clothing for ABA-related events that also never seemed to materialize. The ABA's own travel agency didn't seem willing to help transport teams to and from venues.

("Mean-spirited bloggers")

Nothing seemed to get more of a rise out of ABA followers, or make its CEO look more ill-tempered than an "Ask The CEO" column dedicated to ABA message board writers. In a mid-December "Ask the CEO" column, Newman addressed the issue of bloggers who in his words "attack the ABA". His response included such references to their "hostile," "non-factual," and "distorted" attitudes towards the ABA. He claimed that he could track these people, and fully expected to see one of them on NBC's "To catch a Predator," a program designed to ensnare sexual predators. Two days later, he printed somewhat of a retraction.

Once Again, the ABA showed its uncanny ability to tarnish itself. Admittedly, the league was in a free-fall at the time the piece was written. Franchises were failing, games weren't being played, and most critics believed the season was in jeopardy. The concept of casting blame towards a third party source in order distract attention from the league's woes appeared to be the strategy. Should these "mean-spirits" ever go away, the ABA may find it has lost its core following. The reality was never noticed, that most of these people want to see this league succeed and are frustrated at seeing the same mistakes made over and over again.

(Global Basketball Alliance)

The ABA thought it had found a match in December with the GBA. Planning a Spring/summer schedule, an early blueprint was formed to pull resources and build both a men's and woman's program. Within months, the partnership failed and both leagues have since chosen to go their separate ways.

(How 'bout a nice Manchester melee?)

For all of the stumbling that the ABA did in it's first two and a half months. The table seemed set for an excellent matchup in Burlington between Vermont and Manchester. The Millrats had already established themselves as fair competition for Vermont, handing them their first two loses of the season after a Vermont 6-0 start. By this time, both clubs had been volleying for the number one spot in the power rankings. Moreover, both were establishing themselves as ABA franchises that played scheduled games, drew crowds, and had a viable roster. Vermont, the only team that had a working relationship with PlayOn aired the game live on the Internet. ABAlive, built it up with a banner link on its homepage. On a Saturday afternoon in January, the game had its share of viewers and was entertaining with a few bumps and elbows. At one time in each the second and third quarter, the game had to be stopped to break up fights. With less then 50 seconds left in the contest, a Manchester player delivered an elbow to the back of a Vermont player's head. The ensuing melee resulted in the game being call a final with time still on the clock. Fans were left asking where the rulebook was in regards to suspensions, fighting, and the referee's right to prematurely end a game. At first, the ABA office was quiet. To both clubs' credit, they acted quickly and offered few excuses, but better explanations. After the fact, the league issued its own press release. In another incident, the Westchester Phantoms saw a game get suspended due to fighting on December 9th. The game versus Quebec City was never completed or rescheduled.

(Go west??? Young ABA...)

Where the fault lies is unknown, but the ABA just doesn't give enough coverage of it's western franchises. San Diego had as good an ABA season as can be expected. Yet, hearing of players, attendance or opponents is a non-factor. If these teams want to move forward, they are going to have to realize that the cradle of ABAlive won't support them. The league wants nothing to do with promoting its teams.

(Beijing, and Asian expansion)

An American Basketball Association with clubs overseas just may not work. If anything, the ABA's lack of covering Beijing and excusing them from the post-season became another strange event in the first place. North American teams and fans may have little interest in overseas team. Beijing, and the ABA did a terrible job of promoting the overseas experience this season.

(If Beijing is the "mold"... Break it!!!)

Stories surfaced that Beijing's "home court" advantage included less than reasonable accommodations in sub-standard hotels. Manchester, in particular, spent 60 hours getting to Singapore, and arrived for its first game with six players and no uniforms, twelve hours before game-time. Houston's owner claimed the Takers' poor play was "a result of mildew in it's rooms making players ill." Maywood's general manager cited "a small, cramped hotel, with hookers everywhere." Most clubs complained that the officiating was one- sided in the Olympian's favor. In the league's defense, most of these problems seemed to be resolved by season's end. Conversely, it almost seems unfair that jet-lag played advantage to Beijing, but the club was never brought to the states to see how they could compete on the road.

(Ask the trainer)

An Ask the Trainers column was an attempt to bring information to ABAlive asking such questions as "The difference between a strain and tear" or "The best way to warm-up for a game." Answers were usually cautiously carved to the obvious and ending with the proverbial "Be sure to ask your physician if you are unsure." The column was removed mid-season.

(ABAlive.com)

The league website is in dire need of repair, lately seeming more like an electronic billboard. Scores, standings, and scoring leaders are almost completely overlooked. By mid-February, the league had seemed to completely abandon its once improved standings page. ABA brass itself insisted that scores and player updates should, and could be found by going to individual franchise's websites. In that case, it was rarely done, save for a few franchises, in the first place.

-Time to accentuate the positive.

(The Northeast)

The league has seen an ever so slight sign of stability in some markets. Vermont and Manchester were easily the class of the league, while Quebec City seemed to hold it's own. The Northeast teams, had the easiest time rescheduling games due to other franchise failures.

(...and other signs of life)

Franchises such as Orange County, Atlanta, and San Diego, among others, seemed to show potential during the season. Of the 19 "survivors," it is safe to say that many learned to deal with the ABA style of adversity over the season.

(All-Star weekend)

Despite the late planning and uncertainty surrounding the event, the All-Star weekend was an overall success. That type of environment would be welcome in every ABA venue. It could have been an improvement if we had some idea of the players traveling from other cities though. Also, did travel play a part in the West's lack of enthusiasm?

(Just the Halifax...)

Granted the regional playoffs saw its share of criticism, it was nice to see a Great Eight tournament go off with only one withdrawal. Past tournaments have been marred with losses of key clubs right at playoff time, usually resulting in a rumble (and distraction) of the blame game from ABA offices. One can only hope that for the ABA's sake, these key playoff franchises will find a reason to remain on board.

(Green, Anderson & Voigt)

The Orange County Gladiators signed female player Kristen Green to a contract in late December. Within weeks, she was picked up by the WNBA. Manchester's Anthony Anderson vaulted from virtual unknown to the All-Star Game and league MVP. Vermont coach Will Voigt may have proven he is capable of moving up to a better league. Other players such as Halifax's Eric Crookshank, San Diego's Cardell Butler, and Vermont's Issa Konare, among others, may have been given an opportunity to showcase their skills for higher tiered leagues. Once again, these players and coaches would be helped greatly by better kept ABA statistics.

-Is there a future?

With the ABA, the question of stability is never answered with "if" but rather "how much?" Adding new franchises is always at the forefront of the league agenda. It is unfortunate, but league brass seems to not take the game very seriously. The over-expansion simply hasn't worked. Too many franchises are promised and not delivered. A league which promises to blanket the country with franchises has become limited to the Northeast and Southwest. Entire regions such as the South and Mid-west have been tried, and failed. Perhaps there would be hope in a ten to twelve team circuit. Overall, it seems to be time for this league to give the public an idea of its vision. Can we accept unbalanced final standings? Not knowing who players are? Not knowing if a team will show up?

As minor league basketball continues to attempt to pull out of its rut. Some ABa teams may find the answer lies with other options.

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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American Basketball Association Stories from April 10, 2008

• Hindsight 19/17 – A Look at the 2008 ABA Season That Was... And Wasn't - OSC Original by Ed Gross
• Jersey Express To Be Guest Referee's For Deirdre's House Charity Tournament - Jersey Express
• Nashville Broncos Tryout Camp April 12 - ABA

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.