Joe Preseren Named Roanoke Dazzle Team President
April 18, 2002 - NBA G League (G League)
Roanoke Dazzle News Release
ROANOKE, Va., April 18, 2002 â Joe Preseren, a National Basketball Development League senior administrator since last May, was named today as the new Team President of the Roanoke Dazzle.
Preseren succeeds Donna Daniels as the Dazzle president. Daniels, who guided the Roanoke club through its inaugural NBDL season, has been promoted to Vice President, NBDL Marketing. It marks a return to the NBA offices for Daniels, who was an NBA marketing executive for a decade before helping launch the NBDL and the Dazzle.
"Donna has put a solid foundation in place for the Dazzle to build on," said Rob Levine, NBA Senior Vice President of New League Development. "We are confident Joe's ties within the Roanoke Valley community, experience in minor league sports and proven ability to sell tickets will lead to the Dazzle's continued growth."
Preseren joined the NBDL last spring from his second stint as a baseball general manager for Salem's Class A Carolina League franchise. He was also the Avalanche GM in the 2000 season. As the NBDL's Senior Manager of Ticket Sales and Team Services, Preseren â while traveling among the NBA minor league's cities â kept his home in Roanoke County.
It is that connection to the Roanoke Valley that Preseren brings to the Dazzle front office. During the inaugural season, Preseren concentrated his efforts on the Dazzle's ticket sales, guiding the club to a significant improvement in attendance during the second half of the NBDL season.
"I am thrilled to be dedicating all of my energy to the Dazzle," said Preseren. "I gained a tremendous amount of knowledge while traveling throughout the league during our first season and will use that experience to our benefit." Preseren, a native of Cleveland, began his professional sports career as an intern for the Los Angeles Dodgers in spring training at Vero Beach, Fla., in 1981. He has worked for seven different minor league baseball clubs â from Class A to AAA. His 18 seasons as a general manager began with the Salem Redbirds in 1982.
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Preseren Succeeds Daniels as Dazzle Team President â Page 2
Preseren, a 1980 alumnus of Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio, was a two-time Texas League Executive of the Year (1987 and '90) during his 12-year stint as GM of the Tulsa Drillers, and also was twice selected the Class AA Baseball Executive of the Year by The Sporting News. He was named the Class A Carolina League Executive of the Year with the Frederick Keys in '99, before returning to Salem.
Preseren and his wife, Diane, a native of Roanoke, have four children. The Preserens live in Roanoke County.
The NBDL, the NBA's minor league, includes the Fayetteville Patriots (N.C.), North Charleston Lowgators (S.C.), Huntsville Flight (Ala.), Mobile Revelers (Ala.), Roanoke Dazzle (Va.), Columbus Riverdragons (Ga.), Greenville Groove (S.C.), and Asheville Altitude (N.C.). The league offers players the opportunity to develop their talent in a highly competitive atmosphere under the NBA's umbrella. Seven NBDL players were called up to the NBA during the NBDL's inaugural season. The NBDL serves as a source of on-court talent for the NBA's 29 teams and as a diverse human resources pool for the NBA and its teams by training employees in management, operations, public relations, sales and marketing positions in each NBDL city.
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NBA G League Stories from April 18, 2002
- Three NBDLers in NBA Playoffs - G League
- Joe Preseren Named Roanoke Dazzle Team President - Roanoke Dazzle
- Donna Daniels Called Up to the NBA - Roanoke Dazzle
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