Musicians Notes

January 19, 2006 - World Basketball Association (WBA)
Murfreesboro Musicians News Release

MUSICIANS TO HOLD FIRST TRYOUT CAMP Head Coach and Director of Basketball Operations-Steve Tucker announces Musicians First Open Try Out ! Jan. 28, 2006 8am - 5pm at Sports Com Recreation Complex in Murfreesboro,TN. Registration $30.00 in advance or $50.00 walk up fee. Contact Ph: 615-207-6292 or 615-995-5171 email: musiciansproball@aol.com. For an application form, go to: www.musicianproball.com "COME SHOW YOUR STUFF"

HARLEM AMBASSADORS TO PLAY EXHIBITION GAME AT PROVIDENCE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY ON JANUARY 30TH (This Event Is Sponsored By The Musicians Pro Basketball Franchise). Murfreesboro Musicians are set to sponsor Providence Christian Academy (PCA) 2006 athletic fundraiser event. World famous Harlem Ambassadors to play an exhibition game at the PCA Gymnasium Monday January 30, 2006 @ 6pm. Ticket info: (615) 904-0902. PCA is located at 410 Dejarnette Ln Murfreesboro, TN 37130-9095 "COME OUT & SEE SOME OF THE PROSPECTIVE MUSICIANS IN ACTION"

The Musicians: A Bounce From The NBA ! COACH TUCKER TO APPEAR ON LOCAL RADIO SHOW Musicians Director of Basketball Operations/Head Coach, Steve Tucker will appear this upcoming Monday night on the "IDEAS INSIDE SPORTS SCENE" Radio Show hosted by Jon Dinkins on 1450 AM. Coach Tucker will be on the at 6:20PM and will be on the Show for about a half hour talking about Musicians Professional Basketball coming to Murfressboro & Rutherford County. So do tune in and hear the Coach in his first at length interview about Our Murfreesboro Musicians of the World Basketball Association (WBA). COACHES CORNER:

THE GAME THAT CHANGED IT ALL! (Texas Western's Defeat Of Kentucky Changed The Landscape Of Basketball & Life Forever) By Coach Steve C. Tucker

Nearly 40 years to the exact date of the NCAA Collegiate Basketball National Championship Game that changed all of basketball comes the movie, "Glory Road" to the big screen. Glory Road tells the story of Texas Western College's (now the University of Texas at El Paso) journey to the NCAA National Championship Game in March of 1966. What made Texas Western unique is that in the history of the game, it was the first time a collegiate basketball team had started five black players, and that it's top seven players were black. Texas Western played and defeated the heavily favored University of Kentucky on that March day in 1966, 72-65, to win the NCAA National Championship. It was as well, the first time in the history of the game that a team of color had achieved such great success on a national level.

The date was March 19, 1966, the place was College Park, Maryland, and the once defeated Texas Western Miners were matched up against the #1 Team in the nation, the University of Kentucky in the NCAA Basketball National Championship Game. Texas Western started five black players on that day against an all white starting lineup of the Kentucky Wildcats. The Kentucky Wildcats were led by Legendary Collegiate Basketball Coach, Adolph Rupp (the Baron of the Blue Grass). Rupp's Wildcats had been an outstanding team all during the 1965-66 college basketball season and few thought that Texas Western could stay on the same court with the UK Wildcats. There was also the belief that five black players would not be smart enough to defeat an all white college basketball team like the University of Kentucky! On that day, that rumor was truly proven to be a myth as the Miners of Texas Western College dominated the Kentucky Wildcats with their play and decision making throughout the game and won the 1966 NCAA National Championship! The game showed that African American players did measure up and that they could perform on the big stage with great results. It also marked a time for change athletically, socially, and in every respect in the United States. This game was a part of changing not only the make up of basketball on all levels, but also in the way we lived our lives within our country at that time and even today! The game between Texas Western and Kentucky had much more to do with social changes within our society than it has ever been given credit for.

The Miners of Texas Western came into the NCAA Tournament of 1966 with a 23-1 record. It was a tough road to the Final Four for Texas Western that saw them win four games on their way to their National Championship Game matchup vs Kentucky. This run of wins within the tournament included overtime victories against Cincinnati 78-76 and against Kansas 81-80 (2 OT) in the Midwest Regional. TWC defeated Utah 85-78 in the semifinals of the Final Four, but most felt the winner of the Kentucky/Duke game (UK defeated Duke 83-79) would go on to win the National Championship. Texas Western was truly an underdog and not very highly regarded in anyway, and the teams multicultural make-up (7 blacks, 3 hispanics, 2 whites) only heated the feelings of disregard towards Texas Western and its coach, Don Haskins.

From the opening tip-off Texas Western took the battle to Kentucky as in the early moments of the game Texas Western center, David Lattin threw down the first of his four awesome rim shaking dunks over UK All-American player, Pat Riley (yes, later to become the Legendary NBA Coach). TWC Miners, Bobby Joe Hill and Lattin led Texas Western to the championship win with 20 & 16 points. Orsten Artis also added 15 points. This was a team win by Texas Western though that was highlighted by a total all-around team performance. Coach Don Haskin's teams were to become known for that during his Hall of Fame coaching career at Texas Western College (later to become known as UTEP). Haskins would become known for his gruff demeanor during his legendary coaching career at UTEP. He was nicknamed, "Bear" for his being such a tough taskmaster. Now in the Basketball Hall of Fame for his success as a college basketball coach, Haskins is extremely proud of his one and only NCAA National Championship Team. Haskins is also out spoken about the teams great performance and accomplishment. Recently appearing on the ESPN 2 Talk Show hosted by Steven A. Smith, Haskins reiterated his strong feelings about the game, "I get tired of people calling the game an upset" Haskins stated. "We had an outstanding team that faced Kentucky for the National Championship in 1966 and the best team won!" Months after the game, Haskins received hate mail and death threats, but it never detoured the job he did with his Texas Western and UTEP Miners College Basketball Program. Haskins retired in 1999. Many of Haskins players and assistant coaches went on to successful careers in college coaching! Two of them being Nolan Richardson, who later played for coach Haskins at UTEP and won an NCAA National Championship at the University of Arkansas as the Head Coach of the Razorbacks and the other being, former assistant coach, Tim Floyd, who had great success at several colleges, coached in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls and New Orleans Hornets, and who is now the Head Basketball Coach at USC in Los Angeles, CA. With all of coach Don Haskins success at the University of Texas-El Paso over the years, still the greatest athletic accomplishment of the Miners Athletic Department remains its NCAA Basketball National Championship of 1966. It was truly a win for the ages...

Lost in all the racial and social issues that surrounded the game was that Texas Western defeated an outstanding Kentucky Wildcats college basketball team that had been ranked #1 in the Nation all during the 1965-66 collegiate basketball season. Kentucky was led by three of the truly great players to ever play at UK in Pat Riley, Louie Dampier, and Larry Conley. Riley and Dampier scored 19 points each in the National Championship Game and Conley added 10 points in the losing effort. Many have commented on the class that the UK players showed after the game in the manner they congratulated Texas Western's team on their National Championship. It has also been said that coach Adolph Rupp was not quite as cordial after the game, but the game must have had an impact on him, for Rupp himself went on to aggressively recruit black players to UK after the 1966 Championship Game.

Rupp was not the only one to overlook Texas Western's NCAA National Championship, for the only celebrations for this championship were given to the team in El Paso, Texas upon the teams return home. Normal practices of the day, like a visit to the White House to see the President and an appearance on the famed Ed Sullivan Show did not happen. Even television coverage of the Final Four dismissed Texas Western's National Championship by giving the game no recognition or coverage. Only Kentucky's defeat of Duke in the Final Four semifinal game was shown to the TV viewers. No mention was made on the national TV networks of Texas Western's great win! Even tournament officials snubbed Texas Western by only voting the late Bobby Joe Hill to its Final Four All-Tournament Team and snubbing David "Daddy D" Lattin, who had been truly outstanding in the Championship Game. Kentucky had two players voted to the All-Tourney team (Dampier and Riley), and that is very rare that the championship team does not get two players on the All-Tournament team! Yet, the seed was set for change in our society in both the sport of basketball and socially, and this win only made that seed grow faster.

After the victory, college basketball conferences in the South started to recruit and sign black players into their programs. Both the Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference followed the trend and the rest is history. Coach Dean Smith, who would later break coach Adolph Rupp's all-time win record with 879 victories in his glorious coaching career in Chapel Hill, NC at the University of North Carolina signed the first black player to ever play in the ACC in guard, Charlie Scott. Scott had an outstanding career at UNC for the Tarheels and later in professional basketball in both the ABA and NBA.

The trend of integrating both college and professional basketball with black players took off in the late 1960s and 1970s. Before the 1966 NCAA National Championship Game, both college basketball and professional basketball were sparsely integrated with the black player as segregation was shamefully and widely practiced in the United States and especially in the deep south. High School sports were hardly integrated at all in the Southeast and deep south regions of the USA. All of that changed over time!

Today in the United States on all levels you see domination of the sport of basketball by the black player! We have seen the integration of the game of basketball over the years and today players are judged not by the color of their skin, but by their ability and skill. This attitude has as well opened the doors of both collegiate and professional basketball to the international player. Now there have never been any studies done to detail the effects of the 1966 National Basketball Championship Game on the downfall of segregation, but it is known that after that game attitudes changed and doors were open to the black players within basketball and throughout the nation in many different aspects and ways. So March 19, 1966, was a pivotal day and a historic within the sport of basketball on all levels and within our society that helped change the views of how we see things and of how we view people of all colors, races, and nationalities on a more equal basis. That in itself is a great thing, and these men who made up the Texas Western College Basketball Team are finally receiving the credit for a great accomplishment in our countries history through sport. These men richly deserve our thanks and applause!

National recognition is now being given to these members of the Texas Western 1966 National Championship Team. Even Wheaties has unveiled it newest "Breakfast Of Champions" cereal box featuring the TWC National Champions of 1966. At the time of the game the players did not realize the significance of what they had done. Recently, Lattin, Nevel Shed, Jerry Armstrong (a white reserve player), and TWC assistant coach, Moe Iba were recognized at the NCAA National Convention. Lattin stated, "The farther we got away from it the more we saw what it had done for race relations, and to help kids get an education." Shed added, "It would have happened along the line, but this was the right time, for it happened during the struggles of the '60s, and there were so many athletes out there that wanted to show they had the same talents as the white folks!"

Glory Road is showing now nationally, and is the #1 Movie in the nation. I would encourage you to go see this Walt Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer film about a team that overcame great odds to become National Champions!

(You can read Coach Tucker's Articles & Columns on www.nrvsports.com or on www.probasketballnews.com. Coach Tucker can also now be heard on every Friday at 10:00AM on www.nrvsports.com webcast talking Professional & College Hoops for an hour with John Hale starting January 27th.)

WBA NEWS:

WBA League Tryouts Free Agent Camp March 24 - 25, 2006 Life University 1269 Barclay Circle Marietta, GA 30060

The World Basketball Association will hold its Free Agent League Tryouts on March 24th & 25th, 2006 at Life University in Marietta, Georgia. This camp will be conducted in order to give free agents an opportunity to be exposed to the 14 teams in the WBA. There will be a Free Agent Selection Draft held directly after the camp.

Last season, approximately 40 players were drafted by the 12 teams in the League. This season, 66 players will be drafted, as each team will select in 8 rounds. Drafted free agents will report directly to team training camps after the Free Agent camp, joining vets and protected players for preparation for opening night. Teams participating in the 2006 WBA are... Eastern Conference: Anderson, SC; Gainesville, GA; Greenville, SC; Macon, GA; Peachtree City, GA Central Conference: Tuscaloosa, AL; Cleveland, TN; Marietta, GA; Murfreesboro, TN; Rome, GA Western Conference: Biloxi, MS; Arkansas; Mississippi; South Haven, MS; Slidell, LA The WBA is a stepping stone for you aspiring pro players! In 2004, numerous players moved on to professional playing jobs overseas, as well as, in the CBA and NBDL - even the NBA - as former WBA players David Young was drafted by Seattle and Kyle Davis was signed as a free agent by the New Jersey Nets. Currently, Josh Powell is playing with the Dallas Mavericks and Damien Wilkins with the Seattle Sonics.

Make your dream a reality with the WBA League Tryouts!

BASKETBALL NEWS:

SHAQ-KOBE END FEUD, BURY HATCHET (Is That A Good Thing For The NBA?)

By Phil Taylor, SI.com

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal apparently put to rest years of shared animosity with a single handshake Monday night in L.A.

Well, what do you know? It looks like those crazy kids have finally grown up. In an unforeseen and not altogether welcome display of maturity, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal apparently put an end to years of petty jealousy and verbal sniping, calling a public truce on Monday before Bryant's Lakers beat Shaq's Miami Heat in Los Angeles.

Shaq and Kobe put a symbolic end to the NBA's highest profile feud with handshakes and hugs before the game. They shook hands during pregame stretching, then embraced at the captains' meeting with the referees, and again when the teams were lining up for the opening jump ball. It was the lengthiest exhibition of manly affection seen in L.A. since, well, you'll have to come up with your own Brokeback Mountain punchline. We're not going to help you.

O'Neal said he was prompted to make peace by former Celtics great Bill Russell, who essentially advised him to consider Kobe a rival, not an enemy, as Russell had done with Wilt Chamberlain, and Shaq took the Hall of Famer's advice. Kobe apparently was inspired by Martin Luther King's birthday. It seemed wrong, he said, for two African-American men to be so at odds with each other on MLK Day. Lakers fans are no doubt wondering why the two stars couldn't have had these epiphanies a few years ago, while they were still wearing the same uniform. The rest of us will take them at their word and commend them for their noble sentiments, but if we're honest, we also have to make a confession -- we liked it more when they wanted to throttle each other.

Face it, the feud was fun -- maybe not so much when their runaway egos were bringing down the Lakers' dynasty before its time, but certainly once Shaq moved to South Beach. It all became harmless entertainment then, with Shaq refusing to refer to Kobe by name, and Kobe dropping a dime about Shaq's personal life to the cops. It was appointment viewing when the two teams faced each other, to find out whether Kobe would have the audacity to take the ball to the rim against Shaq and whether Shaq would pile-drive him to the floor if he did. It was like watching two divas in a soap opera, hoping they would get into a catfight.

Remember when O'Neal declared, in a message aimed at Bryant, that the Lakers were his team? Or when Bryant responded by saying it was hard for Shaq to claim ownership when he had reported to camp "fat and out of shape?" Ahhh, those were the good old days. It was, in a way, good for the league as well. The NBA has always benefited from intense rivalries, like Russell-Chamberlain, Celtics-Lakers, even Knicks-Heat. The Kobe-Shaq rivalry, pathetic as it was at times, attracted the attention of the casual fan in a way that no NBA phenomenon had since Michael Jordan retired. Fans who couldn't name three Spurs or Pistons could nonetheless engage in a lengthy debates over whether Kobe or Shaq was more to blame for the feud.

Now that they're friends, or at least no longer such bitter enemies, both Bryant and O'Neal are instantly less interesting. Their appeal is still considerable, but it's limited to the court. What are we supposed to do for juicy storylines now? Wait for Ron Artest's next meltdown? The good news is that Bryant and O'Neal have tried to make peace before, only to have their distaste for each other rise to the surface again. Don't be surprised if the good feelings are only temporary, and don't be disappointed, either. A little bad blood can be a good thing.

COURTSIDE:

All Around The NBA

By Sam Amico

Jan. 19, 2006

News and notes from around the league:

- It's hard to believe, but this season marks the 10-year

anniversary of the last time Orlando won a playoff series. And

despite the presence of names such as Steve Francis and

Grant Hill, the Magic are 28th in the league in attendance.

Only about 10,000 fans turned out for their 106-98 victory over

Washington on Wednesday.

- Not surprisingly, Pape Sow has returned to Toronto after a

successful stint in the NBA D-League. Sow is a 6-foot-10

center and was rated as the top minor leaguer by PBN.com

in the latest round of player rankings. He had been averaging

19.7 points and 11.6 rebounds for the Arkansas RimRockers,

compiling a league-high 13 double-doubles.

- If the playoffs started today, the Denver Nuggets would own

the third seed in the Western Conference. Not bad for a team

that had been labeled a disappointment for most of the

season's first half. Credit goes to coach George Karl, who

has managed to convince his often-injured bunch to keep

playing hard -- and especially, Carmelo Anthony, who is

having a career year in his third season. Like all of the great

ones, Anthony simply finds ways to win.

- No less than LeBron James has noticed Anthony's stellar

play, openly endorsing the Nuggets' forward for the U.S.

Olympic team. "The way he's playing now, he should be a

dead lock," James told reporters.

- You also have to love Earl Boykins -- the 5-5 point guard and another guy who is having a career year. Boykins is not only one of the NBA's most fundamentally sound players, he has continuously hit big shots for the Nuggets, including what proved to be the game-winner over Cleveland on Wednesday. It had to be sweet redemption for Boykins, a Cleveland native who was once cut by the Cavaliers. I'd love to see him have a shot at making the U.S. Olympic team, too.

- Golden State has to be pleased with the production it's received from Mike Dunleavy during the past month. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "In six games this month, Dunleavy is averaging 16.7 points on 49 percent shooting. He's back to slashing through the lane, taking the ball to the basket and hitting shots." Amen.

- Now the Warriors just hope it lasts. Dunleavy's previous inconsistent play and lack of aggressiveness had him at the center of recent trade rumors -- but it appears the Warriors are intent on keeping him now.

- Dunleavy told the Chronicle, "Earlier in the year, I was more concerned with playing the team game, being unselfish, but it's probably better being more -- I wouldn't say selfish -- but being more focused on doing my thing and everything else will come."

- Mark Simms (San Diego) wrote: "When completely healthy, what type of player do you think Ronny Turiaf will be for the Lakers?"

- Dear Mark, I see Turiaf being a very similar player to Miami's Udonis Haslem. In other words, he'll be one of those hustling types who brings a great attitude and tons of energy off the bench.

- New Orleans/Oklahoma City is 6-1 when rookie point guard Chris Paul and second-year shooting guard Kirk Snyder start together in the backcourt.

- Said Hornets coach Byron Scott in the New Orleans Times-Picayune: "Kirk's a better defender at the two-spot than J.R. (Smith) was when we started the season. Better rebounder. He plays with a lot more energy and intensity. And he doesn't turn the ball over. And he doesn't take bad shots or force anything." Not exactly a ringing endorsement for Smith -- a high-flyer who obviously still has much to learn about the game's most basic fundamentals.

- To Smith‘s credit, he‘s been handling the change like a seasoned veteran. "I think I was too complacent earlier in the season," he told the Oklahoman. "I think my head was a lot bigger than it should have been. And I think this has really humbled me."

- Who says the NBA is strictly a players' league? The best example that coaches do count is Seattle, which has struggled mightily this year after coach Nate McMillan left for hated Portland. Of course, the worst example is New York, which can't even get its act together under noted strategist Larry Brown.

- The Sonics are riding a three-game losing streak and are a mere 2-6 since Bob Hill took over for Bob Weiss. You can hardly blame the coaching, though. After all, Robert Swift and Johan Petro are the two centers between whom Hill has gotten the pleasure of choosing.

- That's not a knock on either player's potential, but Petro is a rookie and Swift might as well be -- having received extremely limited playing time up until this season. Swift is also in just his third year after entering the league straight out of high school.

If The Playoffs Started Today ...

- Eastern Conference: (1) Detroit vs. (8) Washington; (2) Miami vs. (7) Philadelphia; (3) New Jersey vs. (6) Milwaukee; (4) Indiana vs. (5) Cleveland.

- Western Conference: (1) San Antonio vs. (8) Utah; (2) Phoenix vs. (7) L.A. Lakers; (3) Denver vs. (6) L.A. Clippers; (4) Dallas vs. (5) Memphis.

- Lottery teams: Chicago, Boston, Orlando, New York, Toronto, Charlotte, Atlanta, NO/Oklahoma City, Minnesota, Golden State, Sacramento, Seattle, Portland, Houston.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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