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Mustangs ranked #1 in ABA Power Ranking

December 30, 2008 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Southeast Texas Mavericks News Release


The Southeast Texas Mustangs (7-1) are now ranked #1 in the nation in the ABA Power Rankings. The Mustangs replace the Nashville Broncs, who held the top spot in the Power Rankings over the last month. The Broncs lost two out of three to the Kentucky Bisons late last week and over the weekend. With Southeast Texas' victory on Sunday night at Texas City 114-95 over the Rangers the Mustangs moved into the #1 position from their last week's #2 ranking position.

"It is an honor to have the top ranking in the ABA! We feel very good about it, but we also realize that with it comes great responsibility, for everyone will be shooting for us now, and we'll get everyone's best effort every time we take the court! So we'll have to work harder now to maintain this position!" states Mustangs Head Coach Steve Tucker

This is the second time a Coach Tucker led team has been ranked #1 in the Nation in the ABA Power Rankings. The first was two seasons ago in Jacksonville, FL, when Coach T's Jam held the #1 Position. Many of the current Mustangs players were on that team. One of those players was Mustangs' forward Jerry Williams.

"We know all about being highly ranked and all that comes with that. We have a veteran based team here that has gone through this before, and we hopefully can hold on to the ranking by continuing to play well. It can be gone as quickly as it came to us and we have to take care of our business to stay in that top position! We want to be the #1 ranked team in the last ranking on March 23rd, 2009. That is our ultimate goal!"

The Mustangs have now won six straight games and three in a row on the road. Mustang's power forward DeRon Rutledge leads the team in scoring (20.1) and rebounding (10.4). Rutledge continues his MVP caliber season with his consistent numbers. Rookie sensation Currye Todd (of Lamar U) is averaging 16.5 ppg and is a leading candidate for Rookie of the Year Honors in the ABA. Tim Pledger continues an All-Star caliber season with a 17.2 ppg and 8.5 apg averages on the season thus far. Also, Anthony Lumpkin is averaging 14.6 ppg and Alvin Jefferson is averaging 9.4 rebounds per game. Center Johnny Tyson is also among the leaders in Shot Blocks in the ABA with a 3.5 per game average in limited playing time this season.

The Mustangs will continue play this Sunday, January 4th at 3:00 PM at the Ford Arena. The Mustangs road game that was to be played this Saturday, January 3rd against Texas City has been moved to February because of a league scheduling error. The date to play that game will be announced later.

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.



American Basketball Association Stories from December 30, 2008


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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