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Silverados Newsletter

August 15, 2007 - Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1)
Southeast Texas Mavericks News Release


EDINBURG - Sparing no expense in the name of what they believe to be a better brand of basketball, the Rio Grande Valley Silverados announced their move to the Continental Basketball Association at a news conference Tuesday at Cornerstone Grill, a move that has been in the works for approximately three months.

The Silverados, who were to be an American Basketball Association expansion team in the fall, will instead break their first sweat under the banner of the CBA on Nov. 17 in their home opener against Oklahoma at McAllen Convention Center. Co-owner Art Gonzalez said the changing of leagues will cost the Silverados "hundreds of thousands of dollars" but that no expense is too great when it comes to bringing quality minor league professional basketball to the Valley.

Gonzalez refused to get into financial specifics, and would not confirm the reported $20,000 membership fee the Silverados paid to join the ABA and whatever monies were previously spent is just part of the cost of doing business.

"We think the Valley's worth it," he said. "That's why we're going to spend the money.

"It's franchise fee, travel, league assessments, just different fees that are going to increase our budget. The CBA's got a rich history and it's a great level of basketball."

A member of the organization said the Silverados are closing in on 50 corporate sponsors, so money shouldn't be an issue. Nevertheless, the CBA's franchise fee is a six-figure amount at least five times that paid to the ABA.

"You're looking at a franchise fee in excess of $100,000 and other fees and dues and what not," CBA Vice President of Basketball Operations Dennis Truax said. "It's a substantial investment, but I know Art and (co-owner Kevin Mitchell) felt that was the best move for them and their sponsors. They want to provide the best product for their fans and sponsors, and they felt that the CBA was the best league for them."

The CBA, whose origins date to 1946, will feature 10 teams for the 2007-08 season. The Silverados will be competing in the National Division that features Oklahoma, Butte, Great Falls and two-time defending champion Yakama. Butte and Great Falls are in Montana, while Yakama is located in Washington state. In addition to visiting those teams, the Silverados will make trips to Pittsburgh, Kentucky, North Dakota, Atlanta and Albany, N.Y.

Traveled Silverados coach Steve Tucker welcomes the move to the CBA. A rousing success most recently as an ABA coach, Tucker said Tuesday that diagramming plays in the CBA is a dream come true.

"I had to pinch myself because I've wanted it for such a long time in my career, and I had to really, really pinch myself," Tucker said. "It's like getting your first college job or getting your first pro job. Sometimes you say ‘Is this really happening?'

"To be able to win a CBA championship would be one of the highlights of my career and my life."

IN THE BONUS: The Silverados have forward Keith Simpson on board, but hopes for acquiring former University of Texas-Pan American point guard Sergio Sanchez were dashed when he instead opted to play for a team in Mexico. ... The CBA player draft will be Sept. 25. The Silverados plan to have local tryouts in advance of the selection meeting. ... With the move to the CBA, the Silverados touched up their logo by coloring in the red, white and blue basketball present in the background. The basketball is now solid orange.

RGV SILVERADOS NEWS (CBA):

Silverados release schedule

August 2, 2007

McALLEN - The expansion Rio Grande Valley Silverados of the Continental Basketball Association received their 48-game 2007-08 schedule Thursday, highlighted by three home games to open the season.

The Silverados make their debut Nov. 17 against Oklahoma at the McAllen Convention Center.

Tip off is 7:05 p.m. Then they'll host two-time defending CBA champion Yakama Nov. 20 and Nov. 22 before embarking on a season-long nine-game road trip before returning home for games Dec. 12 and 16 versus Atlanta.

"That's a tough haul right there," Silverados coach Steve Tucker said. "Hopefully we'll have a good enough team that we can weather the storm there. Everybody's got a pretty tough run so we'll have to try to win half of those then keep our head above water because it is such a tough league."

RGV's longest homestand spans from Jan. 26 to Feb. 5, when they'll play Great Falls, Yakama and Oklahoma twice each.

The CBA features 10 teams, with the Silverados the lone team from Texas.

Coach T Attends J-Shot Connection Professional Basketball Player Combine

RGV Silverados Head Coach and Director of Basketball Operations Steve Tucker attended the J-Shot Connection Professional Basketball Player Combine this past weekend in Athens, GA.

Tucker was the featured speaker at the Combine Seminar, which was held the first day of the Combine last Friday. The forty players in attendance heard Tucker speak on what it takes to be a professional basketball player.

J-Shot Connection is owned and operated by player representative and advisor Ms. Jessica Lonon. Lonon a former professional player and collegiate basketball player at East Tennessee State University was overjoyed by her first J-Shot Connection Pro Player Combine. "It was a great weekend of basketball that I believe really helped all of the players involved. Having a CBA Head Coach in Coach Tucker here just made it better!"

Tucker was also impressed with the combine. "It was a well operated combine and it was extremely good for the first year. There were several very good players and I saw three players that caught my attention. Anytime you can find a player in a combine like this, it was worth your trip and I found three. I'll definitely want to come back and be involved next summer."

For further information about J-Shot Connections you can go to www.jshotconnection.com. You can also follow the RGV Silverados at www.rgvsilverados.com. RGV Silverados Season Tickets Are On Sale NOW!!!

www.Jshotconnection.com

Castaneda Chosen Top Spurs Dancer

RGV Silverados Dance Director, Vanessa Castaneda has recently been selected as the top dancer for the 2006-07 San Antonio Spurs Dance Team.

Castaneda danced for the Spurs Dance Squad for the second consecutive season during last years NBA season. Vanessa started with the Silver Dancers in the 2005-06 season and culminated her career this past season with the Silver Dancers as the Spurs brought their fourth NBA Championship to San Antonio.

Vanessa was selected as Silver Dancer of the Game in a game on April 6, 2006 as the Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves, played a game for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. In 2006 she also was selected as one of six ladies that served on the NBA Madness Tour in Asia. She also served in the NBA Cares Project in Taipai, Taiwan, and Manila, Philippines.

During Castaneda's second season she appeared in numerous appearances with Spurs top players Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker. Vanessa also made an appearance with San Antonio Spurs great, the legendary David Robinson. Activities like these and her excellent performances on court during this past season helped earn Vanessa the great honor of Silver Dancer of the Year.

Vanessa was chosen to be the first RGV Silverados Dance Director this past April. Since that time, she has put together the Silverados first dance squad that will be performing and making appearances during the Silverados inaugural season in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA).

The Silverados tip-off their 2007-08 season at home vs. Oklahoma on their homecourt at the McAllen Convention Center. SEASON TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW!!! For further information on the RGV Silverados go to www.rgvsilverados.com or call #956-668-1116.

CHECK OUT THE RGV SILVERADOS NEWLY DESIGNED WEBSITE AT www.rgvsilverados.com

RGV SILVERADOS

PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL

Free Agent Camp

8:00am to 4:00pm

Harlingen South High School

1701 Dixieland Road

Harlingen, Texas 78552

Note: For further information on the Silverados Free-Agent Tryout Camp go to www.rgvsilverados.com or call #956/668-1116

CBA NEWS:

CBA Announces Schedule For 62nd Season!

ALBANY, NY (August 2, 2007) - The oldest professional basketball league in the world will begin its 62nd consecutive season on Friday, November 16 as the Continental Basketball Association tips off the 2007-08 campaign.

The ten-team league will be divided into the American (Albany, Atlanta, Minot, East Kentucky, and Pittsburgh) and National (Butte, Great Falls, Oklahoma, Rio Grande Valley, and Yakama) Conferences, and will play a total of 240 regular season games. The 16-week season concludes on Sunday, March 9, and the CBA Playoffs commence on Wednesday, March 12.

"When faced with the building of the schedule each year, the CBA tries to do several things to insure success for out member teams, "said CBA Acting Commissioner Jim Coyne. "I think the fans will be happy with this schedule and will be out to support their teams. We looked to maximize weekend dates for our franchises and to keep travel costs to a minimum. I feel we have been able to do that this season and this schedule is a reflection of this effort."

The season starts on November 16 with four games on tap. The Atlanta Krunk begins their CBA tenure when they travel to Albany to face the Patroons, the Minot Skyrockets go to Butte to face the Daredevils, the East Kentucky Miners play their first game in Pittsburgh versus the Xplosion, and the 2007 CBA Champion Yakama Sun Kings hand out their championship rings for the second consecutive season, when they host Great Falls.

Other early highlights include home openers for Atlanta on November 20, East Kentucky on November 18,Oklahoma on November 20, and Rio Grande Valley on November 17.

On January 22, the Yakama Sun Kings will host the 24th CBA All-Star Classic, which features the Long Distance Shootout, the Slam Dunk Competition, and the CBA All-Star Game.

Due to the overwhelming success of last year's Christmas-night game, the Albany Patroons will again play on Christmas, hosting former head coach Micheal Ray Richardson and his new team, the Oklahoma Cavalry. The CBA will also have each of its ten teams in action on February 29, Leap Day, taking advantage of an extra day in the schedule. The leagues two most successful coaches clash for the first time on December 18 when Paul Woolpert and his 205 wins host Chris Daleo and his 144 wins all-time, when Minot travels to Yakama. Former Celtics greats Kenny Anderson and Scott Wedman clash for the first time on November 20 when Weidman's Explorers travel to play Anderson's Atlanta Krunk. The master takes on the pupil when Steve Tucker and his Silverados take on his formerassistant coach Kevin Keathley and the East Kentucky Miners for the first time on November 26.

NATIONAL CONFERENCE: RGV SILVERADOS, Yakama, WA, Minot, ND, Great Falls, MT, Butte, MT

AMERICAN CONFERENCE: Albany, NY, Atlanta, GA, Pikeville, KY, Lawton, OK, Pittsburgh, PA

COACH'S CORNER:

COACHING IN THE SHADOWS The life of a minor league professional basketball coach

By

Coach Steve C. Tucker Head Coach/Director of Basketball Operations, RGV Silverados-ABA

As a young boy when others dreamed of making plays, I dreamed of calling them! I always wanted to be the person on the sidelines making the calls as players played the game. I first thought that football would be my game and life as a big time college or pro football coach would be my calling. Watching coaching legends like Paul "Bear" Bryant, Don Shula, and Tom Landry intrigued me! But then something happened. I was drawn to basketball like a magnet pulling something metal to it. The speed of the game and the quickness by which you had to make a decision that could decide the outcome of the game just drew me closer and closer to the sport both on the college and professional levels. Coaches like John Wooden at UCLA during their magical run of NCAA national championships, Bob Knight at Indiana, Dean Smith at North Carolina, and Pat Riley with the Los Angeles Lakers were coaches that I really admired. That was when I decided that I wanted to be a basketball coach and coach the game on the big time level.

My career in coaching started early and my teams on all levels won championships. At 22, I was the youngest coach on the Jr. College level in the USA. Then at 28 years of age, I was the youngest NCAA Division I head coach in the nation. By the time I was 35 years old my teams had won championships on the NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, & International levels. I really thought I was on my way to the big time. Even with the success that my teams had in college, I dreamed of coaching professional basketball. Then in 1992, Hawaii Loa College folded because of financial reasons, and I was home on the Mississippi Gulf Coast looking at coaching options. Then one morning I read that Biloxi, MS was going to get a new professional basketball franchise. I read who the owners were and I decided just to ride down and introduce myself to one of the owners, who was a car dealer in the area. Without announcing anything I walked into this gentleman's office and said boldly, "I'm going to be your basketball coach!" Well, instead of throwing me out as he probably should have done. He invited me to sit down and chat. We had a good conversation and we exchanged contact phone numbers. Two days later (on a Sunday), he called and asked me to come down to meet with him and his partner on his yacht. Well, as I drove up that day to the Biloxi Yacht Club parking lot a storm was blowing in off the Gulf of Mexico, and as I started to get out of my car it began to rain terribly hard. The wind was gusting and lightning was flashing everywhere. Well, as I got to the peer leading to the yacht, the storm really got going. I had to make a choice, do I wait for the storm to pass over and be late, or do I run for it. Well, I'm stickler for being late so I chose to get soaking wet. As I ran down the peer to the last yacht docked at the end of that peer, I could feel electricity swirling around my head, but there waiting for me was a friendly face that I spoke to a couple of days before. He helped me get out of my soaked jacket and gave me a t-shirt to wear. The two gentlemen offered me a drink, which I declined (they had obviously had several). The meeting began and about five minutes into the meeting one of the men said I've heard enough. So there I stood soaking wet and the meeting was over. I quickly packed up my presentation and got my wet clothes and left. I thought there was no way I'd get hired. When I got home there was a message that I had a call and it was the gentleman I had spoken to two days before in his office and he hired me on the spot. You see, the meeting meant nothing, for the two men had decided that if I ran down the peer, then I was what I said I was, and that they would hire me, but if I waited for the storm to pass then they would pass on me too. Good thing I decided not to be late and got wet, for that is how I started my professional coaching career! There are many stories like that of how doing the right thing on the spur of the moment opened a career door, and that even happens in professional sports. Always do what your gut tells you to do, for the gut is usually right!

Becoming a professional basketball coach was a thrilling thing indeed. The first thing I found out is that there are a lot of players in the United States that can play the game. I was amazed at the talent level and pool of talented players you can pick from. There are so many good players out there that for some reason are not playing in the NBA. You see those guys every day on this level of professional basketball. It can be size, attitude, work habits, mistakes in judgment, or anything imaginable that stops a talented player from making it to the game's highest level, the NBA! The biggest thing you deal with regarding players on the professional basketball level is ego. Egos and attitudes are things that you have to deal with on a daily basis as a professional basketball coach and there is no getting around that. It can consume what you want to do with a team! You have to get a handle on that from day one or it'll cost you dearly. Over the years I've learned how to handle it better, but no one, no matter what coaches portray or think truly have a hold on this, for it is just a part of the game today that can bite you at anytime. I like many coaches on the pro level work hard at keeping control of this, for it is an ultimate task today in dealing with players. I personally believe you have to be extremely disciplined on players today, for I do believe they want that (whether they admit it or not). I think players want direction and discipline! Those who rebel against it are the ones you need to get rid of, and I encourage coaches to get rid of those guys more often, no matter who they might be. Many coaches (myself included) have given too many chances over the years to players who should have been sent packing. I've learned the hard way you need to get rid of those problem guys, for there is no shortage of players that can play and who will do it the right way both on and off the playing court. Those are the kinds of players on the professional level that we need to have playing the game of professional basketball today.

Coming out of college I thought I knew the game, and there are many college coaches that would feel the same way. But pro basketball is played differently! And you almost have to learn parts of the game over again! I found out quickly that I had a ways to go of becoming the coach that I wanted to be on the professional level. So many coaches who have never been around professional basketball have no idea of the things that you have to learn about in coaching the game on this level. From on court fundamental teaching points, all the way to how to work within pro hoops administratively is totally different. For the first few years I just felt my way through and boy did I make mistakes along the way. Then you have to adjust to the rules of the game of professional basketball. The quarter system and those extra eight minutes that make up a forty-eight minute pro game from a forty minute college game truly makes a difference. How you handle time-outs, combinations that you put on court at different times, and the way you handle "Winning Time" (last five minutes of a pro game) will truly determine who wins or loses a professional basketball game. Many think that it is easy, for its just coaching, but how wrong they are. You see on the pro level everyone can play and most can coach! So you get into a chess match in every game and it is crucial that your decisions take advantage of situations that give you a better opportunity to Win! For you see, Winning is what it is all about at the professional basketball level, no matter what league you coach in. So any coach out there that has aspirations of coaching on the professional level better think long and hard before you do, for the pro game will humble you quickly. One of my first meetings I had when I became a pro coach was with the Houston Rockets coaching staff when Rudy Tomjanovich was their head coach. My top assistant coach, Dave Whitney, Sr. and myself spent a day with the Rockets coaches in Houston, TX. One of Rudy T's coaches was a great coach named Carroll Dawson. I remember Carroll telling me at the end of that meeting this, "Coach you won a lot of games in college, but you better get ready to get beat more than you've ever been beat in your life, and be ready to learn from it, for it'll teach you how to win on this level!" What good advice that was and with the help of Coach Dave Whitney we did just that the first couple of years I coached professional basketball.

Coaching on the pro level is difficult! Especially when it is on the minor league pro level. You deal with a lot of different people from players, agents, coaches, assistant coaches, staff, and most importantly owners. All present different problems, and the way you deal with those problems will determine how successful you'll be. It seems that in today's pro game, so many people deal with hidden agendas, so you have to be very careful who you trust! I've found it is about taking care of ones self that is the priority to most today. All you can do is be careful in the way and in the manner you handle the different entities within the game today! Never make yourself vulnerable, for that will be used against you for others to get what they want. It is like dealing with an internet virus! You never think your computer will be infected, well, let me tell you this, you better have virus protection, for if you don't you'll be buying a new computer. It's the same way in coaching, you better protect your job, or you'll be looking for a new one! My mother used to always tell me CYA son (cover your ass). That is the way you deal with the different people you deal with in the pro game of basketball today.

Owners are the most difficult thing that you have to deal with in Pro Hoops today. The best ones are obviously in the NBA. Those owners have no shortage of money, so they go out and hire people to work within their franchise, and in the NBA they allow you to do what you do, and that is the job you were hired to do. I find that on the minor league professional basketball level, you deal with owners, many who really don't have the money to own a pro basketball franchise, and who just really have no sense of reality on what professional basketball or basketball in general is all about. Most think they do, but they really don't. They have some image in their minds that they think is what should be done and they get too involved with the day to day operations of the franchise. Instead of letting people do what they are trained and hired to do, those owners get too involved and become more of a detriment to their franchise than a help! You see it all the time on this level of pro basketball. I've dealt with it with owners myself and it can make you truly miserable within the game you love to teach and want be a part of. Then you have those owners who just think you are supposed to win every game! Well, let me tell you there has never been an undefeated high caliber professional basketball team. In pro basketball, you get beat, and sometimes you have to show patience to get what you want. In the CBA in the 1980s the Wichita Falls Texans lost thirteen games straight during a stretch of their regular season. They were the last team to make the CBA playoffs that season. Yet, their owners were patient with coach John Trelour and his coaching staff, and it paid off with the Texans coming back to make a playoff run and win the CBA Championship in 1989. You have few owners like that in today's game, and for the most part if owners today don't get what they want they take their ball and go home. My advice to owners today is if you get into the pro game get into it with the understanding that you are going to lose games. It is during those times that you have to show loyalty and support to your players and coaches. In most cases, when you do that you prevail in the end. I have always felt the best owners and administrators are the ones who stand by you in defeat, for it is easy to stand by you in victory, and in defeat you really find out the character of all those around you including owners! Just remember, when you are coaching on this level those owners are few and far between, so when you get an owner like that, cherish them, for they are special!

In minor league professional basketball, you see and hear about it all. From bad leagues, bad owners, and just nightmare stories involving every aspect of the game. From players paychecks bouncing, to riding in cramped vans or shuttle buses for hours to play a game, to horrible facilities to play in, horrible officiating, and on and on and on... On the minor league professional level you better be adaptable to situations and you have to not allow it to effect the way you play the game. If you do, it'll effect the outcome of your season, and that can effect your career. So you've got to be physically and mentally tough in every way. Most all of these situations take place in pro basketball because of owners who do not properly plan, who don't have the finances to actually operate a pro franchise, or just because these owners hire people who have no idea what they are doing or the owner himself/herself have no idea what to do. It can be any combination of things that causes poor environments, conditions, or situations on this level of pro hoops. It is just something that is part of the pro game on this level and until better systems are in place to screen out owners who do not have the resources or ability to run pro basketball franchises, then you will have these situations and all involved in the game suffer from this ignorance. Yet, most importantly the game of basketball suffers!

So from the dreams of coaching big time professional or college basketball comes the art of Coaching In The Shadows as a minor league professional basketball coach. It is something that you don't plan to do or dream of doing. Yet, you have a great love for the game, and that drives you to stay in the game and make it your big time level or dream! Many great ones have done just that! Great coaches like Bill Musselman, Phil Jackson, George Karl, Flip Saunders, John Lucas, Eric Musselman, and Paul Silas. These coaches coached in the shadows and persevered to the big time of the NBA! So many more have coached in the shadows that have not gotten the recognition they so deserve, yet are legends on this level of pro hoops forever. Coaches like, Mario Panaggio, Gerald Oliver, Duane Ticknor, Mo Mchone, Bill Klucas, and Dan Panaggio. There are coaches today coaching in the shadows that deserve the big time of the highest level in the game like Harold Ellis, Michael Cooper, Joe Harge, Chris Daleo, Joey Meyer, and maybe even me. There are as well many more fine young coaches coming up in the pro coaching ranks! Whether any will come from shadows to coach in "The League", who knows? One things for sure though, we'll keep teaching the game and keep coaching in shadows for that is what we do! We work, we overcome, and we persevere in living our dream of coaching the game. For in the end, it is the game that we all love!

BASKETBALL NEWS:

Dream Teamers talk of USA's chances

Larry Bird still believes in U.S. basketball. So do Chris Mullin and Lenny Wilkens.

That says a lot when you consider all three were members of the 1992 Dream Team that cruised to the Olympic gold medal -- Bird and Mullin as players, Wilkens as an assistant to coach Chuck Daly. It also says a lot when you consider how Team USA has fared lately, finishing a disappointing fourth and third in the previous two international competitions.

All of it reminds Bird of when he was still contemplating whether to join the first Olympic team to consist of professionals.

"Someone told me, 'Larry, you need to join that team. The rest of the world is catching up,'" Bird says today.

Bird laughs at the memory, but the basketball prophet he spoke to was right -- the rest of the world has caught up, and then some. Team USA's competition is now tough, talented and confident.

"That's why it is important for the U.S. to get out and dominate from the start," Bird says. "You can't let the rest of the world keep it close and give themselves a chance to win."

Team USA will get its next opportunity at the FIBA Tournament of Americas, beginning Aug. 22 in Las Vegas.

Unlike American teams of the past, this summer's lineup features Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant -- who joins holdovers such as LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire.

"Kobe is probably the best player in the world, so he should make a major difference," Bird says. "I see him doing the same thing for today's team that Michael Jordan did for us back in ‘92."

Wilkens is also optimistic about the Americans' chances with Bryant, having watched a few practices during mini-camp in July. But as a Hall of Fame point guard, Wilkens is particularly upbeat about the additions of veterans Jason Kidd and Chauncey Billups.

"Those guys know how to get the ball to people," Wilkens says. "When you play against international competition, you're going to face a lot of zone defenses. So it's important to keep the ball moving. Kidd, Billups and Deron Williams are all very good at that."

Meanwhile, Mullin says today's team should benefit from the majority of the roster having spent time together in practices and previous tournaments.

"If they play together, they won't need to worry about what style they face," Mullin says. "The tempo can be fast-break, half-court ... it won't matter. If they can play together, they have the talent. That much is obvious, because (USA basketball senior team director) Jerry Colangelo has done a great job of assembling the team."

Along with Bryant, Kidd and James, other key members include Michael Redd, Chris Bosh and Dwight Howard. The team will again be coached by Mike Krzyzewski of Duke University -- who receives a helping hand from assistants Mike D'Antoni (Suns), Nate McMillan (Trail Blazers) and Jim Boeheim (Syracuse University).

"It doesn't hurt that a lot of these guys have been there before," Wilkens says. "Obviously, the ‘92 team had never played together before, nor did the Olympic team in ‘96 (for which Wilkens was head coach). So you don't want to make excuses for the way things have gone lately. But getting in extra practice time only helps a player familiarize himself with teammates and the coaching staff."

Bird and Mullin each mentioned another key factor for the U.S. -- adjusting to the time of the games. In the NBA, games consist of four

12-minute quarters. In international play, it's 10-minute quarters for 40 minutes overall.

"That's why it's so important to establish a tone early," Bird says. "There's also the actual style of game that's played in Europe and throughout the world. It's a different game than what's played here. But we're seeing that it's effective, and that (the U.S.) will need to adjust."

If all of those things happen, then basketball glory should be returned to the U.S. Just take it from the former Dream Teamers.

"There is a lot to be said for the commitment made by a player and his pride in winning," Wilkens says. "I think with this team those things are in place, and that should mean good news."



Continental Basketball Association 1 Stories from August 15, 2007


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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