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Southeast Texas Will Let Nothing Take Away From Great Season

April 6, 2009 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Southeast Texas Mavericks News Release


The Southeast Texas Mustangs had one of the most successful seasons in the history of basketball for any franchise that has ever played outside the NBA! The Mustangs set records for wins and for being ranked #1 in the Nation in the ABA Power Rankings this past season. The team played like a machine over the course of the season. So there is no way that a semifinals loss to eventual ABA Champion, the Kentucky Bisons will put a damper on what the Mustangs accomplished during the 2008-09 season.

Southeast Texas won the South Division of the American Basketball Association in dominating fashion and ran all over every opponent in its way over the course of the season. The Mustangs won 25 straight games, which is the second longest winning streak in ABA history and the third longest streak in all of basketball history. Only the 2001-02 Indiana Alley Cats in the ABA with 26 straight wins and the 1971-72 NBA's Los Angeles Lakers who won 33 straight games to set the standard for consecutive wins in professional basketball won more games consecutively. No professional franchise from the State of Texas has ever won more games consecutively. The Mustangs record mark and standard for winning is one of the best in the history of professional basketball on any level!

The Mustangs also set a record for being ranked #1 in the Nation in the ABA Power Rankings. Since the Power Rankings came into existence in 2004, no team has ever been ranked #1 in the Power Rankings for a longer period of time than the Southeast Texas Mustangs. For over three months the Mustangs did not lose a game and was rewarded by staying #1 over that period. In a day and time when the #1 ranking in college basketball changes hands nearly every week, the Mustangs persevered and stayed focused to maintain its top ranking for the longest time ever in the history of the ABA Power Rankings! Just another phenomenal feat for one of the Great Teams in ABA History!

The Mustangs dominated the post-season South Division Awards as well. The Mustangs were the Franchise of the Year in the South Division of the ABA. Mustangs' Majority Owner, Mr. Jerry Nelson was the Executive of the Year in the South Division and Mustangs Head Coach Steve Tucker was the Coach of the Year. DeRon Rutledge, Tim Pledger, Anthony Lumpkin, and Currye Todd were all honored as All-South Division Players. Rutledge was also the South Division MVP, Lumpkin was the Defensive Player of the Year, and Todd was the Division's Rookie of the Year.

The Post-Season honors continued for the Mustangs when the All-ABA Team was announced. Rutledge and Pledger earned All-ABA First Team honors, Lumpkin was second team, and Todd was honorable mention All-ABA. Todd was Co-Rookie of the Year and Rutledge was the Co-MVP of the Year for the ABA. Coach Tucker was named Coach of the Year in the ABA. Rutledge, Pledger, & Lumpkin were also selected to play in the ABA All-Star Game and Todd was named as an alternate for the All-Star Game. Tucker was selected for the 3rd time in his career as the ABA All-Star Coach.

No one knows better how difficult it is to have this level of success on the pro basketball level than veteran professional basketball coach and Mustangs General Manager and Head Coach Steve Tucker. "It was truly a remarkable first season for our franchise! Very few teams in basketball history have had a season like we had on this level of play. It just does not happen very often! Our team accomplished many great things this past season, but with that said, there is much more out there for us to accomplish. We very quickly have built a franchise that sets a standard of excellence for all others to follow in the ABA and in all of pro basketball on this level. I believe everyone knows that the ABA Championship comes through Southeast Texas now and if you are going to win our league championship you have to do it through us. That is just the bottom line, for what we have here and how we do things here is special. We do it right, and we do it in a way that it should be done in when you have a professional sports franchise. Our players get treated like professionals and I can say that has a lot to do with our success. When you are a part of our franchise, you only have to be concerned with performance, and that is all really pro basketball players want. That is exactly what they get with our organization. We will continue this in the future and we will continue to work to set a standard that will be difficult to overcome! We cannot wait for next season to get here!"

Southeast Texas will begin its team preparations for the 2009-10 ABA season in October, when the players report back to Beaumont for begin Training Camp. The front office is already fast at work preparing for the second season of play. Season Tickets will go on sale this summer and the franchise staff will be out in the community with activities and events over the coming months. Professional Basketball is here to stay in the Golden Triangle area and we want you to be a part of the Professional Basketball Franchise that "SETS A STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE" in the ABA!

For more information on the Southeast Texas Professional Basketball Franchise you can call #409/951-5500. Also, you can go online to www.setxmustangs.com or www.abalive.com.

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 April 6, 2009


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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