Steelheads Announce New Ownership Group, League and Head Coach
November 21, 2006 - United States Basketball League (USBL)
Gary Steelheads News Release
GARY, Indiana (November 21, 2006) "" The Gary Steelheads announced the formation of a new ownership group, with the goal of assuring high quality professional basketball in Northwest Indiana. The announcement was made today at the Genesis Center in Gary, which houses the team's home court and offices.
The franchise will now be owned and operated by Showtime Sports and Entertainment, LLC. The following principals compose this group: Jewell Harris Jr., Esq., Darnail Lyles, Esq., Dr. Adolphus Anekwe, Dr. Olusegun Ishmael, Dr. Paul Okolocha, Dr. Basil Ubanwa and Ben Richmond (owner of Family Mobile Medical and the Beach Café Restaurant). Jewell Harris Jr. will continue in his previous capacity as the team's Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel.
The Steelheads also announced that they have joined the United States Basketball League for the upcoming 2007 season. The USBL, based in Milford, Connecticut, will begin its 22nd year of play in April. The league season runs through late June, with a tournament-style single-elimination playoff at a host city. Last year's USBL Festival was played in Dodge City, Kansas, with the Nebraska Cranes emerging as champions of the league.
The Steelheads tabbed former Chicago Bulls' standout Cliff Levingston to coach the team during the USBL season. Levingston, a member of two Chicago Bulls NBA championship teams, served as an assistant coach with Jaren Jackson on last year's Gary squad which advanced to the CBA Finals. "We are confident that Coach Levingston will build an entertaining and competitive basketball team for Gary and all of Northwest Indiana," said Harris, Jr.
Also, the team announced the signing of its first two players for the upcoming USBL season. Point guard Lonnie Randolph and shooting guard Larry House signed contracts, pending league approval.
Randolph played a reserve role on last year's Steelheads, the most successful team in franchise history. His top performance of the season came against the Rockford Lightning on February 3rd, 2006, when he scored 8 points and handed out 4 assists in just 17 minutes. After an early-season injury, he averaged 1.4 ppg. and 1.3 assists for Gary in 13 games. Randolph was an all-Missouri Valley player at Drake University, following an outstanding prep career under legendary coach Jim East at Merrillville High School.
House, a former Steelhead and USBL veteran, lead the Nebraska Cranes to the USBL Semifinals in 2005. He was named to the All-USBL 2nd team that season. House then signed briefly with the Steelheads in November, but joined the Harlem Globetrotters later that month. He is currently playing in Germany for Regionalliga.
"The initiatives we have taken today are intended to assure the long-term viability of the Steelheads' franchise," said Jewell Harris, Jr. "I am extremely proud of the history of this franchise and pleased that the organization has attracted such a strong investment group that will focus on taking the franchise even further in the future. Now that the business structure is in place, we must focus on entertaining our fans, which is priority number one."
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United States Basketball League Stories from November 21, 2006
- Steelheads join USBL for 2007 - USBL
- Steelheads Announce New Ownership Group, League and Head Coach - Gary Steelheads
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