Steelheads game notes

May 3, 2007 - United States Basketball League (USBL)
Gary Steelheads News Release


GARY, Indiana (5/4/2007) - The Gary Steelheads continue their current seven-game road trip with back-to-back games against the Albany Patroons on Friday, March 4th and Saturday, March 5th. The games will be played at the historic home court of the Patroons, the Washington Avenue Armory.

The Steelheads picked up two forfeit wins at Jackson to begin the current road trip, with the Wildcats being expelled from the USBL for a litany of failures once the Steelheads arrived there - the most important of those being the inability to provide suitable facilities, conditions and support for playing the games. The Steelheads had been assured by the Wildcats that an agreement had been reached with Tougaloo College to host the games. However, this assurance turned out to be false, as athletic officials at the college denied any deal was in place. The Wildcats continued their stealth mode of operations, becoming invisible for even the most basic level of communications. Team owner Carlos Moore steadfastly refused to return a flood of calls from the USBL, the Steelheads and various media representatives requesting information on the situation. The USBL announced the forfeit wins Monday afternoon, followed by the team's expulsion from the league the following day.

The Steelheads will take a league-best 7-1 record into Friday night's game. Two of those wins came against the Patroons, 105-94 and 98-86 at the Genesis Center in Gary. The two teams have a rivalry that extends back to the 2005-2006 CBA season, with the Steelheads winning nine of the twelve games played between the two teams.

This game will be a homecoming for forward Jamario Moon, one of the most explosive players in the USBL. Moon played for two seasons with the Patroons, before signing with the Steelheads for the 2007 USBL season. Moon currently leads the league in blocked shots (3.0 bpg), while ranking among the league leaders in an incredible six other categories. A picture of Moon is still prominent on the Patroon's web site.

Fish Hooks

- THE SERIES: This is the third USBL meeting between the Steelheads and the Albany Patroons, with Gary defeating Albany 105-94 and 98-86 at the Genesis Center in Gary. The teams met ten times during the 2005-2006 CBA season, with the Steelheads winning seven of them. The last meeting between the two teams in the CBA occurred on March 3rd, 2006, when the Steelheads defeated the Patroons 115-109. This was the second of back-to-back games in Albany, and the loss ended a six-game winning streak for the Patroons. Former Patroons forward Carl Mitchell paced the Steelheads' attack with 24 points. In total meetings covering both the USBL and the CBA, Gary has won 9 of 12 meetings.

- FORFEITURE: The Gary Steelheads were awarded two forfeit victories in Jackson, Mississippi, after the Wildcats failed to provide an adequate facility and resources for the games. According to the USBL office, the forfeits should not factor into any team averages. Currently, this means that the team has a 7-1 record for a total of eight games played. However, all averages are based only on the six games actually played by the team.

- MISSING IN ACTION: The Gary Steelheads are still without the services of two of their key players, guard Rob Griffin and center Chris Alexander. Both are out due to injuries and are not on the trip. The Steelheads have also played without forward Jamario Moon, who rejoined the team prior to a 98-86 victory over the Albany Patroons. He responded with a double-double performance of 16 points and 10 rebounds against his former team. Moon left the team due to a death in his family. During the three games without these players, the Steelheads posted a 2-1 record. Griffin was the second leading scorer in the USBL at the time of his injury, while forward Jamario Moon was among the league leaders in six different categories. Center Chris Alexander, a strong rebounder and defensive presence, was among the league's leading shot blockers at the time of his injury.

- DOUBLE-DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE: To date, the Gary Steelheads have seven double-double performances. The latest came from forward Jamario Moon (16 points, 10 rebounds) in Gary's 98-86 victory over the Albany Patroons a week ago Sunday. In a 105-94 victory over the Patroons the previous Friday night, three Steelheads players contributed double-double performances: Jermaine Blackburn (15 points, 10 rebounds), Marlowe Currie (10 points, 13 rebounds) and Chris Garnett (10 points, 10 rebounds). Through six games, Blackburn and Garnett have two double-doubles apiece, with Currie, Moon and Adam Schaper one each.

- DOUBLE YOUR DIGITS: The Gary Steelheads have placed seven players in double figures three times this year. The most recent occurrence was against the Albany Patroons, where seven Steelheads reached double figures in Friday night's 105-94 victory. And guard Louis White (9 points vs. Albany) came within one point of making it eight players! Gary also placed six players in double figures in their second win over the Jackson Wildcats. In the Steelheads' most recent victory, 98-86 over the Patroons, Gary had four players in double figures. All four of them (Ray Cunningham, Carl Edwards, Jamario Moon and Adam Schaper) came off the bench!

- BLOCK PARTY GROWS AGAIN: The Gary Steelheads' Block Party is continuing to make life difficult for opponents. The Steelheads' Jamario Moon leads the USBL in blocked shots with 3.0 bpg. Adam Schaper and Louis White are tied for 8th in the league at 1.0 bpg. Center Chris Alexander would be tied for 5th in the league at 1.5 bpg, were he on the active roster. Swingman Ray Cunningham has also been rated as high as 4th in the league in this category. After the first Albany game, Gary had five of the top six shot blockers in the USBL.

- A SPECIAL ROOKIE: Bethel College product Adam Schaper isn't playing like a rookie in the USBL. The Kansas game was his fourth consecutive double-digit scoring performance, and his first USBL double-double. Schaper (pronounced "Shopper") scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while picking up 2 steals against the Cagerz. The 13 rebounds tied teammates Jermaine Blackburn and Marlowe Currie for the best performance in the USBL this year. Schaper made it six straight double-digit games a week ago Sunday, with 14 points against Albany.

- IT'S SHOWTIME: You'll hear the phrase, "It's Showtime" a great deal at Steelheads games. That's because the team is now owned and operated by a new ownership group, Showtime Sports and Entertainment. 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. is President, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel. Showtime Sports and Entertainment came about in an effort to better diversify ownership of the franchise, to assure its long term stability and viability. The company also will be involved in other entertainment promotion.

- WATCH OUT FOR THAT CLIFF: The Steelheads named former Chicago Bulls forward Cliff Levingston to succeed Jaren Jackson as head coach on November 21st, 2006. He joined the Steelheads as an assistant on February 8th. Levingston played on the Chicago Bulls' first two championship teams and was a fan favorite. He was originally drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the 1982 NBA Draft, going ninth in the first round. He retired from the game in 1995. In 2000, Levingston began his coaching career as an assistant coach in the CBA with the Ft. Wayne Fury. In 2001, he served as an assistant coach with the Dodge City Legend of the USBL. After a year as a college assistant at St. Francis, he returned to Dodge City as head coach. His Legend team won the USBL title, and Levingston was named USBL Coach of the Year. During 2003-04, Levingston served as an assistant for the Harlem Globe Trotters. Two years ago, he coached the St. Louis Flight of the ABA.

- FROM CBA WORST TO CBA FIRST: The regular season performance of the Gary Steelheads during the 2005-2006 season constitutee one of the great single-season turnarounds in CBA history. During 2004-2005, the Steelheads finished at the bottom of the league with a 17-31 record and 135½ quarter points (2.8 QPA). In 2005-2006, Gary improved a net total of 24 games from 14 games under .500 to 10 games over .500 at 29-19. They raised their quarter point average to 4.10, an increase of 1.3 quarter points per game over the previous year. And the Steelheads won an incredible 25½ more quarters of basketball than the previous year.



United States Basketball League Stories from May 3, 2007


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