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Steelheads game notes

May 6, 2007 - United States Basketball League (USBL)
Gary Steelheads News Release


Fish Hooks

- THE SERIES: This is the first meeting between the Gary Steelheads and the Brooklyn Kings.

- STEELHEADS FIRST LOSING STREAK: The Gary Steelheads stubbed their toe twice in back-to-back games with the Albany Patroons. Gary had won 9 of the 12 previous meetings, dating back to competition in the CBA. But the Patroons had the answers Friday and Saturday night, logging 87-81 and 93-83 victories. The Friday night game was Gary's first actual road game of the season, and coach Cliff Levingston wanted to find out how his team would handle it. For three quarters, it was fine. "We didn't react very well when they (Albany) started making runs, started hitting shots. We started panicking, and they got us into one of those hurried paces. You can't do that on the road." In the second meeting on Saturday night, the Steelheads played better late. This time, it was a poor second quarter that did them in.

- 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 Brooklyn game will be the ninth game for the Steelheads without these players. The Steelheads also played without forward Jamario Moon for three games. He 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. Friday night against the Patroons in Albany, he duplicated the feat with 17 points and 13 rebounds against Albany. 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 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 nine double-double performances on the season. Gary added two more to the list last night against the Patroons. Forward Jamario Moon scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while guard Ray Cunningham scored 10 points with 11 rebounds. In a 105-94 victory over the Patroons in Gary on April 21st, 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 seven played games (not including the two forfeit victories, Moon, Blackburn and Garnett have two double-doubles apiece, with Marlowe Currie, Ray Cunningham and Adam Schaper have 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 Gary's 105-94 victory April 21st. And guard Louis White (9 points vs. Albany) came within one point of making it eight players in that game! Gary also placed six players in double figures in their second win over the Jackson Wildcats.

- BLOCK PARTY: The Gary Steelheads' Block Party is continuing to make life difficult for opponents. The Steelheads' began the current road trip with Jamario Moon leading the USBL in blocked shots with 3.0 bpg. Adam Schaper and Louis White were tied for 8th in the league at 1.0 bpg. Center Chris Alexander would have been tied for 5th in the league at 1.5 bpg, were he on the active roster. Swingman Ray Cunningham had also been rated as high as 4th in the league in this category. After the first Albany game on April 21st, 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 on April 20th 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 in an 86-78 loss to the Cagerz. The 13 rebounds tied teammates Jermaine Blackburn, Marlowe Currie and Jamario Moon 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. The streak stopped with Friday night's loss, when Schaper connected for 6 points in 21 minutes.

- A PROBLEM WITH BOX SCORES: The Gary Steelheads have had an unusual number of problems with box scores this year. On two occasions, home game box scores transmitted to Howe Sports Data Service somehow did not get posted in the next day's report. This meant that the impact of game's stats were not compiled into the league averages the following day. Friday night's game at Albany had the same problem. Albany transmitted the final box, but again it didn't get posted. Finally, Albany had a computer crash during Saturday night's game and no box score was filed. The final box will be reconstructed from the videotape of the game. For that reason, all of the above statistical facts do not reflect Saturday night's game at 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.

- IT'S SHOWTIME WITH THE STEELHEADS: The Gary Steelheads went on line with a new Internet Radio Show Friday, May 4th. Entitled Showtime With the Steelheads, the program is intended to inform basketball fans each week about the Steelheads, the United States Basketball League and professional basketball. The program features news updates and interviews, aimed at giving listeners an inside look at the game of basketball. A special segment of the program, Hidden Heroes, introduces the audience to people who play an important role in supporting the Gary Steelheads and Northwest Indiana. Showtime With the Steelheads is a downloadable Internet radio program, sometimes referred to as a "Podcast." The program is being hosted on the Internet by OurSports Central, the nation's preeminent Internet site for information on minor league and second-tier professional sports. OurSports Central is in its second year of offering downloadable Internet programs relating to a number of sports, collectively known as "OurSports Central Radio. The web site's Internet address is www.oursportscentral.com. A menu of radio programs can be found prominently on the site's front page. Showtime With the Steelheads is anchored by Steelheads' play-by-play broadcaster and Media/Public Relations Director Bill Hazen. The program utilizes the latest in digital audio technology to increase the audio quality of interview segments, which are often recorded as the team travels.

- 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.

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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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