CBA 1 Continental Basketball Association 1

The All-Star Classic: A Showcase of Excellence

by Chuck Miller
January 11, 2006 - Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1)


This year's Continental Basketball Association All-Star Classic will serve as more than just a two-day affair for local fans to check out first-hand the talent in the CBA. It is also a chance for the oldest professional basketball league in the world to celebrate its 60th anniversary season and thank fans for their support over the years.

While the January 17 event in Boise, Idaho, marks the 22nd CBA All-Star Classic, this platform for players in the CBA to showcase their talents has been a longstanding tradition. The league, which was originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League from 1946-70 and the Eastern Basketball Association from 1970-78, took on the name Continental Basketball Association in 1978. Over the course of those 59 years, 38 All-Star games have been played.

From the All-Star Classic's origins as a church building fundraiser in 1958, the game has developed into the ultimate matchup and showcase of the oldest professional basketball league's rising superstars. Whether the games feature an East versus West showdown, or pits the league's top franchise squaring off against the "best from the rest," the All-Star Classic is a basketball fanatic's dream contest of young talent and veteran slammers displaying future CBA playoff dominance - and maybe an NBA call-up or two.

Understandably, this is more than just a simple All-Star contest, especially when one considers that one of Phil Jackson's first head coaching jobs was to coach his Albany Patroons against the CBA's best in the 1983 All-Star Game. That was nine NBA championships (and one CBA championship) ago.

Tim Legler, currently an NBA analyst for ESPN, played in four All-Star Games during his tenure with the CBA's Omaha Racers. Anthony Mason, John Starks, Bob "Butterbean" Love, Mario Elie and Vince Askew are all CBA All-Star Game veterans, as are NBA Hall of Famer Paul Arizin (Camden Bullets - 1963, 1964, 1965), Syracuse University basketball coach Jim Boeheim (Scranton Miners - 1969), and Temple University coach John Chaney (Sunbury Mercuries - 1958, 1959).

Chaney played in the first-ever All-Star Classic, held in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. in 1958 as a fundraiser for a local monastery's building fund. Back then, the CBA was known as the Eastern Professional Basketball League, a weekends-only basketball loop in Northeastern mining towns and snow belt cities.

"In the Kingston Armory in Wilkes-Barre, you could dribble for 4-5 hours and when you looked up you thought you had another mile to go, it looked like it was the longest basketball court in the world," said Chaney. "When we played in the All-Star Game, the winning players would get $60 and the losers would get $40 apiece. So when we got there, we would always match up with the opposing guys, and whatever we got we would split it so everybody would get the same amount. That didn't stop us from playing our ass off during the game - it was just a very tough, vicious game. There would be scrapes and fights at times because no one wanted the other one to outdo them"

Over the years, the All-Star Classic has produced memorable moments of skill, courage and determination. Hal Lear, one of the CBA's most prolific scorers, survived a car accident on his way to the 1965 All-Star Classic, scoring 30 points and requiring 25 stitches in his face - leading his team in both categories. In the 1984 All-Star Classic, the Toronto Tornados' 5-foot-11 guard, Robert Smith, helped his All-Star squad win by draining a last-minute, sudden-death overtime 27-foot 3-point basket. In 2000, the Idaho Stampede's Roberto Bergersen scored 21 points in the CBA's only All-Star Rookie Game; he received the Bobby Phills Memorial Trophy, an award honoring the former CBA star who died in a tragic car accident earlier that year.

In 1972, Reggie Lacefield of the Hartford Capitols was added to the team as an emergency replacement; he would take home the Most Valuable Player trophy for the game.

"There was another player from Hartford that was supposed to go, and he couldn't go," said Lacefield, who today works as a principal in the Wilmington (Del.) school district. "Spider Bennett was a good friend of mine, and he was on the All-Star team, and we rode down to the game together. I played a little in the first half, and our team was down at halftime. But in the second half I came in the game, and things were falling in place for me. We won the game, I had 17 points, and the majority of my points were in the third and fourth quarters."

The All-Star Classic also contained more than its share of lighthearted, unique and wacky moments. The 1968 All-Star Classic was held up for a few minutes, as teammates crawled on their knees, looking for John Richter's contact lens, which had popped out in mid-contest. When the treacherous Blizzard of '78 hit New England, the 1978 All-Star Game had to move out of the Quincy Armory, as the building was needed for the National Guard - and the contest was played at a local YMCA. For several years in the 1980's, the league offered a "Million Dollar Shot," where a randomly-selected fan received a chance to hit a long-distance basket to win a million dollars, a new car, or a ton of money (actually $5,000 in pennies).

The 1979 All-Star Classic, held in Rochester, N.Y., had reached halftime when a blizzard knocked out the power in the entire city - including the basketball arena. The contest was rescheduled to resume the next day, with an additional two quarters of play added to the game, creating the first six-quarter regulation basketball game in history.

"That All-Star Game was good," said Andre McCarter, whose single-game-record 42 points earned him the 1979 All-Star Game's Most Valuable Player award, "because the game brought all the top players and their talent in the CBA together in one place. I was having a terrific game that night. I had 28 points and 12 assists in the half , and then the lights went out. We came back the next day and played four more quarters. When people ask me about the game, I tell them I had 42 points, 25 assists, 6 rebounds and 7 steals. They can't believe it, but it's true. I just don't mention that the lights went out and the game took six quarters to play."

More than any other game on the CBA schedule, the All-Star Classic is a must-see event for NBA scouts. Excelling against your peers in the All-Star showcase event can earn you an NBA 10-day contract or even a call-up for the rest of the season. In 1982, the NBA invited the CBA to participate in a joint NBA-CBA All-Star doubleheader, with the CBA Classic appearing as the opening game. In that contest, Brad Branson of the Anchorage Northern Knights only scored 13 points, but his four blocked shots and fifteen rebounds in a 101-91 victory secured him both the game's Most Valuable Player award and a contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers a few days later. That year, five of the sixteen participants in the CBA All-Star Classic were signed by NBA clubs before the season ended; another five moved up to the NBA at the start of the next season.

This year's All-Star Classic will feature four CBA rookies - Albany Patroons guard T.J. Thompson, Rockford Lightning center Kenyon Gamble, forward Roger Powell, Jr., and Sioux Falls Skyforce center Stephen Graham. To play in the All-Star Classic in a player's first professional season is an accomplishment in itself. Of the 48 previous All-Star Classics, 21 have featured the eventual Michael Adams CBA Rookie of the Year award winner, including such names as Bob "Butterbean" Love, Cleveland "Swish" McKinney, Billy Ray Bates, Alphonso Ford, and last year's Rookie of the Year winner, Jackie Butler. With the quality of play in the CBA increasing every year, the next Rookie of the Year could undoubtedly be one of the four rookies playing in this year's All-Star contest.

Also part of the All-Star festivities are the Long Distance Shootout, where players test their accuracy on the 3-point shooting line, and the crowd-pleasing Slam Dunk competition. In the 1990 Slam Dunk competition, the Pensacola Tornados' Gerry Wright, known by his nickname "Sir Jamalot," palmed the ball, performed a cartwheel (with the ball still in his hand), then completed a one-handed title-winning slam. In 1992, the Fort Wayne Fury's Myron Brown earned a perfect 50 score - and the Slam Dunk trophy - on a two-ball, two-hand, power jam. In the 2003 contest, the Dakota Wizards' Kaniel Dickens scored two sky-high monster dunks to take the Slam Dunk title - one dunk while soaring over his teammate, Eddie Gill, the other while leaping over a row of four chairs!

For more information on the All-Star Classic, including ticket information and a roster of the CBA's best and brightest who will be participating in the game, visit the All-Star Classic website, http://www.cbaclassic.com, or the CBA's website at http://www.cbahoopsonline.com; or call (208) 388-HOOP for ticket availability.

SIDEBARS






ALL-STAR GAME HISTORY
NOTE: The CBA was known as the Eastern Professional Basketball League until the 1970-71 season, when its name was changed to the Eastern Basketball Association. The league changed its name to the Continental Basketball Association at the start of the 1978-79 season.

1958 - West All-Stars 122, East All-Stars 97 (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)
1959 - West All-Stars 110, East All-Stars 88 (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)
1961 - East All-Stars 164, West All-Stars 128 (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)
1962 - EPBL All-Stars 124, Allentown Jets 119 (Allentown, Pa.)
1963 - Camden Bullets 122, EPBL All-Stars 114 (Camden, N.J.)
1964 - South All-Stars 137, North All-Stars 125 (Trenton, N.J.)
1965 - Camden Bullets 147, EPBL All-Stars 129 (Camden, N.J.)
1966 - East All-Stars 167, West All-Stars 159 (Harrisburg, Pa.)
1967 - West All-Stars 158, East All-Stars 149 (Wilmington, Del.)
1968 - East All-Stars 155, West All-Stars 125 (Hartford, Conn.)
1969 - West All-Stars 163, East All-Stars 133 (Scranton, Pa.)
1970 - Wilmington Blue Bombers 129, All-Stars 123 (Wilmington, Del.)
1971 - Scranton Apollos 146, EBA All-Stars 123 (Scranton, Pa.)
1972 - EBA All-Stars 129, Scranton Apollos 110 (Scranton, Pa.)
1976 - EBA All-Stars 137, Allentown Jets 134 (York, Pa.)
1977 - EBA All-Stars 136, Allentown Jets 118 (Allentown, Pa.)
1978 - East All-Stars 135, West All-Stars 129 (Quincy, Mass.)
1979 - Rochester Zeniths 182, CBA All-Stars 168 (Rochester, N.Y.)
1982 - Western Division 101, Eastern Division 91 (East Rutherford, N.J.)
1983 - Albany Patroons 122, CBA All-Stars 109 (Albany, N.Y.)
1984 - CBA All-Stars 128, Wyoming Wildcatters 125 (Caspar, Wyo.)
1985 - CBA All-Stars 113, Evansville Thunder 109 (Evansville, Ill.)
1986 - CBA All-Stars 110, Tampa Bay Thillers 108 (Tampa Bay, Fla.)
1987 - CBA All-Stars 105, LaCrosse Catbirds 102 (LaCrosse, Wisc.)
1988 - CBA All-Stars 115, Topeka Sizzlers 94 (Topeka, Kan.)
1989 - Rockford Lightning 103, CBA All-Stars 97 (Rockford, Ill.)
1990 - National Conference 107, American Conference 105 (Moline, Ill.)
1991 - National Conference 120, American Conference 116 (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)
1992 - National Conference 124, American Conference 115 (Yakima, Wash.)
1993 - American Conference 133, National Conference 121 (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
1994 - American Conference 119, National Conference 108 (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
1995 - National Conference 119, American Conference 115 (Hartford, Conn.)
1996 - National Conference 121, American Conference 105 (Sioux Falls, S.D.)
1997 - American Conference 107, National Conference 98 (Yakima, Wash.)
2000 - Eastern Division 135, Western Division 124 (Sioux Falls, S.D.)
2003 - National Conference 140, American Conference 125 (Sioux Falls, S.D.)
2004 - National Conference 105, American Conference 103 (Yakima, Wash.)
2005 - Eastern Conference 114, Western Conference 110 (Gary, Ind.)

ALL-STAR GAME MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS

1958 - none awarded
1959 - none awarded
1961 - Alex "Boo" Ellis, Wilkes-Barre Barons
1963 - Bobby McNeill, Camden Bullets
1964 - Jimmie Hadnot, Trenton Colonials
1965 - Bobby McNeill, Camden Bullets
1966 - Walt Simon, Allentown Jets
1967 - Willie Murrell, Scranton Miners
1968 - Willis "Spider" Bennett, Hartford Capitols
1969 - Jim Jackson, Scranton Miners
1970 - John Savage, Wilmington Blue Bombers
1971 - Willie Somerset, Scranton Apollos
1972 - Reggie Lacefield, Hartford Capitols
1977 - Jim Bostic, Jersey Shore Bullets
1978 - Jim Bostic, Jersey Shore Bullets
1979 - Andre McCarter, Rochester Zeniths
1982 - Brad Branson, Anchorage Northern Knights
1983 - Larry Spriggs, Albany Patroons
1984 - Anthony Roberts, Wyoming Wildcatters
1985 - Rick Lamb, Wyoming Wildcatters
1986 - Don Collins, Tampa Bay Thrillers
1987 - Eddie Johnson, Tampa Bay Thrillers
1988 - Michael Brooks, Albany Patroons
1989 - Dwayne McClain, Rockford Lightning
1990 - Conner Henry, Rapid City Thrillers
1991 - Vincent Askew, Albany Patroons
1992 - Conner Henry, Yakima Sun Kings
1993 - Pat Durham, Fargo-Moorhead Fever
1994 - Jeff Martin, Grand Rapids Hoops
1995 - Tony Dawson, Rockford Lightning
1996 - Shelton Jones, Florida Beachdogs
1997 - Dexter Boney, Florida Beachdogs
2000 - Dontae' Jones, LaCrosse Bobcats
2003 - Versile Shaw, Sioux Falls Skyforce
2004 - Roberto Bergersen, Idaho Stampede
2005 - Sam Clancy, Idaho Stampede



Continental Basketball Association 1 Stories from January 11, 2006


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