They'll be Jammin' in Motown

by Mac Claire, www.ABAsite.tk
Published on September 24, 2004 under American Basketball Association (ABA)
Detroit Panthers


The Motown Jammers have decided to make errors on the side of caution – if they make any at all.

The expansion franchise, according to both General Manager Byron Willis and Marketing Director Gwen Titus, will play ABA basketball beginning in November.

At the time this article was submitted however, the team had no website, and very little news has been reported about the Jammers.

From their offices in Detroit, Willis said, "We will be putting out press releases soon," to which Ms. Titus added, "The website is under construction right now.

"We're making sure that we have all the information we need for the website like Ticket Master." She concluded, "You know what they say, when it rains, it pours. We will have a lot of information coming out."

When asked about the progress they have been making while getting the team ready for their opener, Willis said that their summer program which started in June "went well", and that they plan to have the veterans report to camp in October.

The candor of the people in the front office of these franchises is rather refreshing. While discussing the business aspect of the ABA, Willis revealed something that some fans had suspected. Referring to the first season back in 2000-2001, "There was no real business plan. I was a part of that season, so I can tell you that."

Willis was the GM of the Detroit Dogs that season. "Salaries were too high. Hey, paying people $80,000.in five months is a lot!" He is more confident in the league and its plan now.

Ask most ABA franchise owners, and they will tell you that one of the most important methods of marketing is community involvement. Willis mentioned that the Jammers have been involved in the Detroit community. "There are a lot of youth leagues out there," he thought. Ms. Titus simply said, "We're out there," she said, "and we want to give back."

Cool Memories: Byron Willis played high school basketball with a young fellow named George Gervin. As most readers of this column may know, prior to his role as president of the Jammers, and before he coached the Detroit Dogs to an ABA Championship in this league's first campaign, Gervin played in the original ABA for the San Antonio Spurs. Fewer people are aware that Gervin's ABA career began with the Virginia Squires, where he played with talented hoopsters such as George Irvine, Charley Scott, and "The Doctor", Julius Erving.

Gervin played professionally in the CBA before joining the Squires. "Yeah, not too many people know he played for the Pontiac Chapparals," Willis said proudly. When he was asked about his high schoolo memories of the man effectionately known as "Ice Man" for his cool demeanor, Willis laughed, "Going back to high school? That's going way back!

"George was blessed with extraordinary talent.

We left school for the summer, and he was 5'-11". When we got back to school, he was 6'-6"!"

Asked if the man who could always finger-roll knew the risk of playing in the less financially stable ABA, Willis said Gervin thought like the typical young man. "He was just glad to be performing on that level."

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.

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American Basketball Association Stories from September 24, 2004


The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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