Tumult rules minor league hoops offseason

by Chris Munson
August 8, 2008 - Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1)

With about three months remaining before the start of minor league basketball season, there has been not only a flurry of activity, but some questions that need to be answered in all three non-NBA-affiliated leagues.

Par for the course, the much maligned ABA has seen many changes. The league saw a mass exodus of teams in the off-season as two-time defending champion Vermont along with Quebec, Montreal, Halifax and Manchester left the league in favor of the Premier Basketball League. Team representatives said the PBL offers greater financial stability and a far less chance that games will not be played. Last season the ABA saw roughly 38 percent of its scheduled games played, with many teams leaving the league in mid-season, or in the case of the Halifax Rainmen, during the playoffs.

Those who followed the ABA last season will not recognize the 2008-2009 version of the league. As of this writing, and teams seem to enter and leave the league on a daily basis, there are expansion franchises slated for Alaska, Aurora (IL), Owensboro, KY; Buffalo, NY; Cleveland, OH; two teams in Detroit; Fresno, CA; Gallup, NM; Hamilton, ON; Hollywood, CA; Kansas City, MO; Los Angeles; Knoxville, TN; yet another team in Las Vegas; Modesto, CA; Montreal, QC; Nashville, TN; New York City; Philadelphia, Phoenix, Prescott Valley, AZ; yet another team in Sacramento; Savannah, GA; San Antonio; South Chicago, IL; Texas City, TX; Spokane, WA; Huntington, WV; Wichita Falls, KS and Winston Salem, NC. For those who ran out of fingers to count, that is 32 new teams coming in with a mere seven teams coming back to the league. Six others have not been confirmed as being in. Several of the aforementioned markets, including Chicago, Gallup and Buffalo have housed ABA teams in the past. ABA CEO Joe Newman said he expects "about 50" teams in the league this season.

Houston Takers owner Larry Leonard is optimistic though about this season. Despite playing in only 10 of 36 games last year, none after Christmas, Leonard says the team will play all 30 scheduled games and calls himself "The Mark Cuban of the ABA" because of his business plan. It should be noted that Mr. Leonard was also optimistic about last season.

The league has been criticized for its refusal to address mistakes and for continually blaming its shortcomings on other entities.

"The great bulk of the criticism relating to turnover does not come from a broad sector, but rather from a few mean spirited individuals, including member(sic) of other leagues, who simply like to take shots," said Newman. "The ABA provides opportunities for ownership - and it is up to the owners to use the tools available to them to develop a strong, profitable team. We are very proud of the ABA and the opportunities it has provided. Take Vermont and Manchester, two teams you know well. After giving assurances they were staying in the ABA, they left.Their prerogative of course. But not very nice indeed."

As far as the off season moves by the ABA, here is how I break them down and grade them.

Good: The addition of Quentin Townsend is a solid move for the league. Quentin is a very intelligent man with a strong passion for the game and the league. He could provide some stability to a league that in previous years has had little.

The league has decided to go with a 30 game schedule as opposed to a 36 game schedule. According to CEO Joe Newman, "We looked at the attendance before Thanksgiving against what happened after Thanksgiving, and the interest really picks up - so we decided on a December start rather than early November - and wanted to end in early March for the new playoff system."

Bad: The lack of stability in the league as a whole. The league does not have any of its original teams and seems to go through teams like a car goes through $4 a gallon gasoline. Teams leave the league for other opportunities and have a habit of exiting during the playoffs. The ABA has shown no ability to stop the exodus. It is tough for an ABA team to survive if their fans have no idea if the team will be there the next day.

The latest chapter in the saga of the ABA illustrates the problems. According to the August 8th edition of the Bowling Green Daily News, former Kentucky Mavericks owner Jason Smith (yes, there has already been an ownership change) has been banned by the ABA amid allegations that he bounced checks to the league. According to the article, Newman claims Smith bounced a check to the league and has provided false information to him.

Overall: Originally a D-, the league loses points for not performing due diligence on Mr. Smith, indicating that a continuing problem for the ABA has not been adequately addressed in the offseason. The grade goes back to an F.

PBL:

It is still somewhat difficult to know what to make of the league. Yes, it is doing some very positive things and has attracted new teams in new cities, but there are questions that remain.

First, the PBL has added Vermont, Manchester and Quebec from the ABA; Augusta from the CBA; Battle Creek from the IBL and has expansion franchises in Toronto, Montreal, Buffalo and Detroit. Gone are Dallas, Jacksonville and Rockford. Rockford, owned by Quad Cities owner Tom McGinn, was a casualty of a new PBL rule forbidding multiple team ownership. Arkansas is in doubt for the 2008-2009 season as they have new ownership and are still looking for a venue.

The PBL's exposure will be solid this year as they have announced a TV deal that will provide weekly coverage of league games and a weekly recap show. This is a strong move for a league that is seemingly doing what it can to provide a marketable product and to showcase minor league basketball in a way that only the NBA backed D-League has been able to do.

Good: Expansion into Canada, the announcement of their TV deal and being able to land solid teams in Vermont, Manchester, Quebec, Halifax and Montreal. The PBL has also announced there will be endeavors into the Far East. The Maryland Nighthawks deserve points by naming Adam Dantus as their General Manager. Dantus, who is only 23, is a bright, hard working guy who has a future as a GM or consultant in the NBA. Don't look at his age, Adam is wise beyond his years.

The bad: A new PBL website has been launched, but there is very little information there. The new site has been up for a few months, but individual teams don't have their sites up and the main site is really only a landing page. Being a new league, one would think the PBL would want to have a strong site available so they can better market their teams and the league as a whole.

Some have wondered if the PBL is expanding too quickly. Granted, the league is attracting solid franchises, but with their promise of assisting with travel expenses in light of rising fuel prices, will the pockets be deep enough to cover all of the costs?

Overall grade: The league earns a B- here as the verdict is still out on travel and the lack of a website.

CBA:

The future of this league is in serious doubt. Augusta has moved to the PBL and some teams are experiencing financial difficulties. According to an article in the McAllen Monitor, the Rio Grande franchise's immediate future is unknown. According to the article written by Todd Mavreles, the team is $70,000 in debt to its home arena alone, and team owners were unwilling to speak to the reporter. Rumors have the team moving to Beaumont, Texas, and possibly jumping leagues.

If anything, the situation is worse in Yakima. In an article in the Yakima Herald, Dave Thomas states that former Sun Kings owner Otis Harlan is no longer interested in owning the franchise. If the team does come back, there could be other issues as they have not posted the required $150,000 line of credit that is required by the league, and there is doubt as to if the team will have a place to play.

The Albany Patroons reportedly need to sell 1,000 season tickets in order to take the court this season. With just weeks left in a self-imposed deadline, the team total remained at less than three hundred.

Even with all of this, CBA Vice President of Operations Dennis Truax remains optimistic. In a phone interview Truax said, " We are moving along with the league with some teams moving ahead, some won't be back. We will play this season with six to eight teams." Truax continued to say he expects franchises in Minot, Oklahoma (Lawton/Fort Sill), Rio Grande Valley, Albany, Pittsburgh and Eastern Kentucky. With Eastern Kentucky and Rio Grande Valley, sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity said those teams are still in doubt and could possibly move to the PBL.

Good: There doesn't seem to be much good going on in the CBA. The future of the league is in serious doubt, and there seems to be little post-season activity. Augusta has moved to the PBL and there haven't even been rumors of future expansion teams.

Bad: Lack of stability, quite a bit of uncertainty as to the future of the league.

Grade: Sorry guys, D, but only because of Truax's candor.

USBL:

Yes, the USBL is planning on coming back into the fold. The league, which took last season off to restructure, is planning on starting its season in April of 2009. According to Jacob Gordon, Director of Public and Media Relations for the USBL, "We really will not know our teams until the winter. I anticipate having more expansion teams than returning teams. Our goal is to have 10-12 teams but we will play with fewer (no less than six). We took 2008 off to incorporate a more stable financial situation for the USBL and it's teams. The price of a franchise has been reduced (now $100k) to make it more affordable for new ownership groups. There has also been a lot of discussion revolving letters of credit and that may be a requirement of new expansion teams in the future."

Grade: No grade, they get a break on this one, but get high marks for effort.

Overall, minor league basketball seems to be suffering. The ABA has never been stable, the CBA is having its issues, the USBL had to cancel its season and the verdict is still out on the PBL as it moves into its second year.

Truax pointed out there are continuing challenges with the US economy and that could very well be a factor with leagues having their issues. A very telling quote from Truax was, "It is hard to change stigma of college basketball in relation to the minors," he said "Marty Blake (Former GM of the Saint Louis/Atlanta Hawks) has always said that finding people with millions of dollars isn't difficult, finding people who know how to finance a team and know how to run a team is different."

Chris Munson is a freelance writer and broadcaster based in Jacksonville, Florida. Munson has written for OurSports Central, US Basket, d3football.com, the Vermont Times, Vermont Guardian and Varsity Magazine, and is the former Sports Director for ESPN Radio/Vermont. This season Chris will do work on the Atlantic Sun television and radio broadcasts of University of North Florida events.

Continental Basketball Association 1 Stories from August 8, 2008

• Tumult rules minor league hoops offseason - OSC Original by Chris Munson

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.