Yamhill Highflyers Ready For First Full IBL Season, Hire Head Coach
February 8, 2010 - International Basketball League (IBL)
Yamhill Highflyers News Release
Yamhill County, Oregon- The Yamhill HighFlyers, coming off their "branding season" in 2009 are ready for their first full season, to begin in May 2010. Franchise hires head coach, lands official training facility, set to have game broadcast in HD, and makes upgrades to roster.
Team Background: The Yamhill HighFlyers played 9 games in 2009, 2 home and 7 road games, as part of their "branding season"- a coming soon mode the IBL uses to help teams create a fan base and prepare for their first full season in the league. The HighFlyers won their first game in franchise history on May 28th, 2009 with a home victory against the Japan Tornadoes 140-121 in front of a strong home crowd. Chris Hunt and Jason Hartford were the stars of the 2009 season- both are set to return for 2010 and will be surrounded by an upgraded roster. The HighFlyers will 22 games in 2010- 10 home, 10 road, and 2 neutral site.
HighFlyers hire Head Coach Peter Sambu: Coach Sambu brings 14 years of college and professional coaching experience to the franchise. Sambu has served as an assistant coach for the Edmonton Energy and the Gary Steelheads professional franchises, and as a head coach of North Dakota State and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT). Coach Sambu- "I'm very grateful for this great opportunity to coach the HighFlyers in their first full year in the IBL. Our team will be very professional, hard working and very exciting to watch. My goal is to bring a quality and competitive team to Yamhill County. The primary goal is to bring the IBL Championship to the Yamhill County community within the next few years. Our team will be something the community can be proud of."
Club Sport HighFlyers' official training facility: The Northwest's premier workout facility will be the HighFlyers' official practice and training facility for upcoming season. Club Sport used to serve as the official practice facility of the Portland Trailblazers before they built their own facility nearby. With 5 full basketball courts, a rock climbing gym, two Olympic-sized pools and more, the facility will serve the HighFlyers franchise well. General Manager Eric Bailey- "We're thrilled to have Club Sport on board as our newest sponsor and official training facility. Having a quality facility like Club Sport will help us as we recruit high level talent to build a championship caliber team for Yamhill County." More on Club Sport can be found at http://www.clubsports.com/oregon/
First road game set to be broadcast on Comcast Sportsnet: The HighFlyers first road game of the season on May 7th against the Vancouver Volcanoes is set to be broadcast on Comcast Sportsnet in full HD. The game, which will be tape delayed, will be seen throughout the Pacific Northwest. General Manager Eric Bailey- "We're very excited to have our first road game of our first full IBL season be broadcast to such a wide audience. The game should give us some great exposure ahead of our first home game against the Central Oregon Hotshots."
Hunt and Hartford set to return, joined by newcomer Bowie: Chris Hunt, who averaged 22.7 points and 12.3 rebounds per game while playing for the HighFlyers in 2009, is set to return in 2010 along with Jason Hartford, who averged 29 points and 13.3 rebounds per game in 2009. The 6'9" Hartford, who played for Cornell in the NCAA tourney, was recently named MVP of a league in Africa and will be playing professionally in Spain before re-joining the HighFlyers in May. They will be joined by point guard Nate Bowie who averaged 23.1 points per game while playing for the Vancouver BC Titans last year and is currently playing in Spain. Bowie played at Central Arkansas where he was named MVP and was the leading scorer of the Division 1 Southland Conference. Other newcomers expected are Taeshaud Jackson, a 6'7" power forward from Lincoln, Nebraska and Durrell Nevels, a 6'9" center who was fifth in block shots in NCAA Division 1 his junior year in college. Also expected to join the HighFlyers is 6'6" shooting guard Cheyenne Moore, who played at Clemson and then George Washington and is prolific dunker. Other returners include 6'11" center Garrett Schmidt and 6'4" guard Paul Miller.
• Discuss this story on the International Basketball League message board...
International Basketball League Stories from February 8, 2010
- Explosion Bring Back Sean Keck As GM For The 2010 Season - Snohomish County Explosion
- Yamhill Highflyers Ready For First Full IBL Season, Hire Head Coach - Yamhill Highflyers
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.
