GBA

[crew]

Pro basketball league tests Tallahassee waters
By St. Clair Murraine
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

At first glance the players scrimmaging at FSU's Bobby Leach Center resembled your Saturday morning warriors. But they ran the basketball floor, hitting field goals and 3-pointers with the accuracy and consistency of players who have a future in the game.
Actually, some of them do. They'll play in the Global Basketball Association, which plans to tip off a professional league in April.
A Tallahassee franchise will be one of eight teams that make up the league, which also has a club in Panama City. Both teams will be part of a Western Conference that includes Tijuana, Mexico, and Bakersfield, Calif.
The Eastern Conference has teams in Chattanooga, Tenn.; Mobile, Ala.; Macon, Ga.; and Atlanta. The regular season will run for three months, with a playoff in July.
GBA Commissioner Don "Moose" Lewis said he plans to use the same marketing techniques that have made his International Wrestling Federation a success.
Some of the ways that Lewis plans to promote the league include advertising on pizza boxes and selling season admission coupons that'll be good at any venue.
Some of the league rules also will be unconventional too, such as how scores are tallied in the final two minutes of each game. Teams will use a "Red Hot Money Ball," in the closing minutes, with each field goal worth three points. A shot from 3-point range will be good for five points.
That, Lewis hopes, will to keep fans in their seats even if a game is lopsided.
"We don't want just the fans' money," he said. "We want them at the games. You have to give people a reason to come out. They're looking to be entertained."
A home venue hasn't been determined for the Tallahassee team, although its season opener is planned for April 6. But players such as guard Freddie Cole say they like the idea. If nothing else, it's an opportunity to continue his basketball career, Cole said.
"I've been to a lot of leagues for tryouts, and in this league, if they see you can play, they'll give you a chance," said Cole, a former player for Bethune-Cookman College who had a brief pro stint overseas. "There're a lot of guys out there who went to a small school who can play. They just need an opportunity."
GBA recruiters will seek out players who've played professionally or in college, said Patrick Lee, owner of the Tallahassee franchise. Age won't be a factor, and 30-year-old Bobby Gaines is proof.
He hasn't played organized basketball since he graduated from Thomas University (Thomasville, Ga.) three years ago.
"I feel this is a second chance for me as an older player," he said. "Just to get the experience is good."
Players aren't the only ones hoping for success. Each owner is partnering with the league to help get it off the ground. The owners will finance their teams in a revenue-sharing plan that allows them to keep most of the money raised through ticket sales and other fund-raising efforts.
But the responsibility of funding the first season solely on the league, Lewis said.
Each team will have a salary cap of $25,000, with players getting a weekly check, Lewis said. He said he spent the last two years researching ideas for the league before forming the GBA as part of his Atlanta-based company, Sports Moose Inc.
Lee said he bought into the idea because of the opportunity for the city to have a pro basketball team. He also thinks the caliber of players being recruited would help keep the GBA from going the way of similar leagues that have folded after brief existence.
"There's nothing like it around, and for a professional team to come here it's a big thing," he said. "It's excitement with high-level players. These are players who have played college ball or have been overseas, but they've decided to come back to the states and try to play."


have you guys heard about this? submit info if you have any.

[cmckenna]

Sounds like it is on it's way to being the XFL of basketball. Is Vince McMahon involved????

[Mark Dexter]

Originally posted by cmckenna
Sounds like it is on it's way to being the XFL of basketball. Is Vince McMahon involved????

I'm thinking more along the lines of arena football rather than XFL.

"Red hot money ball?" Come on!

[Mark Padgett]

Originally posted by Mark Dexter

"Red hot money ball?" Come on!

Is the ball really going to be heated? That would be "cool". Get it? A heated ball being "cool".

Never mind.

Maybe they can get Tonya Harding and Paula Jones to play each other in this league.