User:Desmond Hobson/sandbox
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a rotating page. For the permanent page of my fictional "Buddy Wayne Barefoot" character, see sandbox2.
The Freedom Basketball League is a professional basketball league with teams in the Southeastern United States. The league is notable in which all its members were charter franchises of what is now the NBA Development League in 2001. It marks the first time that the same lineup of teams were used to launch two different leagues.
Former NASCAR driver Bubba Ray Lumpkin and minor-league baseball executive Marvin Goldklang co-founded the FBL in 2006. After a one-year delay, the FBL debuted on May 16, 2008. League officials paid a reported $3 million to the National Basketball Association for use of the names and logos.[1]
After the Mohave County plane incident that killed Lumpkin, his widow Gina Lumpkin became the league's co-owner and chairperson.
The league's commissioner is former Charlotte Bobcats executive Ed Tapscott.
Contents |
[edit] Schedule and structure
Each team will play a 24-game regular season. The top two teams in each division will play in single-elimination semifinals. The winners will then play a best-of-three series for the championship.
- West Division - Asheville, Greenville, Roanoke, Huntsville
- East Division - Charleston, Fayetteville, Columbus, Mobile
[edit] Teams
[edit] Future expansion teams
- Arkansas Rimrockers (2009) - Will play at Jack Stephens Center
- Florida Flame (2009) - Will play at Alico Arena
- Texas Flyers (2010) - Negotiating with NYTEX Sports Centre[2]
NOTE: Arkansas and Texas joined the NBADL in later years, but are also no longer in current existence. Florida and Charleston are the same franchise in NBADL history.
[edit] Notable players
In addition to the players listed below, Buddy Wayne Barefoot, Fayetteville Patriots (Campbell) has been posthumously signed to a full-season contract and his uniform will be draped on a seat on the bench at every game.[3]
- Jason Capel, Asheville Altitude (Duke)
- Shavlik Randolph, Greenville Groove (Duke)
- Phillip McLamb, Fayetteville Patriots (UNC)
- B.J. McKie, Charleston Lowgators (South Carolina)
- Jai Lewis, Columbus Riverdragons (George Mason)
- Wayne Turner, Roanoke Dazzle (Kentucky)
[edit] Differences with NBDL franchises
- The FBL teams play their home games at college campuses and other smaller venues, while the NBADL teams played in larger, city-owned arenas. The idea is to have more intimate crowds and to increase the chances of profitability.
- FBL franchises have slightly altered the logos of the original teams. In two cases (Greenville and Mobile), the logo is the first ever, as the NBA did not use anything to identify the individual teams at first. By the time the NBA changed its stance and allowed team logos, the Revelers and Groove had folded. The most significant changes on the remaining insignias are the font sizes and looks of the team names.
[edit] Television and radio
The FBL will show six regular-season games and all playoff contests on FSN South and SportSouth. Many teams have their own radio rights; see the team's individual pages for details.
