Des Moines Dragons

Last updated
Des Moines Dragons
DesMoinesDragons.GIF
League IBA
Founded1997
Dissolved2001
Team colorsgreen, blue, white
   
Head coachGlenn Duhon (1997–2000)
Michael Born (2000–01)
OwnershipDick Giesen
Championships2000
Conference titles2000, 2001
Division titles2000, 2001

The Des Moines Dragons were a minor league basketball team in the International Basketball Association. They were located in Des Moines, Iowa, and played at the Iowa Veterans Memorial Auditorium. The Dragons were owned by Paul Miller, and Dick Giesen. [1] The Des Moines Dragons were the International Basketball Association champions in 2000 and the runner-up in 2001 to the Dakota Wizards. They played in the IBA from the 1997-1998 season until the end of the 2000-2001 season. The Dragons were coached by Glenn Duhon from 1997 through 2000 and Michael Born from 2000 through 2001. The Dragons played their home games at Veterans Auditorium from 1997 through 2001. In 2000 Lonnie Cooper received the IBA Playoffs MVP. Lonnie Cooper of the Dragons received the 2001 IBA MVP as well as the IBA Finals MVP award. Also in 2001 Michael Born was named the Coach of the year in the IBA along with David Joerger of the Dakota Wizards. The Dragons were the IBA organization of the year in all four years of their existence. [2]

Contents

Playoffs

In 1998 the Dragons were swept 2-0 by the Fargo-Moorhead Beez in the IBA Semifinals. The Dragons swept Rochester 2-0 in the 1999 IBA Semifinals before losing to Mansfield 1-2 in the IBA Division Finals. In 2000 the Dragons had better luck in the playoffs, they started out by sweeping Billings 2-0 in the IBA Division Semifinals and Fargo-Moorhead 3-0 in the IBA Division Finals before going on to defeat the Magic City Snowbears 3-1 in the IBA Finals for the Dragons only championship. During the Dragons final season they swept Fargo-Moorhead 2-0 in the IBA Semifinals as well as sweeping Souixland 2-0 in the Division Finals. The Dragons took a 2-0 IBA Finals lead against the Dakota Wizards before losing three straight to lose the finals 3-2.

Year-by-year record

YearGamesWLWin %PlacePlayoffsResults
1997–1998342212.6472nd, EastLost Semifinals Fargo-Moorhead 2, Des Moines 0
1998–1999341816.5292nd, EastWon Division Semifinals
Lost Divisional Finals
Des Moines 2, Rochester 0
Mansfield 2, Des Moines 1
1999–2000362511.6941st, EastWon Division Semifinals
Won Divisional Finals
Won IBA Finals
Des Moines 2, Billings 0
Des Moines 3, Fargo-Moorhead 0
Des Moines 3, Magic City 1
2000–2001402812.7001st, EastWon Division Semifinals
Won Divisional Finals
Lost IBA Finals
Des Moines 2, Fargo-Moorhead 0
Des Moines 2, Souixland 0
Dakota 3, Des Moines 2
Totals1449351.646N/AN/AN/A
Playoffs25178.680N/A1 ChampionshipDes Moines 5, Opponents 4

Former Dragons players

Related Research Articles

New York Dragons Arena football team

The New York Dragons were a professional arena football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Dragons participated in the Arena Football League's (AFL) National Conference as a member of the Eastern Division. The team was founded in 1995 as the original iteration of the Iowa Barnstormers, and relocated to New York in 2001. They played in New York until 2008, when the league folded. They played in the Eastern Division of the National Conference, and played their home games at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. Their last coach was Weylan Harding.

Dakota Wizards

The Dakota Wizards were an American professional basketball team based in Bismarck, North Dakota. They played in the NBA Development League from 2006 until 2012. After the 2011–12 season, the team relocated to Santa Cruz, California, and now plays as the Santa Cruz Warriors. Prior to entering the D-League in 2006, the Wizards spent 11 years playing in minor American leagues such as the International Basketball Association and the Continental Basketball Association.

Kansas City Monarchs (American Association)

The Kansas City Monarchs are a professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Kansas. Formerly known as the Kansas City T-Bones, they are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball; which, in 2020, became designated as a Major League Baseball partner league. They have played their home games at Legends Field since 2003, when the team began as a member of the Northern League. In 2011, the team joined the modern American Association. In 2018, the T-Bones won their first-ever American Association championship by defeating the St. Paul Saints. While named the T-Bones, the team's mascot was named Sizzle. On January 21, 2021, the team announced a partnership with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and a rebranding to the Kansas City Monarchs, one of the founding teams of that league.

The International Basketball Association (IBA) was founded in 1995 by a group of businessmen led by Tom Anderson. The original owners of franchises in the league were George Daniel, John Korsmo, Al Gardner, and Al Hovland, Jeff McCarron, Bill Sorensen and Earl Barish. Earl Barish of Winnipeg directed the IBA as League President and the league eventually grew to ten franchises. In the fall of 2001, CBA and IBL teams merged with the IBA and purchased the assets of the defunct CBA, including its name, logo and records from the bankruptcy court and restarted operations, calling itself the CBA. This group continued to operate until June 2009, when it was forced to cease operations.

Iowa Barnstormers Arena football team

The Iowa Barnstormers are a professional indoor football team based in Des Moines, Iowa. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). They play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena, known in indoor football circles as "The Well".

Des Moines Menace Football club

Des Moines Menace is an American soccer team based in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The Menace have had sustained success in USL League Two during their tenure, claiming the USL League Two Championship in the 2021 campaign. The Menace also hold three regular season championships, coming in the 2018, 2019, and 2021 campaigns respectively. The team aims to join USL Championship in 2024.

Bismarck Bobcats

The Bismarck Bobcats are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's (NAHL) Central Division, and play out of Bismarck, North Dakota, in the V.F.W. Sports Center. Originally a part of the American Frontier Hockey League, the Bobcats joined the NAHL in a merger of the two leagues in 2003. In 2005, the Bobcats hosted the Robertson Cup tournament.

Fargo-Moorhead Beez

The Fargo-Moorhead Beez was a professional basketball club based in Fargo, North Dakota that competed in the International Basketball Association beginning in the 1995-1996 season. They were the 1995-1996 and the 1997-1998 International Basketball Association champions.

The Saskatchewan Hawks was a professional basketball club based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan that competed in the International Basketball Association beginning in the 2000–2001 season. The team's ownership group was composed of Tom Tao and former NBA owner Ted Stepien, as well as local private owners. The team's best season was during the 2000–2001 season that saw the Hawks finish second in the division and defeat the Billings RimRockers in the first round of playoffs, before eventually losing to the eventual IBA Champion Dakota Wizards in round two. That season, the team was coached by Rob Spon, before he was unexpectedly let go with two games remaining in the regular season. The director of operations was Travis Grindle. Mike Stefanuk was team manager; Mitchell MacGowan was an Assistant Coach and the other was assistant coach Otis Hailey, who assumed the head coach position after Spon was let go. The team then joined the Continental Basketball Association in 2001 when the IBA folded, along with former IBA rivals, the Dakota Wizards and the Fargo-Moorhead Beez. In their first and only season in the CBA, the Hawks compiled the worst record in the league (8–32), and the team folded during the off-season. Their first coach that year was Laurian Watkins, who was let go in a power struggle.

The 1996–97 CBA season was the second season of the Chinese Basketball Association.

Iowa Wolves American professional basketball team of the NBA G League

The Iowa Wolves are an American professional basketball team based in Des Moines, Iowa. They are owned by and affiliated with the Minnesota Timberwolves as of the 2017–18 season. They play in the Western Conference in the NBA G League, a minor league basketball organization run by the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Wolves play their home games at the Wells Fargo Arena. From 2007 to 2017, the team was known as the Iowa Energy in the NBA Development League (D-League) until being purchased and renamed by the Timberwolves. They broke the D-league attendance record on their first home game with 8,842 fans. They later set the record again in game two of the 2011 D-League Finals with an attendance of 14,036 fans. They won the 2011 D-League Finals, defeating the Rio Grande Valley Vipers two-games-to-one.

The 2000–01 NBA season was the Lakers' 53rd season in the National Basketball Association, and 41st in the city of Los Angeles. The Lakers entered the season as the defending NBA champions, having defeated the Indiana Pacers in the 2000 NBA Finals in six games, winning their twelfth NBA championship. During the off-season, the Lakers acquired Horace Grant from the Seattle SuperSonics. Grant won three championships with the Chicago Bulls in the early 1990s. The team also signed free agent Isaiah Rider, who was released by the Atlanta Hawks during the previous season due to off the court troubles. Derek Fisher only played just 20 games due to a stress fracture in his right foot, which forced him to miss the first 62 games of the regular season. The Lakers won their final eight games finishing the regular season with a 56–26 record, and won the Pacific Division over the rival Sacramento Kings by one game.

Andy Panko American basketball player

Andrew John Panko III is an American former professional basketball player. At 6'9" tall, he primarily played the small forward and power forward positions.

Santa Cruz Warriors American professional basketball team of the NBA G League

The Santa Cruz Warriors are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League, based in Santa Cruz, California. The team's one-to-one NBA affiliate is the Golden State Warriors, and they play their home games at the Kaiser Permanente Arena. Prior to the move to Santa Cruz for the 2012–13 season, the team was known as the Dakota Wizards. In 2014–15, the Warriors won their first D-League championship since 2007.

Iowa Wild American Hockey League team in Des Moines, Iowa

The Iowa Wild are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, that began play for the 2013–14 season. The team plays at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, as the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Minnesota Wild.

Dave Joerger American professional basketball coach (born 1974)

David Joerger ( [YAY-ger]) is an American professional basketball coach who serves as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was the head coach of the Dakota Wizards from 2000 to 2004 and in 2006–2007 in the International Basketball Association, Continental Basketball Association, and the NBA Development League, winning championships in 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2007. He also coached the Sioux Falls Skyforce from 2004 to 2006, winning a championship in 2005. In the NBA, Joerger served as head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies from 2013 to 2016, and Sacramento Kings from 2016 to 2019.

The 2017 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the 2016-17 NBA season, which began on April 15, 2017 and concluded on June 12, 2017. It concluded with the Golden State Warriors defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals, their third consecutive meeting in the Finals. Kevin Durant was named the NBA Finals MVP in his first year on the team.

The South Dakota Gold were a short-lived professional basketball team based in Mitchell, South Dakota. They played one season in the International Basketball Association (IBA).

2023 NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Tournament United States top collegiate-level basketball tournament for 2023

The 2023 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament will involve 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's college basketball national champion for the 2022–23 season. The 84th annual edition of the tournament will begin on March 14, 2023 and will conclude with the championship game on April 3 in Houston, Texas.

References

  1. Des Moines Dragons fold, decline CBA's offer. Accessed March 31, 2007.
  2. INTERNATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION HISTORY. Accessed March 31, 2007.