Flint Fuze | |
---|---|
Leagues | CBA |
Founded | 2001 |
Folded | 2004 |
History | Flint Fuse (2001–2002) Great Lakes Storm (2002–2004) |
Arena | IMA Sports Arena |
Location | Flint, Michigan |
Team colors | blue, light blue, white |
The Flint Fuze were a professional basketball team located in Flint, Michigan, United States, in 2001. They were a part of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and played their home games at the IMA Sports Arena. Former National Basketball Association journeyman Jeff Grayer helped create the franchise and served as the team's initial head coach. [1] After the 2001 season, low attendance forced the Fuze to relocate to Birch Run, Michigan, and become the Great Lakes Storm. [2] After the 2004 season, the franchise folded.
The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball minor league in the United States from 1946 to 2009.
The Yakima SunKings were a basketball team located in Yakima, Washington, covering the central Washington sports market of Yakima, Tri-Cities, and Ellensburg and plays at the Yakima SunDome. The team competed in the Continental Basketball Association from 1990 to 2008. In June 2005, the team was purchased by the Yakama Indian Nation and was renamed the Yakama Sun Kings to honor the Nation.
The Gary Steelheads were a professional basketball team. They played in the International Basketball League (IBL), Continental Basketball Association (CBA), and the United States Basketball League (USBL). They were based in Gary, Indiana, United States, and played their home games at the Genesis Convention Center. The Steelheads were the 2006 CBA Eastern Conference champions.
The Grand Rapids Hoops were a basketball team that played in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Their first season was in 1989 and their final season was in 2003. Professional basketball later returned to Grand Rapids with the Grand Rapids Flight in 2004.
The Great Lakes Storm was a basketball team that played in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) for three seasons, beginning in 2002 and ending in 2005. They were based in Birch Run, Michigan, a small town between Flint and Saginaw. The Storm played at the Birch Run Expo Center. The original team was called the Flint Fuze.
The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the official minor league organization of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Development League from 2005 until 2017. The league started with eight teams until NBA commissioner David Stern announced a plan to expand the NBA D-League to 15 teams and develop it into a true minor league farm system, with each NBA D-League team affiliated with one or more NBA teams in March 2005. At the conclusion of the 2013–14 NBA season, 33% of NBA players had spent time in the NBA D-League, up from 23% in 2011. As of the 2024–25 season, the league consists of 31 teams, 30 of which are either single-affiliated or owned by an NBA team, along with the Capitanes de Ciudad de México independent team. Within the G League, players can get a contract from an NBA team and land themselves an official roster spot.
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.
The Albany Patroons are a professional basketball team that plays in The Basketball League (TBL). Previously, the team competed in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and in the United States Basketball League (USBL). The Patroons won CBA championships in 1984 and 1988 as well as a TBL championship in 2019. The team's name derives from patroon, the term for a large landholders in New Netherland, the Dutch colony that once included the Albany region.
The Savannah Spirits were a professional basketball team that played for two years in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1986 to 1988, amassing a total regular season record of 42 wins and 60 losses for a total of 306.5 points. The team originally began play in the 1982–1983 season as the Detroit Spirits, after Agustin Arbulu acquired the franchise, compiling a record of 26–18, winning the Central Division title; they defeated the Rochester Zeniths for the Conference title and the Montana Golden Nuggets for the CBA title. After their initial season Agustin Arbulu agreed to sell the franchise to Reggie Henderson. The Spirits did not qualify for the postseason in their first year in Savannah, Georgia. In their second and final year in Savannah, they were eliminated by the Albany Patroons in the first round, four games to one.
The Global Basketball Association (GBA) was a professional basketball minor league based in the United States. The majority of the league's franchises were based in the Southern United States, with the remaining teams located in the Midwest. The league announced plans for franchises in European cities that never materialized. The league began play in 1991 and lasted one and a half seasons before folding in December 1992.
The Rochester Zeniths were a professional basketball team in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). They played in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester at the Dome Arena and in downtown Rochester, New York, at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. They existed for six basketball seasons, winning two league titles and generally had great success on the basketball court before they disbanded after the 1982/83 season.
The Rapid City Thrillers were a semi-professional basketball team in Rapid City, South Dakota, that competed in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) beginning in the 1987 season. They were reincarnated in 1998 as an International Basketball Association franchise. One of the many notable players of the team was Keith Smart, who played for the Indiana Hoosiers when they won the NCAA tournament in 1987.
The Omaha Racers were an American minor league basketball team based in Omaha, Nebraska. The franchise played in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1989 to 1997. The team's franchise liage started in 1982 as the Wisconsin Flyers. The franchise spent two seasons in Rochester, Minnesota before relocating to Omaha in 1989 to become the Racers. The team's home venue was Ak-Sar-Ben Arena. Throughout the entire history of the Racers, Mike Thibault served as the team's head coach and led Omaha to appearances in two CBA Finals. The team was victorious over the Grand Rapids Hoops during the 1993 CBA Finals.
The Wichita Falls Texans were a minor league basketball team in the Continental Basketball Association from 1988 to 1994. The team was located in Wichita Falls, Texas, and played their games at D.L. Ligon Coliseum, located on the campus of Midwestern State University. The Texans won the CBA championship in 1991. Lanham Lyne was the owner of the franchise.
The Columbus Horizon is a defunct basketball team from Columbus, Ohio that played for five seasons in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1989 to 1994.
Albert White is an American former professional basketball player. White played in a variety of domestic and foreign basketball leagues. In high school, he was one of the most highly decorated basketball players in the United States. In college, he achieved success after transferring from University of Michigan to University of Missouri, but his success did not lead him to the National Basketball Association. Instead, he went to the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and has since played in various developmental and foreign basketball leagues as a professional.
David Joerger is an American professional basketball coach who is an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks 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 Cincinnati Slammers, originally the Ohio Mixers, were a professional basketball team based in Lima, Ohio from 1982 to 1984 and Cincinnati, Ohio from 1984 to 1987. They were members of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). The team was admitted into the CBA as an expansion franchise in 1982. Team owner Tom Sawyer served as the Mixers' head coach during their two season. Jerry Robinson underwrote the re-location of the franchise to Cincinnati before the 1984–85 season. Sawyer stayed on as head coach to the newly re-branded Cincinnati Slammers, but resigned during their first season at which point assistant coach Tom Thacker took over the position. Herb Brown was hired as head coach before the 1985–86 season and led the team until they went defunct following the 1986–87 season.
The Flint United are a professional basketball team in Flint, Michigan, and members of The Basketball League (TBL).