Independent Basketball Association

Last updated
Independent Basketball Association
IndependentBasketballAssociation.PNG
Sport Basketball
FoundedOctober 2011
First season2011-12
CeasedJuly 2017
No. of teams8
Country United States
Continent FIBA Americas (Americas)
Last
champion(s)
St. Louis Trotters (Spring 2017)
Most titles Kankakee County Soldiers (6)
Official website www.IBAball.net

The Independent Basketball Association (IBA) was a semi-professional men's basketball league that began play in the fall of 2011. The six charter members were Battle Creek Knights, Chicago Redline, Gary Splash, Kankakee County Soldiers, Lake County Stars and Rockford Riverdawgs. [1]

Contents

The IBA played two separate seasons each calendar year: a Spring season (March–June) and a Fall season (September–January). Teams competed in one or both league competitions.

The last commissioner of the IBA was Barry Bradford, president of the Kankakee County Soldiers.

History

The first league championship (2011–12) was won by the Kankakee County Soldiers, who also won the 2012 Spring season championship.

In the Spring of 2012 the league expanded beyond its midwest footprint, adding a total of seven teams: Albany Legends, Kenosha Ballers, Lansing Capitals, Los Angeles Lightning, Malibu Pirates, Springfield Xpress [2] and St. Louis Trotters.

The Holland Dream were added to the IBA for its third season in 2012–13, bringing the league total to 14 teams.

IBA and PBL joined forces in 2013, but the merger was short-lived. Travel issues, questions of league rules and other issues were too much to overcome and the two parted ways [3] before the end of the Spring season.

2013-14 began with the addition of the Windy City Blazers, who played previously as the Windy City Monsters in the ABA. Grand Rapids Fusion and Markham City Racers entered league play for the 2014 Spring season.

In the Fall season of 2014-15 four teams (Binghamton Pioneers, Jersey G-Force, Kansas City Kryptonite, and Toronto 3D) played a partial schedule in anticipation of full league membership in 2015. CyFair Cobras, Houston Xperience and Louisiana Soul also were to compete as "branding teams" in the Fall season. None played an IBA game.

In December 2014 Schenectady Legends captured their first IBA championship, defeating Kenosha 154–137. [4] Albany High School graduate Lloyd "Pooh" Johnson score an IBA championship game record 61 points and was named the game MVP. [5]

Kankakee County won their league-best sixth championship in the Fall of 2015 by avenging their finals loss to St. Louis for the Spring title.

Teams

TeamCityArenaFoundedFirst season in IBA
Grand Rapids Fusion Grand Rapids, Michigan City High Middle School 20142014
Kenosha Ballers Kenosha, Wisconsin Boys & Girls Club of Kenosha 19952012
Memphis Blues Memphis, Tennessee Bert Ferguson Community Center20162017
Milwaukee Falcons Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee Academy of Science20162016
Peoria Panthers Peoria, Illinois Peoria High School 20132017
St. Louis Trotters St. Louis, Missouri Mathews-Dickey Boy's & Girl's Club19702011
Vehicle City Royals Flint, Michigan Hamady High School 2017
Windy City Blazers Aurora, Illinois Prisco Community Center20112013

Former teams

TeamCityArenaFoundedLast season in IBA
Battle Creek Flight Battle Creek, Michigan Kellogg Arena 20042011
Binghamton Pioneers ^ Binghamton, New York Binghamton High School 20142014
Chicago Redline Chicago, Illinois Calument Park Recreation Center20112013
Gary Splash Gary, Indiana Genesis Convention Center 20102013
Holland Dream Holland, Michigan Holland Civic Center 20052012
Illinois Hoopville Warriors Belleville, Illinois Hoopville Athletic Center20102016
International Racers Lemont, Illinois Lithuanian World Center20142014
Jersey G-Force ^ Union City, New Jersey Union City Sports Complex20112014
Kankakee County Soldiers Kankakee, Illinois KVPD RecCenter20072016
Kansas City Kryptonite ^ Kansas City, Kansas travel team20142014
Lake County Stars Deerfield, Illinois Trinity International University 20112014
Lansing Capitals Dimondale, Michigan Aim High Sports20062016
Los Angeles Lightning Thousand Oaks, California Gilbert Sports Arena 20072012
Malibu Pirates Moorpark, California Moorpark High School 20122012
Rockford Riverdawgs Loves Park, Illinois Clinton Sports Complex20102011
Schenectady Legends Scotia, New York Scotia-Glenville High School20102014
Springfield Xpress Springfield, Illinois Lanphier High School 20122013
Toronto 3D ^ Toronto, Ontario The RISE Centre20142014

^ = affiliate members (did not compete for championship)

Champions

SeasonChampionRunner-upResult
2011 Fall Kankakee County Soldiers Gary Splash2-0 (best-of 3 series)
2012 Spring Kankakee County Soldiers Albany Legends 150-116
2012 Fall Kankakee County Soldiers Battle Creek Knights 2-1 (best-of 3 series)
2013 Spring Kankakee County Soldiers Gary Splash116-99
2013 Fall Kankakee County Soldiers St. Louis Trotters 118-112
2014 SpringGrand Rapids FusionMarkham City Racers104-92 [6]
2014 Fall Schenectady Legends Kenosha Ballers154-137
2015 Spring St. Louis Trotters Kankakee County Soldiers 100-85
2015 Fall Kankakee County Soldiers St. Louis Trotters 95-81
2016 SpringKenosha Ballers St. Louis Trotters 87-83
2016 FallKenosha BallersMilwaukee Falcons117-98
2017 Spring St. Louis Trotters Windy City Blazers123-116

Awards

SeasonLeague MVPDefensive Player of the YearCoach of the YearGeneral Manager of the Year
2011 FallRyan Edwards, Kankakee County SoldiersChris Wesby, Gary SplashBarry Bradford, Kankakee County SoldiersMelvin Smith, Rockford Riverdawgs
2012 FallBilly Baptist, Kankakee County SoldiersThomas Cobbs, Kenosha BallersTerry Sare, Battle Creek KnightsBarry Bradford, Kankakee County Soldiers
2013 FallRyan Edwards, Kankakee County SoldiersWillie Davis, St. Louis TrottersHarold Webster, St. Louis TrottersBarry Bradford, Kankakee County Soldiers
2014 FallLloyd Johnson, Schenectady LegendsNicholas Reed, St. Louis TrottersScott Knapp, Schenectady LegendsMike Ceolho, Schenectady Legends
2015 FallJay Bradford, Kankakee County SoldiersBarry Bradford, Kankakee County Soldiers
2016 SpringNicholas Reed, St. Louis TrottersThomas Cobbs, Kenosha BallersTony Moore, Kenosha BallersTony Moore, Kenosha Ballers
2016 FallDevron Bostick, Kenosha BallersThomas Cobbs, Kenosha BallersRichard Moe, Milwaukee Falcons

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frontier League</span> Baseball league in the United States and Canada

The Frontier League is a professional baseball league based in the East North Central and Mid-Atlantic United States, and Central Canada. It operates as one of four Major League Baseball (MLB) Partner Leagues in the American independent baseball league system. Founded in 1993, the Frontier League is the oldest extant independent baseball league in North America to have never organized under the Minor League Baseball system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midwest League</span> American Minor League baseball league

The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues.

The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to early-summer schedule. The league quickly became known as a development league for players, with many players moving up to the NBA and many more playing in Europe after stints here. In 1996, the league made a stock offering, a rarity among sports leagues. However, in later years, the league declined as rival leagues appeared and USBL had a tougher time replacing teams that folded. In the last two seasons, the league was mainly a midwestern league, with teams mainly in Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. After speculation that the USBL might fold after the 2007 season, the league announced that it would sit out the 2008 season and consider its options for the future. In January 2010, the league expressed hopes to resume play in April 2010. However, no further news has surfaced from the league. The final champions are the Kansas Cagerz, who won the title game on July 1, 2007.

The International Basketball League (IBL) was a semi-professional men's basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States to join. The IBL also sometimes featured teams from China and Japan which temporarily relocated to the United States for the IBL season. The IBL season typically ran from the end of March through July.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holland Dream</span>

The Holland Dream was a semi-professional basketball team in the Independent Basketball Association based in Holland, Michigan. The team began as the Holland Blast, and changed its name when the team entered the IBA. The team was last owned by Tom Moore. The Dream played at the Holland Civic Center, former home of Hope College, who moved into the new DeVos Fieldhouse. They were members of the International Basketball League from 2005 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Basketball League</span>

The United Basketball League is a spring semi-professional basketball league based in the Southern United States.

The Kankakee County Soldiers was a semi-professional basketball team of the Independent Basketball Association (IBA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schenectady Legends</span>

Formed in 2010, the Schenectady Legends were a semi-professional basketball team in the Independent Basketball Association (IBA). The franchise was originally known as the Albany Legends, changing their name in 2014 with a move to Schenectady. They folded in 2017 with the end of the Independent Basketball Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in New York's Capital District</span>

Sports in New York's Capital District are very popular, and there is a rich history of professional teams and college athletics.

The Bloomington Flex were a professional minor league basketball team based in Bloomington, Illinois. The Flex last played in the Midwest Professional Basketball Association (MPBA) in 2015.

The 1947 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season marked the fifth season of the circuit. The teams Fort Wayne Daisies, Grand Rapids Chicks, Kenosha Comets, Muskegon Lassies, Peoria Redwings, Racine Belles, Rockford Peaches and South Bend Blue Sox competed through a 112-game schedule. The final Shaugnessy playoffs faced second place Grand Rapids against third place Racine in a Best of Seven Series.

The 1948 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season marked the sixth season of the circuit. The AAGPBL grew to an all-time peak of ten teams in that season, representing Eastern and Western zones, just in the first year the circuit shifted to strictly overhand pitching. Other modifications occurred during 1948. The ball was decreased in size from 11+12 inches (290 mm) to 10+38 inches (260 mm), while the base paths were lengthened to 72 feet and the pitching distance increased to 50 feet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Rapids Gold</span> American professional basketball team of the NBA G League

The Grand Rapids Gold are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Denver Nuggets. The Gold play their home games at Van Andel Arena. They began play as the Anaheim Arsenal in 2006, before relocating to Springfield, Massachusetts, in 2009, becoming the Springfield Armor. After five seasons in Springfield, the franchise moved to Grand Rapids in 2014 and were subsequently renamed the Grand Rapids Drive, before changing their name again to the Gold in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midwest Professional Basketball Association</span>

The Midwest Professional Basketball Association (MPBA) was a professional men's basketball league that began play in January 2015. The six charter members were: Bloomington Flex, Champaign Swarm, Chicago Force, Gateway Steam, St. Louis RiverSharks and Windy City Groove.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Basketball Association</span> Semi-professional mens basketball league

The Central Basketball Association (CBA) was a semi-professional men's basketball league that began play in the spring of 2013. The league schedule typically began in March and ended in May.

Scott Knapp is an American basketball player from Sherrill, New York, and former American basketball head coach of the Schenectady Legends of the Independent Basketball Association (IBA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisiana Soul</span>

The Louisiana Soul were a semi-professional basketball team playing in the Universal Basketball Association (UBA). Established in 2013 the team was originally known as the Lafayette Legends, changing names in July 2014.

The North American Basketball League (NABL) was an American minor professional basketball league organization founded in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mid-South Basketball Association</span> Minor league mens basketball circuit

The Mid-South Basketball Association (MSBA) was a minor league men's basketball circuit that began play in the spring of 2019 with teams in Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee. The league had two seasons per calendar year.

References

  1. "Battle Creek Knights to join new league". USbasket. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  2. "New basketball league brings hoops to Springfield". Illinois Times. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  3. "The nasty breakup and the online sniping". Times Union. 3 June 2013.
  4. "Schenectady Legends Win First IBA Championship". USbasket. 14 December 2014.
  5. "Knapp goes undefeated in first season as coach". The Daily Gazette. 17 December 2014.
  6. "Grand Rapids Fusion are Spring Champions". USbasket. Retrieved 9 June 2014.