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 National Basketball Association (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.
Vernon Earl Monroe is an American former professional basketball player. He played for two teams, the Baltimore Bullets and the New York Knicks, during his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Both teams have retired Monroe's number. Due to his on-court success and flashy style of play, Monroe was given the nicknames "Black Jesus" and "Earl the Pearl". Monroe was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990 and the International Sports Hall of Fame in 2013. In 1996, Monroe was named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, and in 2021, Monroe was named as one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history.
Donald Frank Cheadle Jr. is an American actor. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including two Grammy Awards, a Tony Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has also earned nominations for an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, and 11 Primetime Emmy Awards. His Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony nominations make him one of few black individuals to be nominated for the four major American entertainment awards (EGOT).
Erik Ki La Salle, professionally known as Eriq La Salle, is an American actor, director, writer and producer. La Salle is known for his performance as Dr. Peter Benton in the NBC medical drama ER which earned him three NAACP Image Awards and nominations for a Golden Globe Award and three Primetime Emmy Awards.
Earl Manigault was an American street basketball player who was nicknamed "the Goat" or "the Lip". He is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players never to have played in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Introducing Dorothy Dandridge is a 1999 American biographical drama television film directed by Martha Coolidge and written by Shonda Rhimes and Scott Abbott, based on the 1991 biography Dorothy Dandridge by Earl Mills. Filmed over a span of a few weeks in early 1998, the film stars Halle Berry as actress and singer Dorothy Dandridge and premiered on HBO on August 21, 1999. The original music score was composed by Elmer Bernstein, who had known Dandridge and Otto Preminger.
Mike Salonga Cortez is a Filipino-American professional basketball coach and former player. He is an assistant coach for the Blackwater Bossing of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He played for eight franchises during his career in the PBA. Cortez gained prominence in the amateur ranks for the De La Salle Green Archers in the UAAP and the ICTSI Archers in the Philippine Basketball League. In 2003, he was the first overall pick of Alaska Aces in the 2003 PBA draft.
The La Salle Explorers men's basketball program represents La Salle University in college basketball.
Freddie Abuda is a Filipino former basketball player and assistant coach. Abuda gained the moniker The Scavenger as a large proportion of his points were the result of his scoring on a follow-up after rebounding a teammate's missed shot while playing in the Philippine Basketball Associations (PBA).
James "Fly" Williams is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) for the Spirits of St. Louis and for multiple teams in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). A street basketball player from New York, he once scored 100 points in an IS8 League game in 1978.
Lawrence T. Cannon was an American basketball player. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Cannon was selected in the first round of the 1969 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls with the fifth overall pick. Cannon was an American Basketball Association All-Star, who averaged 16.6 points per game in his ABA/NBA career after his All-American career at La Salle University. Cannon was forced to retire from basketball due to a chronic medical condition, phlebitis in his legs. Cannon died on May 29, 2024, at the age of 77.
The 1953–54 La Salle Explorers men's basketball team represented La Salle University in the 1953–54 NCAA men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Ken Loeffler. La Salle won the 1954 NCAA basketball tournament.
Gary Maloncon is a former college and professional basketball player and actor. He is listed at 6 ft 8 in (203 cm).
Jeron Alvin Uy Teng is a Filipino professional basketball player for the San Miguel Beermen of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). As a PBA player, he usually starts at the swingman position but occasionally plays as a power forward during the Philippine Cup. A renowned prodigy, he holds multiple high school records for the Xavier Golden Stallions. After his famous high school career, he played for the De La Salle Green Archers in the UAAP with equally great success. He won a couple UAAP championships as the team captain and has the rare distinction of simultaneously winning two UAAP finals MVP awards.
Nigel Patrick Miguel is a Belizean-American actor, film producer, and technical advisor who is the film commissioner for Belize. He is also a former professional basketball player. A native of Belize, he immigrated to the United States when he was six, and holds dual citizenship with both countries.
The 44th NAACP Image Awards ceremony, presented by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), honored the best in film, television, recording, and literature of 2012. The ceremony took place on February 1, 2013, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, aired live on NBC and was hosted by Steve Harvey.
The 47th Image Awards, was presented by the NAACP, commemorating roles, talents, and achievements of people of color in film, television, music and literature during the 2015 calendar year. This ceremony was hosted for the third time by Anthony Anderson on the TV One network.
The 1989–90 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1989 and ended with the Final Four at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado on April 2, 1990. The UNLV Runnin' Rebels won their first NCAA national championship with a 103–73 victory over the Duke Blue Devils.
