| Rhode Island Gulls | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | USBL |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Dissolved | 1987 |
| Arena | Community College of Rhode Island, Warwick, RI |
| Location | Warwick, Rhode Island |
| Team colors | white, blue |
The Rhode Island Gulls was a team in the United States Basketball League (USBL) based in Warwick, Rhode Island during the 1985 and 1987 seasons. [1]
In what was the USBL's inaugural season, the Gulls finished fourth in the seven-team circuit with a 11-14 record. No playoffs were held, and the Springfield Fame were declared USBL champions. The Gulls featured 7-foot-7 Manute Bol and 5-foot-6 Spud Webb; the two future NBA stars were often on the court together. Their difference in height (a whopping 25 inches) is believed to be one of the largest between two teammates in pro basketball history.
John Williams, who later played in the NBA with the Washington Bullets, was named the USBL's Rookie of the Year; he and Bol were also named to the league's All-Star team.
The Gulls folded at the end of the 1985 season, but a new team in Rhode Island joined the USBL in 1987. In the USBL draft, the Gulls drafted 5-foot-3 Muggsy Bogues second overall. Bogues was named the league's Rookie of the Year, averaging 22.2 points and 8.4 assists per game and leading the league in minutes per game before an ankle injury ended his season. (Hank McDowell was also named to the USBL's second All-Star squad.) The Gulls finished third in the eight-team league with a 17-13 record, then defeated Philadelphia and Long Island in the playoffs to qualify for the USBL championship game. The Miami Tropics (led by former NBA All-Star World B. Free's 30 points) beat the Gulls, 103-99, in what would prove to be Rhode Island's last game; despite leading the USBL in attendance, the team disbanded again, this time for good.
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.
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