| Wichita Sky Kings | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | Central |
| League | The Basketball League (TBL) 2018–present |
| Founded | 2022 |
| Arena | Fugate Gymnasium |
| Location | Wichita, Kansas |
| Head coach | Sean Flynn |
| Website | https://www.wichitaskykings.com |
The Wichita Sky Kings are an American professional basketball team from Wichita, Kansas that plays in the Central Conference of The Basketball League (TBL).
In November 2022, TBL's CEO, Evelyn Magley, announced that the Wichita Sky Kings will be playing in the Central Conference for the upcoming 2023 season. [1]
The team is owned by Lebanese-American businessman Ben Hamd. [2] Hamd is the founder of Brookwood Capital Advisors, a real estate investment company that redevelops properties across the U.S., including Wichita, Kansas. [3] According to Hamd, the team's name is a nod to Wichita's aviation history as birthplace of Cessna Aircraft Company, now owned by Textron. [4] The name "Sky Kings" derives from 1950's radio-turned TV show Sky King about a Cessna aircraft pilot of the same name. [5]
Sean Flynn was named as head coach for the Sky Kings' debut season. [6] Flynn was head coach for the Pratt Community College Beavers from 2018 to 2021 where he held a 44 and 40 record. [7] Flynn's assistant coach is former New Mexico State manager César Luján Flores. [8]
Brian Baumgartner, American actor known for playing Kevin Malone in the NBC sitcom The Office, attended the Sky Kings' opening week. [9]
Founded in 2017, The Basketball League is a men's professional basketball league with 40+ North American teams composed of players from Division 1 through Division 3 schools, as well as former NBA and international players. [10]
The Sky Kings are among eight TBL teams in the central conference, including the Enid Outlaws, Little Rock Lightning, Pearland Texas Warriors, Potawatomi Fire, Rockwall 7ers, Shreveport Mavericks, and Southeast Texas Panthers. [11]
The 2021 and 2022 TBL champions, the Enid Outlaws and the Shreveport Mavericks respectively, are in the Central Conference. [1]
| Central Conference | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enid Outlaws | Enid, Oklahoma | Stride Bank Center | 3,887 | 2020 | 2021 | |
| Little Rock Lightning | Little Rock, Arkansas | Jack Stephens Center | 5,600 | 2019 | 2021 | Armando Villanueva |
| Pearland Texas Warriors | Pearland, Texas | 2023 | ||||
| Potawatomi Fire | Shawnee, Oklahoma | FireLake Arena | 5,000 | 2021 | 2022 | Mark Dannhoff |
| Rockwall 7ers | Rockwall, Texas | Royse City High School | 2021 | 2022 | Kendrick Bryson | |
| Shreveport Mavericks | Shreveport, Louisiana | Gold Dome | 3,000 | 2006 [lower-alpha 1] | 2021 | Steve Tucker |
| Southeast Texas Panthers | Beaumont, Texas | Ford Arena | 9,737 | 2021 | 2022 | |
| Wichita Sky Kings | Wichita, Kansas | Charles Koch Arena | 10,506 | 2022 | 2023 | |
According to head coach Sean Flynn, the Sky Kings' roster is composed of players from Division I and Division II schools. Notable acquisitions include Teddy Allen, Charlie Marquardt, and Justin Moss. [1]
Teddy Allen formerly played for the New Mexico State Aggies, where he ranked 29th nationally in scoring and led the Aggies to an NCAA tournament win after scoring 37 points against Connecticut. [12] During 2022 alone, Allen was recognized as WAC Player of the Year, WAC Tournament Most Valuable Player, and WAC Newcomer of the Year. [13]
From 2018 to 2019, Charlie Marquardt played for G-League NBA team the Brooklyn Nets. [14] Marquardt went on to win the 2021 TBL championship with the Enid Outlaws and played for the Syracuse Stallions in 2022. [15]
Justin Moss formerly played for Blue Collar U, the winning team of The Basketball Tournament 2022 and a $2 million purse. [14]
| Wichita Sky Kings roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Sky King's home arena is Fugate Gymnasium, opened in 1999, is home to Potter Family Court and the Newman Men's and Women's Basketball programs, as well as Newman Volleyball and Wrestling programs, with a seating capacity of 1,242, Fugate Gymnasium brings one of the best atmospheres in small college athletics. It is also home to coaches offices, and houses the Eck Fitness Center with an aerobics and weight room. The Gymnasium also includes 6 locker rooms with an athletic training facility.
The Sky's Kings' season lasts from March through June. [1] The leagues' season ends with a championship tournament between finalists among all four TBL conferences. [10]
Pan American Center is a multi–purpose arena in Las Cruces, New Mexico, located on the campus of New Mexico State University. The arena has a current seating capacity of 12,515 people.
Mark Leo Turgeon is an American college basketball coach. Turgeon served as the head men's basketball coach at Jacksonville State University from 1998 to 2000, Wichita State University from 2000 to 2007, Texas A&M University from 2007 to 2011, and University of Maryland, College Park from 2011 to 2021.
The Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball team represents Texas A&M University in NCAA Division I college basketball. The Aggies compete in the Southeastern Conference. Since 1998, the teams has played its home games at Reed Arena, a 12,989-capacity arena in College Station, Texas on the campus of Texas A&M University. Texas A&M has appeared in the NCAA tournament 15 times, most recently in 2023. The Aggies are currently coached by Buzz Williams who was hired on April 3, 2019, prior to the start of the 2019–2020 season.
The New Mexico State University teams are called the Aggies, a nickname derived from the university's agricultural beginnings. The mascot is known as "Pistol Pete". NMSU's colors are crimson and white. Since 2023 the Aggies have competed in Conference USA in all men's and women's sports. New Mexico State sponsors six men's and ten women's teams in NCAA sanctioned sports. The athletic director is Mario Moccia, who has held the position since January 2015.
The New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team represents New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1904, the Aggies compete in Conference USA after spending 18 seasons in the Western Athletic Conference from 2005 through 2023. The Aggies, who last played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2022, are one of 34 college basketball teams with multiple NBA retired jerseys from former players and a team that reached the NCAA Final Four. The team plays home games in the Pan American Center.
The Utah State Aggies are a Division I men's college basketball team that plays in the Mountain West Conference, representing Utah State University. In the 17 years that former coach Stew Morrill was at the helm, Utah State had the 4th highest winning percentage in the nation at home, behind only Duke, Kansas, and Gonzaga. As of the end of the 2018–19 season, the Aggies have an all-time record of 1,604 wins and 1,119 losses.
The 2009–10 Utah State Aggies men's basketball team represented Utah State University in the 2009–10 college basketball season. This was head coach Stew Morrill's 12th season at Utah State. The Aggies played their home games at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum and are members of the Western Athletic Conference. They finished the season 27–8, 14–2 to capture the regular season championship for the third consecutive year. They advanced to the championship game of the 2010 WAC men's basketball tournament before losing to New Mexico State. They received an at–large bid to the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, earning a 12 seed in the South Region, where they lost to 5 seed and AP #23 Texas A&M in the first round.
The Newman Jets are the athletic teams that represent Newman University, located in Wichita, Kansas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) for most of its sports as an associate member since the 2019–20 academic year ; while its men's soccer team competes in the Great American Conference (GAC). The Jets previously competed in the D-II Heartland Conference from 2006–07 to 2018–19; and in the defunct Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1999–2000 to 2005–06.
The 2016–17 New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team represented New Mexico State University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Aggies, led by first-year head coach Paul Weir, played their home games at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico as members of the Western Athletic Conference. They finished the season 28–6, 11–3 in WAC play to finish in a tie for second place. They defeated Chicago State, UMKC, and Cal State Bakersfield to win the WAC tournament. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Baylor.
The Basketball League (TBL), formerly North America Premier Basketball (NAPB), is a professional basketball organization. The league began operating in North America in 2018 with eight teams, and expanded to 38 teams as of 2024.
The 2017–18 New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team represented New Mexico State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Aggies, led by first-year head coach Chris Jans, played their home games at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico as members of the Western Athletic Conference. They finished the season 28–6, 12–2 in WAC play to win the WAC regular season championship. In the WAC tournament, they defeated Chicago State, Seattle, and Grand Canyon to become WAC Tournament champions. They received the WAC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Clemson.
The 2019–20 Wichita State Shockers men's basketball team represented Wichita State University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They played their home games at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas and were led by head coach Gregg Marshall, who coached in his 13th and final season at the school. They are members of the American Athletic Conference.
The Enid Outlaws are an American professional basketball team based in Enid, Oklahoma, and a member of The Basketball League (TBL). For the 2021 season, their home games are played at Stride Bank Center in Enid.
The 2021 TBL season is the fourth season of The Basketball League (TBL). The season began in April and the teams are each scheduled to play 24 games.
The Omaha's Finest is a professional basketball team in Omaha, Nebraska that is a member of The Basketball League (TBL).
The 2022 TBL season is the fifth season of The Basketball League (TBL). The league expanded from 29 teams in the 2021 season to 44. For the 2022 season, the National Basketball League of Canada (NBLC) announced that they had agreed to inter-league series play with several teams from The Basketball League. The games played between the teams from the two leagues are included in their respective regular season standings for each league.
Mark Dannhoff is an American basketball coach who serves as head coach for the Potawatomi Fire of The Basketball League (TBL). He has over 30 years of experience.
The 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 7, 2022. The regular season ended on March 12, 2023, with the 2023 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament beginning with the First Four on March 14 and ending with the championship game at NRG Stadium in Houston on April 3.
Teddy Allen is an American basketball player for the Leicester Riders of the British Basketball League (BBL). He played college basketball for the New Mexico State Aggies, West Virginia, Western Nebraska Community College, and Nebraska Cornhuskers. He also attended Wichita State but never played a game for the Shockers.
The 2022–23 New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team represented New Mexico State University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Aggies were led by first-year head coach Greg Heiar and played their home games at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico as members of the Western Athletic Conference.
