The Miami Midnites culminated their third season in the Florida Basketball Association (FBA) with a three-peat. The Midnites, the official Minor League affiliate of the 2012-13 Israeli Super League champion Maccabi Haifa basketball team, won their third consecutive FBA championship when they defeated the Space Coast Stars 126-108 on Aug. 14 at the site of their home court, the David Posnack Jewish Community Center in Davie. The Midnites' successful year also include winning the recent first annual Kenny Boynton Celebrity Basketball Tournament hosted by American professional basketball players Josh Howard (6'7''-F-80, college: Wake Forest) and Trevor Booker (6'8''-F-87, college: Clemson) at Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach. The team will next play for a good cause when they host the Maccabi Haifa team in a charity game on Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. at Scheck Hillel Community School in North Miami Beach. Proceeds from the game will benefit the charity program Haifa Hoops for Kids, a joint initiative between Maccabi Haifa and the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest New Jersey. Jeffrey Rosen, owner for Maccabi Haifa and the Midnites, stated in an email: "I'm very proud of the success of the Miami Midnites organization." "We're all about building bridges between the U.S. and Israel," Rosen continued. "It's an honor to be able to bring our Maccabi Haifa basketball team from Israel all the way to Miami for a charity game on Oct. 6 to raise donations for our Haifa Hoops for Kids program, which benefits underprivileged and special needs children in Israel." The Midnites, established in 2014, finished the 2016 FBA season with a 9-1 record and have gone a combined 36-2 over three seasons in the league. They also finished as the 2015 American Basketball Association runner-up as they compete year-round in two leagues. Point guard Amir Celestine (6'1''-G-90), who has played with the team for three seasons, said it's an "amazing feeling" to three-peat and attributes the team's success to its "chemistry" among players. "Everyone is family and has bought into the system and we play for each other instead of as individuals," Celestin said. Head Coach Damon Wilcox echoed Celstin's sentiments, noting that the team's chemistry is a key component to its success. "Everyone has bought into the Midnite way and the Midnite way is giving up what you want to do individually and do what's best collectively for the overall good of the team," Wilcox said. At the two-day Kenny Boynton Celebrity Basketball Tournament, the team took home the $10,000 cash prize and went an undefeated 5-0. The tournament hosted 20 teams from Florida, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Celestin, who averaged 16.6 points and 4.4 rebounds over five games in the tournament, said: " I've played in a couple of tournaments before and never really got a chance to win so to play well, go undefeated in the tournament and come out as the winner was great for us."Celestin, who also has experience playing for Maccabi Haifa, is looking forward to playing his former team in the upcoming charity game at Scheck Hillel. "I'm looking forward to that event. Having played on both teams, it's going to be a fun night for me," he said. "It's going to be good to see my former teammates." Wilcox said that this upcoming charity game against the Midnites' parent club is for a "great cause" but also noted: "We're looking forward to it as our next opportunity." "In regards to the Miami Midnites, we're coming to play," Wilcox continued. "This is our next chance for us to get better and that's what we always preach, that it's a new opportunity, but it's always the same formula." Regarding his experience playing for Maccabi Haifa, Celestin said: "It was a wonderful experience to learn about the culture in Israel and everything the country has to offer." "Everyone was amazing," he said regarding Israel. "To me, playing for Maccabi Haifa was great. There was great competition, great coaching staff and great management. It was one of the best experiences of my life." Courtesy of: sun-sentinel.com
The Space Coast Stars remain undefeated - 18 days ago
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The Space Coast Stars remain undefeated at the start of 2018 season in FBA. In the latest game they beat the Florida Flight in Melbourne 110-97. The Florida Flight suffered their first loss and dropped at 1-1 record. The Palm Beach Knights meanwhile win on the road against the Poinciana Pride 110-90. They improved to a 2-1 record, while the Pride is still winless with a 0-3 record. [read more]
The Space Coast Stars remain undefeated at the start of 2018 season in FBA. In the latest game they beat the Florida Flight in Melbourne 110-97. The Florida Flight suffered their first loss and dropped at 1-1 record. The Palm Beach Knights meanwhile win on the road against the Poinciana Pride 110-90. They improved to a 2-1 record, while the Pride is still winless with a 0-3 record.
Florida Flight add 2-time NCAA Champion and NBA veteran Chris Richard as player development coach - 1 month ago
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The Florida Flight bolstered its coaching staff this week by adding Florida Gator Chris Richard(6'9''-F/C-84, college: Florida) as the team's Player Development Coach. Richard brings a wealth of championship experience to the Flight. As a high school standout, he led Kathleen High School to a state championship in 2001, while also garnering the Mr. Basketball award and Player of the year honors in Florida. In college, he continued his championship-winning ways, playing a significant role... [read more]
The Florida Flight bolstered its coaching staff this week by adding Florida Gator Chris Richard (6'9''-F/C-84, college: Florida) as the team's Player Development Coach. Richard brings a wealth of championship experience to the Flight. As a high school standout, he led Kathleen High School to a state championship in 2001, while also garnering the Mr. Basketball award and Player of the year honors in Florida. In college, he continued his championship-winning ways, playing a significant role in helping the University of Florida win back to back NCAA Championships in 2006 and 2007. In 2007, he was also named the Southeastern Conference Sixth Man of the Year. Following four successful years as a Gator, the Minnesota Timberwolves Updated CPA Logoselected Richard with their 41st pick in the second round of the 2007 NBA draft. After one season with the Timberwolves and another with the Bulls, Richard signed with the Liaoning Panpan Dinosaurs of the Chinese Basketball Association. 'The addition of Chris Richard to our staff will have an extraordinary impact on our team this season, said Flight Head Coach Mark King. 'I met Chris at the Orlando Magic Coaches Clinic last year. He brings a championship pedigree that you have to respect and admire. His presence in practice and on the sidelines will have an immediate impact on our players.' 'I'm beyond excited to join the Florida Flight's coaching staff as the Player Development Coach! I watched these guys play and saw a team that loves to compete, plays physical and most importantly, enjoys playing together. I'm looking forward to working with the Flight organization to help build on the foundation that Coach King has already laid!' Richard's first official practice as the Flight Player Development Coach will be Tuesday, January 10th, at the team's weekly Flight School workout. Flight School is an innovative meshing of drills, skill development and scrimmages designed to help the team evaluate non-recruited talent from players desiring to play for the Flight. The team will use Flight School to finalize their training camp roster by February 3rd. The 2018 FBA season will begin in March. Courtesy of: flighthoops.wordpress.com
Windermere up next for FBA expansion - 5 months ago
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The Florida Basketball Association (FBA) has approved plans for the Windermere Rain, the second of three expansion teams being added for the upcoming 2018 season. The team will be led by Andrew Haas, the former General Manager of the Florida Flight. In his time with the Flight, Haas was involved with everything from sports management, corporate relationships, social media marketing, player coaching and development [read more]
The Florida Basketball Association (FBA) has approved plans for the Windermere Rain, the second of three expansion teams being added for the upcoming 2018 season. The team will be led by Andrew Haas, the former General Manager of the Florida Flight. In his time with the Flight, Haas was involved with everything from sports management, corporate relationships, social media marketing, player coaching and development. He's also assisted in generating strategic relationships with both domestic and international teams. 'Andrew brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from his time with the Florida Flight,' said FBA Commissioner Greg Kite. 'He's had the benefit of seeing what works and what doesn't in the central Florida area, and those experiences should help this team to find an accelerated path towards success.' The Rain will play their home games at Windermere Preparatory School, a 12 college preparatory school in Lake Butler, an unincorporated area in Orange County, Florida. 'I'm super excited to transition from executive to owner. It has always been a huge dream of mine to own my own professional basketball team,' said Haas. 'I know the challenges that lie ahead, but I feel confident that with my experience over the last 10 years, we'll be able to bring something new and exciting to the Windermere community.' The upcoming FBA season will begin in March of 2018. Tryouts for the Rain will be announced in the coming weeks. Courtesy of: floridabasketballassociation.wordpress.com
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