POSTED BY: Eurobasket News
Ten questions with USBA president Duane Jenkins
1) First off, talk a little bit about the evolution of the league and how it came to be.
/Well where do I begin? In the spring of 1999, I was assigned to officiate basketball games at the Suwanee Sports Academy in Suwanee, Ga. The United States Basketball League (USBL) had a team there called the Atlanta Trojans. The owner of the Academy, Paul Kinney approached me to help garner sponsorships for the team. I was amazed at the popularity of this league. Shortly thereafter I approached the home office of the USBL to inquire about franchise ownership. Originally I wanted to place teams in Savannah and Macon, Ga., however the USBL and I were unable to negotiate a deal. /
/My interest in basketball remained very high. In the fall of 2005 I replied to an advertisement placed by the World Basketball Association (WBA). I meet with the two principle owners and they invited me to sit in on an owners meeting. I was so impressed that I signed an agreement to create advertising and sponsorship products for four of their teams. Due to some problems with the league and a legal battle that took place, I decided to withdraw myself from the league. At that time Ed Krinsky then the Director of Operations was being attacked by the WBA, Ed and I began to talk about creating franchises for the Southeast United States. I began to write, what I thought to be proper league procedure. I convinced three of my clients to purchase franchises in the USBL: Savannah, GA; Macon, GA; and Nashville, TN. We then started up the USBA on July 7, 2007.
/2) All ten of your teams are in the southeast region of the US; why this particular region?//
/First of all I love Georgia, it's a great state that's ripe with opportunities. We believe regional competition will be the key to the success of the USBA. The south is overflowing with great talent. Until we came along, there wasn't a viable league here in the south to display the talent pool of basketball players. When we pit Columbia, SC against Augusta, Georgia, you have two large southern cities within two hours driving time of each other, border war and bragging rights come into play. Every southern city loves to beat Atlanta at anything, so this is perfect for us./
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/3) You have some big names as far as coaches. Talk about some of those big names and how you were able to recruit them to work with the USBA.
/I'm astonished at the ability to attract the type of men and women to lead our teams. In Montgomery we have Mr. Wilbert Hamilton and Mr. Vincent Royal, these two gentlemen are legends in the State of Alabama and are known nationally. In Nashville we have Oliver Lee, a man who was highly recruited out of high school by the late great Al McGuire, and was Doc Rivers roommate at Marquette University. Jeff Hill, Head Coach of Birmingham Crusaders enlisted Connie Morris as his assistant, she can out play most men. I could talk about our coaches all day. /
/We've been fortunate to have attracted people who not only have a rock solid background in the game but are respected people in their communities. With the great coaching talent we've amassed for our teams, we think we have the opportunity to field great players. The final component that is needed for a great game is the quality of the referee. The USBA is extremely fortunate to have acquired the services of Simmie Lavender as our Supervisor of Officials. You can rest assure that with Mr. Lavender in charge, we now have top flight officials with extensive NCAA and D-league experience.
/4) You are marketing your teams to churches in each area. Talk a bit about the philosophy behind that part of your marketing plan.//
/We have a vested interest in our team communities and I believe the single best way to positively reach the young people is through the schools and the churches. We have set up a revenue sharing program with the universities and colleges in the cities in which we play. The schools in our team cities and the church groups assist in programs that will directly assist in the educational and cultural development of our children in these communities./
5) One of the goals of the league is to promote community service and working with inner city kids. Talk about some of the things the league will do in those areas to fulfill these goals.
/First and foremost our players and coaches will be active in the community. Each game will have two pre-games where four churches or schools will be invited to play a game before the main game. We have provided the schools and the churches with guest passes so the rest of the children can attend the game for free. Our USBA Youth Outreach programs will provide a variety of programs to each community to hopefully help them with some of the challenges facing our young people. Our programs are available to all families in our cities. The goal of the USBA is not just to give basketball players the chance to advance their careers, we will do that, but we will use the game of basketball to establish a very aggressive social agenda to do the best we can to help where ever we can.
/6) Over the past few years, the minor leagues have gotten a bad rap. What will the USBA do that is different from other leagues?//
/There is only one official basketball minor league in the United States, the National Basketball Association Development League (NBADL). The leagues on our level traditionally have not been good stewards of the game of basketball. We recognize our place in the pecking order. We will never make any claims to falsely tell a player we can get him a job in the NBA, the D-League or in Europe. We will tell our players that they will be paid for the services and if you work hard enough, the possibilities of someone approaching them to advance is good. We will try and steer our kids back to college to complete their education, as we believe a college education is a necessity in today's time. If they move up, well that's great. Our league is designed to aid develop young players in the careers on and off the court.
/7) The minors tend to come up with quirky rules such as the ABA's '3-D' rule. Can we expect to see any of those in the USBA?//
/We play by NBA rules, period, with the exception of our fines. We've adjusted the fines to reflect our pay scale. Our basketballs are the Spaulding TF-1000. The integrity of the game is paramount and must be protected.
/8) What are the standards you expect USBA players to live by both on and off the court?//
/As my grandfather said, I have zero tolerance for monkey business. The players and coaches agreements state that if anyone is convicted in as much as misdemeanor, they will be terminated from the league. I want them out of the night clubs and into the books. We play at colleges and universities, our personnel will be model citizens or they will be gone, it's as simple as that. Fighting, cursing, or blatant disrespect for the officials is also cause for termination for the league, not suspension, termination. Our fan base will see good kids play top quality basketball and we will keep our league as clean as possible.
/9) Your first season of play is just under a month away. Talk about some of the challenges you have faced leading up to opening night.//
/The list is long and arduous, We are working hard to be ready and with the leagues commitment, all should go well.
/10) When fans get to the arenas, what can they expect as far as level of play?//
/We have had great attendance at our tryouts. I have been told by our coaches that they are not surprised by the talent thus far. With a spring league, we have been able to get players from all over the United States and some International leagues. Keep in mind we are a single A division minor basketball league, however we will get a lot of super talent. /
Each game will be very entertaining. We have set in place halftime promotions as well as top quality entertainment for the fans. I'm extremely excited. We selected these communities because the interest in basketball is extremely vibrant. The folks in our towns have shared their support of our league, our teams and our civic programs. With our commitment to assist them in the community we believe this will be the start of a beautiful relationship.
For more information on the USBA, go to our website at www.usbaball.com , or call Duane Jenkins at 770-899-6388./
