International Basketball League
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- This article is about the International Basketball League formed in 2004. See International Basketball League (1999-2001) for information on the original unrelated International Basketball League.
 International Basketball League Logo |
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| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2004 |
| Inaugural season | 2005 |
| No. of teams | 18 |
| Country(ies) |  Canada (2 teams) United States (16 teams) |
| Continent | FIBA Americas (Americas) |
| Most recent champion(s) | Vancouver Volcanoes (1st title) (summer) Kankakee County Soldiers (1st title) (winter) |
| Most titles | Elkhart Express (2 titles) |
| Official website | www.IBLHoopsOnline.com |
The International Basketball League (IBL) is a professional men's spring basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast, Rocky Mountains, Western Canada, and the Midwest. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States. They have also featured teams from the People's Republic of China and Japan which temporarily relocated to the United States for the IBL season. The IBL summer season runs from the end of March through June with playoffs in July. The IBL winter season runs from the end of November through January with playoffs in January.
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[edit] History
Founded by Portland area sports promoter Mikal Duilio, the league features rules designed to create a fast-paced, high-scoring brand of basketball. Duilio first began planning for the league with a series of test games in Portland and Seattle in November 2003. These games featured a mixture of traditional college and NBA rules, plus three rules created specifically for the league:
- 1. The "Immediate Inbound" Rule: After a made basket, the referee will throw the ball to a nearby player, instead of a player throwing in the ball from under the basket, to eliminate wasted time.
- 2. A 22-second shot clock is used instead of the NBA's 24. A defensive non-shooting foul or kicked ball resets it to 12.
The test games proved popular and resulted in the founding of the IBL in August 2004. Founded with 8 teams, the league expanded to 17 by the start of the season in April 2005. Each team played approximately 20 regular season games, most of them centered around their home region, with the teams with the two best records playing in a championship game at the end of the season. The Battle Creek Knights won the inaugural title by going undefeated in the regular season and beating the Dayton Jets in the finals.
In the league's first year, the up-tempo rules resulted in the average team scoring 126.9 points per game, nearly 30 points more than the NBA team average in 2004-05, and slightly higher than the NBA record for points per game by a team in a single season, set by the Denver Nuggets in 1981-82.
In 2010, the league launched a winter division which saw 9 different teams compete. Four teams played an entire schedule and thus made them eligible for the playoffs.[1]
[edit] Teams
[edit] 2012 Teams
[edit] Full Members
| Team | City | Arena | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albany Legends | Albany, New York | Christian Brothers Academy | 2010 |
| Bellingham Slam | Bellingham, Washington | Whatcom Pavilion | 2005[2] |
| Edmonton Energy | Edmonton, Alberta | GO Centre | 2007 |
| Great Lakes All-Stars | Road Only Team | N/A | 2010 |
| Los Angeles Lightning | Thousand Oaks, California | Gilbert Sports Arena | 2008 |
| Olympia Reign | Olympia, Washington | Little Creek Casino | 2008 |
| Portland Chinooks | Beaverton, Oregon | Beaverton Hoop YMCA | 2009 |
| USA All-Stars | Portland, Oregon | Road-Only | 2008 |
| Vancouver Volcanoes | Vancouver, Washington | O'Connell Sports Center | 2005 |
| West Coast Hotshots | Bend, Oregon | Mountain View High School | 2005 |
[edit] Branding Teams
| Team | City | Arena | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Raptors | Phoenix, Arizona | Precision High School | 2009 |
| Florida Winning Ways | Florida | 2011 | |
| Las Vegas Pride | Henderson, Nevada | Henderson International School | 2009 |
| New Jersey Titans | Hoboken, New Jersey | 2011 | |
| Ohio Hidden Gems | Columbus, Ohio | Road Only Team | 2010 |
| Tacoma Tide | Tacoma, Washington | Curtis Senior High School | 2009 |
| Yakima 2011 | Yakima, Washington | Yakima SunDome | 2010 |
| Yamhill Highflyers | McMinnville, Oregon | McMinnville High School, Linfield College | 2009 |
[edit] Joined other leagues
- Akron Cougars (joined the Universal Basketball League. The league folded before the first season.)
- Battle Creek Knights (joined the Independent Basketball Association[3])
- Dayton Air Strikers (rejoined the Premier Basketball League)
- Gary Splash (joined the Independent Basketball Association[4]
- Holland Blast (joined the Independent Basketball Association)
- Lake County All-Stars (joined the Independent Basketball Association)
- Lansing Capitals (joined the Independent Basketball Association)
- Kankakee County Soldiers (left to form the Independent Basketball Association[5])
- Salem Stampede (joined the National Athletic Basketball League)
- Santa Barbara Breakers (joined the West Coast Pro Basketball League)
- Snohomish County Explosion (joined the National Athletic Basketball League)
- Washington Raptors (joined the American Basketball Association)
- West Virginia Wild (joined the National Professional Basketball League then the American Basketball Association)
[edit] Complete team list
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[edit] IBL Champions
| Year | Champion | Score | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Battle Creek Knights | 124-121 | Dayton Jets |
| 2006 | Elkhart Express | 119-108 (OT) | Columbus Cyclones |
| 2007 | Elkhart Express | 113-109 | Portland Chinooks |
| 2008 | Bellingham Slam | 118-111 | Elkhart Express |
| 2009 | L.A. Lightning | 2 games - 1 game | Oregon Waves |
| 2010 Summer | Albany Legends | 126-111 | Bellingham Slam |
| 2010 Winter | Kankakee County Soldiers | 88-87 | Gary Splash |
| 2011 Summer | Vancouver Volcanoes | 124-116 | Edmonton Energy |
[edit] Championships by Team
| Team | Championships | Summer Years | Winter Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elkhart Express | 2 | 2006, 2007 | |
| Albany Legends | 1 | 2010 | |
| Battle Creek Knights | 1 | 2005 | |
| Bellingham Slam | 1 | 2008 | |
| Kankakee County Soldiers | 1 | 2010 | |
| Los Angeles Lightning | 1 | 2009 | |
| Vancouver Volcanoes | 1 | 2011 |
[edit] Notable people
[edit] Commissioners
- Sharleen Graf - Present
- Mikal Duilio - Commissioner from 2004–July 2011
[edit] Players
- Kyle Keyes, point guard for the Vancouver Titans, is the son of famous adult film actor Johnny Keyes.
- Bryon Russell, former Utah Jazz star
- Dennis Rodman, former Chicago Bulls player and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member
- Tim Hardaway, former Golden State Warriors star
- Toby Bailey, former UCLA player and NCAA Champion and NBA player
- Fred Vinson, former Seattle SuperSonics player and current NBA Assistant Coach
- Lamond Murray, 13 year NBA Veteran
- Shawn Kemp, former Seattle SuperSonics star
- David Jackson, former NBA player and Euroleague player, former Oregon Duck
- Bryson Mackenzie, NBA Summerleague
- Russ Hicks, NBA Training Camp (LA Lakers)
[edit] Coaches
- Logan Vander Velden, head coach of the Battle Creek Knights and former Los Angeles Clipper [10]
- Rob Ridnour, head coach of the Bellingham Slam and father of Minnesota Timberwolves guard Luke Ridnour
[edit] Final Regular Season Standings
Further information: International Basketball League Regular Season Standings
[edit] Minor notes
- ^ IBL 2010/11 Winter Division Championship Tournament
- ^ The Bellingham Slam played their first two seasons in the American Basketball Association and moved to IBL in 2007.
- ^ Weekly Sports and Franchise Report
- ^ Weekly Sports and Franchise Report
- ^ Weekly Sports and Franchise Report
- ^ Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
- ^ Titans Decline to Participate on 2011 IBL Season
- ^ Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
- ^ Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
- ^ 27 Dec 2007. "Vander Velden takes the helm in Battle Creek." IBLHoopsOnline. 24 Oct. 2006. International Basketball League. <http://www.iblhoopsonline.com/documents/MicrosoftWord-VanderVeldentakesthehelminBattleCreek.pdf>.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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