International Basketball League
- 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.
File:InternationalBasketballLeaguelogo.png | |
Sport | Basketball |
---|---|
Founded | 2004 |
First season | 2005 |
No. of teams | 18 |
Country | United States Canada People's Republic of China Japan |
Most recent champion(s) | Los Angeles Lightning |
Most titles | Elkhart Express (2) |
Official website | www.iblhoopsonline.com |
The International Basketball League is a professional men's spring basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast, Rocky Mountains, Western Canada, and the Midwest. They also feature teams from the People's Republic of China and Japan which will temporarily relocate to the USA for the IBL season. The IBL season runs from the end of March through June with playoffs in July.
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. Instead of six timeouts as in an NBA game, teams are limited to only a single timeout per quarter.
- 3. A 20-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 of 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.
Teams
Current Teams
Future Teams
Team | City | Arena | 1st Season |
---|---|---|---|
Arizona Flame | Scottsdale, Arizona | Scottsdale YMCA | 2007, played a partial schedule in 2008 and 2009 and will return to full-time action in 2010.[4] |
Elgin Racers | Elgin, Illinois | Lindner Fitness Center | 2005, suspended operations for the 2009 season and will return in 2010. [5] |
Eugene Chargers | Eugene, Oregon | Morse Events Center | 2006, suspended operations for the 2008 and 2009 seasons and will return in 2010. |
Gary Steelheads | Gary, Indiana | Genesis Convention Center | 2000[6] They will sit out the 2009 season and return in 2010. |
Nevada Pride | Henderson, Nevada | Henderson International School | 2009, will play a partial schedule in their inaugural season before playing a full schedule in 2010. |
Olympia Reign | Olympia, Washington | Squaxin Island Indian Community Gym & Evergreen State College | 2008, played a partial schedule in 2008 and 2009 before playing a full schedule in 2010. |
Phoenix Red Rock Raptors | Phoenix, Arizona | TBD | 2009, will play a partial schedule in their inaugural season before playing a full schedule in 2010. |
Salem Stampede | Salem, Oregon | McKay High School | 2006-07, suspended operations for the 2008 season and will return in 2009. |
Southern Illinois Truth | Flora, Illinois | Salem High School, East Richland High School, Flora High School, & Mount Vernon High School | 2009, will play a partial schedule in their inaugural season before playing a full schedule in 2010. |
Yamhill High Flyers | McMinnville, Oregon | Patton Middle School | 2009, will play a partial schedule in their inaugural season before playing a full schedule in 2010. |
Joined other leagues
- Akron Cougars (joined the Universal Basketball League)
- Battle Creek Knights (joined the Premier Basketball League)
- Santa Barbara Breakers (joined the West Coast Pro Basketball League)
- Washington Raptors (joined the American Basketball Association (ABA))
- West Virginia Wild (joined the National Professional Basketball League then the ABA)
Complete team list
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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 |
Championships by Team
Team | Championships | Years |
---|---|---|
Elkhart Express | 2 | 2006, 2007 |
Battle Creek Knights | 1 | 2005 |
Bellingham Slam | 1 | 2008 |
Los Angeles Lightning | 1 | 2009 |
Notable people
Commissioners
- Mikal Duilio - Commissioner from 2004-Present
Players
- Kyle Keyes, point guard for the Vancouver Titans, is the son of famous adult film actor Johnny Keyes.
Coaches
- Logan Vander Velden, head coach of the Battle Creek Knights and former Los Angeles Clipper [7]
- Rob Ridnour, head coach of the Bellingham Slam and father of Milwaukee Bucks guard Luke Ridnour
Final Regular Season Standings
See article IBL Regular Season Standings
Minor notes
- ^ The Bellingham Slam played their first two seasons in the American Basketball Association and moved to IBL in 2007.
- ^ The Snohomish County Explosion were originally the Everett Explosion and relocated from Everett, Washington in 2007.
- ^ The Kankakee County Soldiers were previously the Windy City Soldiers in 2008 and the Chicago Heights Soldiers in 2007. The team was relocated from Chicago Heights, Illinois to their current location after the 2007 season.
- ^ The Flame were originally the Phoenix Flame and relocated from Phoenix, Arizona in 2008.
- ^ The Racers were originally the Windy City Dawgs and relocated from Chicago, Illinois in 2006.
- ^ The Gary Steelheads started out in the Continental Basketball Association franchise and played the 2007 season in the United States Basketball League. They joined the IBL for the 2008 season.
- ^ 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>.