Miami Xtreme

Miami Xtreme team history:

By Jerry Bollinger

“Back in the day” as the phrase goes to anyone beginning a nostalgic thought. And so it was. The World Basketball Association had survived its first season. But not only did this fledgling league survive season 1, it did so well and drew so much interest that season 2 warranted 6 expansion teams and this is where our story begins.

Excitement was in the air in the party city of New Orleans as the commissioner of the WBA stood at the pulpit and announced “With the third pick of the World Basketball Associations expansion draft, the New Orleans Felony selects from Midland; `Eric Rapp'”

The Felony officially now have a team, there is only one player on the roster at this point but that was enough for sports bars all over New Orleans to drink a toast which, for some, quickly led to smashing drunk. As the hour long expansion draft went on the Felony would choose other unprotected players such as `Joe Brito' from Colorado and `Phil Flaherty' from London. At eves end they had a 6 player squad consisting of: Eric Rapp from Midland; Joe Brito from Colorado; Phil Flaherty from London; Chuck Patterson from New York; and Curly Whitehouse from Roswell.

At first glance one might say “Not much of a starting team.”. And if someone were to say that, that someone would be right. But what can you expect from an expansion draft. In this kind of draft all the good players are protected so basically a team is drafting a 2nd squad and not a starting rotation.

With 6 men on their team, the Felony were quick to make a move for some better players. They came to an agreement with the Gabon Giants that brought Dave Starr and Nick Evans to New Orleans in exchange for the New Orleans season 3 first round pick.

With the draft approaching, the Felony made some more moves to acquire a series of second round picks that they used to fill most of their roster. The only first round pick they had was the #25 and with that pick they selected PG Andruw Williams. With 4 second round picks the Felony continued to fill their roster with Center Jimmy Waters at pick #32, PF Chris Erickson and SF Tom Taylor with picks #40 and #41 respectively. And with their final pick of the draft at #51 the New Orleans Felony select C Glenallen Castro.

After picking up scrubs Don Sanford and Jim Pettit in free agency, the Felony has their 14 player roster filled. The Felony were ready to be the first expansion team, in their first season, to win the title. Felony flags started showing up in pubs and in car windows all over town. Fans would hang on every word of every sports cast just to hear their team name mentioned. Even Marti Gras, that year, sported the teams black and yellow colors on most every float. Even season tickets in the first year were sold out. This city was ready for basketball.

Many sports analysts criticized the General Manager for not going for some bigger names in free agency. There was also much criticism for drafting such a young team, certainly not void of talent, but void of experience.

Don Chambers of the GSPN News had this to say about our new team:

New Orleans (6-6) Talk about a team effort. This team was 8th in the preseason offensively but what's interesting is that their top scorer, Andruw Williams, only scored 13.0 per game. They had 6 players averaging double digits and 10 averaging over 7. This is a hard working bunch that just doesn't have enough talent to compete with teams like Midland and Cincinnati. Prediction: Fifth in the Midwest and miss the play-offs. 28-52

And this was written by Bo Boston of the Boston Sports Look magazine:

5. New Orleans- This team will do well, considering that they're an expansion team. They have a plethora of role players, including: Andruw Williams, Chris Erickson, Jimmy Waters, Dave Starr and Tom Taylor, among others. If the Felony want to challenge Albacete as the best expansion team, they will need to ditch the role players, and go for some stars.

For the most part, it was generally agreed that the Felony would finish 5th in their division just falling short of the playoffs.

“Not if we have anything to say about that!” was the locker room sentiment where the Felony would dress and prepare for games.

New Orleans would make the playoffs as the 7th seed. Their playoff appearance was short lived as they faced powerhouse 2nd seeded Roswell and were quickly dismissed after 3 games.

As Don Chambers said in a prior article when talking about New Orleans, they have to rely on the whole team and there is obviously no `I' in team when it comes to the Felony. Here are the season ending statistics for Felony's inaugural year into the WBA.

G MIN FG% FT% 3P% R A PF B TO STL PTS

Jimmy Waters 80 26 50.2 75.2 0.0 7.2 1.0 2.6 0.6 1.3 0.6 14.1

Andruw Williams 80 33 42.1 78.3 29.3 2.4 6.2 2.4 0.1 2.6 1.9 13.7

Chris Erickson 80 25 48.2 75.0 24.1 5.5 1.7 2.1 0.6 1.5 0.5 12.9

Dave Starr 75 31 51.9 65.9 40.9 4.3 4.1 3.3 0.5 2.4 1.0 10.8

Nick Evans 70 26 45.0 95.6 30.8 2.0 5.5 2.1 0.0 1.8 0.6 10.1

Eric Rapp 67 29 45.1 71.0 33.3 3.4 3.2 2.1 0.2 2.4 0.5 9.6

Tom Taylor 61 26 40.8 75.0 50.0 5.7 2.4 2.8 0.1 1.4 0.8 9.4

Glenallen Castr 80 21 57.6 68.2 0.0 6.2 0.6 2.7 0.5 0.9 0.3 7.9

Joe Brito 74 13 45.6 78.9 100.0 1.3 1.0 1.2 0.1 1.0 0.2 6.3

Phil Flaherty 52 13 44.1 67.4 38.3 2.2 1.0 1.3 0.2 0.8 0.4 5.5

Chuck Patterson 45 13 52.8 62.5 46.4 1.1 1.9 1.4 0.0 0.7 0.6 5.1

Curly Whitehous 37 10 47.0 73.1 0.0 2.6 0.3 2.0 0.2 0.5 0.2 3.9

Don Sanford 68 9 43.3 71.4 0.0 2.3 0.8 1.3 0.4 0.6 0.1 2.4

Jim Pettit 6 8 55.6 50.0 0.0 0.8 0.0 1.7 0.7 0.5 0.0 1.8

WBA Season 3:

As it is with every team, New Orleans looked forward to a bright new year with the expectation of finding that new `hot' rookie and hoping that the current contracted players improved themselves in the off season. Sitting with just a pair of second round picks the Felony realize they will have to rely heavily on free agency. With the #44 pick the Felony select C Bernie Cobb and with the #55 pick they select SG J.D. Yetman. Yetman was considered a steal that late in the draft and he did give the team some scoring boost but due to limited minutes (probably brought on by low shooting percentage) Yetman was not able to contribute to this team like he wanted to. Cobb on the other hand was traded to London in a six player deal and was never able to contribute to the team that drafted him. New Orleans made some other moves as well to try and boost their team. Jimmy Waters was sent to Boston in exchange for Steve Felix, Tim Elliot and a Boston season 4 2nd round pick. Neither of these acquisitions ever amounted to anything and we will eventually see that neither did that 2nd round pick. They also dealt Curly Whitehouse and Andruw Williams to London in exchange for Chuck Jensen and Nick Barton. And much like the other trade, these 2 players never attained the all star status this franchise was hoping for.

Allowing the opposition an average of 110 points per game the team struggled going 22-58 for a .275 winning percentage. The off season came early this year and many players went home hoping they still had a job for next season.

G MIN FG% FT% 3P% R A PF B TO STL PTS

Charlie Young 81 28 51.7 82.6 42.9 1.6 3.2 1.5 0.0 0.9 0.7 14.2

Nick Barton 62 30 47.0 75.6 38.6 2.7 5.4 1.0 0.1 1.2 0.9 12.8

Lew Carney 75 29 46.0 57.7 0.0 5.8 1.7 2.7 0.3 1.1 1.4 11.6

Dave Starr 80 31 52.9 73.0 16.7 4.3 4.0 3.0 0.4 2.1 1.0 11.6

J.D. Yetman 80 19 40.4 87.0 41.3 2.8 1.8 1.3 0.0 0.9 0.8 9.3

Chris Erickson 80 17 47.5 57.4 11.5 3.0 1.2 1.4 0.2 0.8 0.4 8.1

Curly Whitehous 74 17 53.8 61.6 0.0 3.6 0.3 2.6 0.2 0.8 0.3 7.5

Steve Felix 80 19 47.8 57.0 0.0 5.3 0.7 1.9 0.8 0.8 0.3 7.5

Chuck Jensen 75 22 58.7 71.9 0.0 5.3 2.2 2.9 1.1 1.4 0.7 6.8

Tim Elliott 47 15 45.5 78.4 36.3 0.6 2.5 1.3 0.0 0.8 0.7 6.3

Eric Rapp 40 14 54.0 72.2 30.0 1.3 0.9 0.9 0.1 0.6 0.2 4.8

Nick Evans 76 12 47.2 88.6 25.6 0.8 1.8 1.0 0.0 0.4 0.3 4.7

Phil Flaherty 30 11 32.9 56.3 19.0 1.5 0.4 0.9 0.2 0.3 0.1 4.0

Tom Taylor 55 11 41.3 66.7 0.0 2.8 0.9 1.0 0.1 0.5 0.4 3.8

As shown by the season ending box scores, this team still has yet to find an all star player. And though the scoring is fairly evenly distributed as a team they just are not cutting it.

WBA Season 4:

After the long summer following the 3rd season for the New Orleans Felony the team could no longer claim to be a new expansion. With the #8 pick of the draft the Felony selected PF/C Tyrique Stokes. Out of college Stokes looked like the player that would give this team its much needed boost. Stokes being young, needed a mentor and that's where C Mike Begley and PF Raul Qvevedo entered the New Orleans clubhouse. The Felony signed both Qvevedo and Begley to multi year deals in hopes that they would anchor down the front court and tutor Stokes along the way. They also drafted in the second round Bennett Mahoney and Stew Page. Neither of these second round picks lasted more than their rookie season.

Scooter Jacobs, a veteran guard/forward was also acquired in free agency and he gave the team the scoring threat that they were after. Jacobs and Begley together took this team to the playoffs only to meat a very tough Cincinnati team that quickly ushered the Felony out of the post season in a 3 game sweep. Disappointing as it was to the fans, the true sports analyst had to see this team as one that was getting better and on their way to bigger and better things.

G MIN FG% FT% 3P% R A PF B TO STL PTS

Mike Begley 80 32 45.0 91.8 0.0 7.9 1.1 3.0 1.6 1.2 0.8 16.5

Scooter Jacobs 80 40 47.6 76.3 27.8 5.8 3.2 2.5 0.5 2.1 2.0 16.5

J.D. Yetman 80 30 34.9 89.1 40.0 4.1 2.5 1.9 0.0 0.9 1.1 12.4

Raul Qvevedo 80 24 37.1 75.5 16.9 4.1 2.8 2.7 1.6 1.4 1.5 11.1

Stew Page 80 27 40.4 69.9 31.4 4.5 3.9 0.8 0.0 2.1 2.0 9.5

Tyrique Stokes 80 24 40.6 89.3 13.2 4.0 2.6 3.3 0.8 0.2 0.9 7.2

Nick Barton 79 19 45.4 83.8 34.5 1.4 3.0 0.9 0.0 0.9 0.5 5.7

Steve Felix 80 18 37.7 56.7 0.0 5.0 0.5 1.8 0.7 0.7 0.5 5.6

Chris Erickson 78 9 41.6 74.4 7.7 1.8 0.3 1.0 0.1 0.4 0.2 4.0

Tim Elliott 6 8 46.7 100.0 40.0 1.0 1.7 1.0 0.0 0.5 0.7 3.3

Nick Evans 76 8 52.6 95.0 30.0 0.5 1.1 0.4 0.0 0.4 0.2 3.2

Tom Taylor 27 9 39.8 83.3 0.0 1.9 0.7 1.0 0.0 0.7 0.3 2.8

Curly Whitehous 52 7 45.6 54.1 0.0 1.4 0.2 1.1 0.2 0.3 0.1 2.8

Bennett Mahoney 1 1 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.0

WBA Season 5:

Despite the looks of a growing fan base in New Orleans, the team ownership decided to move the team to Miami, New Mexico and change their name to the Xtreme. Feeling the change in scenery is what the team needed, the general manager feeling that they had the players to work with, traded away their first round pick and was left with only a second round pick in the draft. With that pick they selected SG Tyrell Hall. Hall was a promising guard that had, as it was said, a lot of potential. Sports writers at the time felt that Hall could become a great scorer if trained correctly but his defensive game was already there. Hall would end the season with an average of 2 steals a game, 7.5 rebounds and 13.5 points per game. The only drawback at this point was Tyrells discipline. He was only shooting 33.2% from the floor.

It didn't take long for the Miami front office to realize that this coach and GM were not the duo they wanted running their team. Both the coach and GM were forced into resignation and the ownership went in a new direction by hiring general manager Brent Bangerter who then brought in his good friend to coach (also, ironically enough, named Brent Bangerter).

With the season half over when the Brents took over the coach on GM decided to do what they could but for the most part just coast through the rest of the season. And coasting to almost a standstill is what they did. They finished almost in last place in the league only to be bested in that disgrace by the newly located team in Utah.

Team morale was down and many players knew they would not be playing in Miami the next season. For the Brents it was time to rebuild. Finishing in virtually last place will give the Xtreme a high lottery pick. They also had ownership of the Montana 1st round pick which will also be a lottery pick. Next seasons draft would be a good one.

G MIN FG% FT% 3P% R A PF B TO STL PTS

Scooter Jacobs 72 41 45.5 81.6 32.7 5.3 2.5 2.4 0.6 1.9 2.0 15.6

Raul Qvevedo 80 33 31.2 80.4 12.4 5.2 2.9 4.0 2.2 1.9 1.6 15.4

Mike Begley 80 33 41.2 94.4 0.0 7.6 1.0 3.0 1.9 1.3 0.9 15.2

Tyrell Hall 75 40 33.2 76.8 28.8 7.1 3.5 2.7 0.0 3.2 2.0 13.5

Tim Elliott 77 32 32.5 67.1 23.2 1.8 3.2 2.7 0.1 1.5 1.6 7.9

Rod Lawrence 73 21 47.3 77.2 44.4 5.0 0.9 2.0 0.4 1.0 0.4 7.4

Tyrique Stokes 80 18 42.8 86.2 24.1 2.8 1.5 2.3 0.5 0.1 0.7 5.9

Rey Benedetto 36 16 42.4 71.7 0.0 3.1 2.1 0.9 0.0 0.4 0.8 5.7

J.D. Yetman 80 11 34.5 85.0 43.5 1.4 0.6 0.7 0.0 0.6 0.4 4.2

Steve Felix 68 13 36.0 57.8 0.0 3.7 0.4 1.4 0.6 0.4 0.2 4.1

Tom Taylor 25 10 43.4 100.0 0.0 2.1 0.6 0.9 0.1 0.5 0.3 3.2

Curly Whitehous 20 9 40.9 70.0 0.0 1.6 0.2 1.5 0.3 0.3 0.2 3.0

Chris Erickson 57 9 34.3 61.5 9.1 1.6 0.4 0.8 0.1 0.5 0.2 2.8

Bennett Mahoney 6 13 23.5 33.3 0.0 1.8 1.0 0.7 0.3 0.3 0.0 1.7

WBA Season 6:

“With the #1 overall pick in the World Basketball Association season 6 draft, the Miami Xtreme select PG/SG Dave Troychak.”. Thus was the announcement on the day that marked the beginning of a great Miami season. Trochak was a player that could come into the league and immediately contribute. Miami also had the #10 pick and with that they controversially picked Jose Nobis instead of Mike Bennett. This pick later proved to show great insight on behalf of the Miami coaching staff as Bennett never really developed as the player many thought he would. After noticing that Troychak was struggling with his passing game in the major league, the Miami Xtreme quickly traded away Rod Lawrence for PG Mike Reardon. This trade would allow Troychak to just focus on scoring. And is scoring is what Troychak did. He lead his team in many games in scoring but the most impressive part of his play was that he could also play defense. Dave averaged 2.5 steals a game for the season.

The pieces were falling into place for Miami but adjustments still needed to be made. The team felt like that had a solid back court but their front court was still lacking. Mike Begley was getting older by the minute and Nick Bavos wasn't meshing with the team. Mid way through the season Miami would deal out their #10 overall pick of Jose Nobis, Nick Bavos, Jeff Jackson and a small handful of picks for powerhouse C Marty Williams and PF/C Gary Agey. This new lineup gave Miami a complete team with a starting lineup of: 1:Reardon, 2:Troychak, 3:Jacobs, 4:Agey, 5:Begley/Williams. This team went on to end the season with a better than 500 record at 41 - 39. After this most recent trade it should be noted that Miami has several 5 and 6 game winning streaks bringing the team from 10 games down in the playoff hunt to securing a playoff birth as the #7 seed.

Miami would face #2 seeded Oregon in the playoffs. Most analysts picked Miami to win and some even picked them to go clear to the conference finals. But as fate would have it, the Golden Bears were able to squeak by Miami winning the series 3 games to 2. Bill Rainwater of the Oregon Golden Bears had a career high of 50 points in game 5 that would put the Bears over the top.

This unexpected early exit from the playoffs was heartbreaking but it put a buzz in the air in Miami that gathered a tremendous amount of fan support. It was also announced that the Miami coach would be named coach of the year for his masterful turnaround of the team since the previous year. David Troychak earned rookie of the year honors as well as all rookie team honors.

This Miami team was ready to roll and Dave Troychak was going to lead the way.

G MIN FG% FT% 3P% R A PF B TO STL PTS

Dave Troychak 80 27 45.2 76.6 22.3 2.7 3.0 0.6 0.4 1.1 2.5 17.6

Scooter Jacobs 80 40 45.4 86.1 27.8 4.6 2.7 2.5 0.6 1.7 1.9 15.2

Mike Reardon 80 34 48.2 67.5 0.0 2.4 5.8 2.9 0.1 1.2 2.1 12.1

Raul Qvevedo 80 27 37.5 74.4 13.3 4.4 2.9 3.9 2.1 1.7 1.9 11.8

Marty Williams 77 29 41.6 79.6 0.0 8.6 1.9 3.6 1.3 1.6 0.6 10.9

J.D. Yetman 78 24 40.9 84.5 35.3 3.3 1.4 1.5 0.0 0.8 1.0 10.3

Mike Begley 79 21 38.4 96.6 0.0 4.4 0.6 2.2 0.9 0.7 0.5 8.3

Gary Agey 78 21 39.4 64.9 25.0 5.0 3.1 4.6 1.5 1.8 0.7 6.6

Tyrique Stokes 5 16 38.2 100.0 33.3 3.0 2.4 2.2 0.0 0.0 0.8 6.2

Jeff Jackson 79 16 40.4 80.7 47.1 1.8 3.8 1.6 0.0 0.5 0.2 5.4

Andy Davis 77 12 37.4 78.0 45.5 2.3 0.7 0.6 0.4 0.8 1.0 4.3

Steve Felix 48 10 36.9 65.2 0.0 2.9 0.1 0.8 0.4 0.4 0.1 3.1

Pat Herget 38 7 34.0 92.7 0.0 1.3 0.8 0.5 0.6 0.3 0.2 2.7

Tim Elliott 3 9 33.3 0.0 33.3 0.0 0.3 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.3

WBA Season 7:

With the excitement of a prior winning season to stand on, the Xtreme were ready to make a serious run for a conference title. But financial hard times fell on the owners of the team and they were about to sell the team to an African tycoon in the country of Ghana. The deal was just about done when the Brents were able to pool the resources of several wealthy local merchants, the citizens in the community and even the city government helped secure funds to buy the Xtreme and keep them in Miami. The new ownership would be known as the “Miami citizens co-op inc.” Everything seemed peachy at this point until a controversy over season tickets erupted. Many of the invested citizens felt that they should get free tickets to the team that they had an ownership in. After a quick but time consuming court battle the little people in the partnership learned the hard way that all investors in the co-op were equal but that there were just some more equal than others. This left a sour taste in the mouths of most people, investors and non-investors alike. The people filed a class action suit against the co-op but soon realized that the way the investment agreements were structured they really had no recourse and had to settle with the fact that they had been taken. But not all was lost, the co-op chairman agreed that all investors receive a Miami Xtreme baseball cap and a Mike Begley bobblehead doll.

As for the team, they would draft PG Johnny Burns late in the second round. They would also trade their first round pick, #14 overall, for a future 1st round pick and the #23 pick. They would then trade that #23 pick to Virgin Islands and get their prior season #10 pick, Jose Nobis, back in a Miami uniform.

They would finish the season with a losing record 37-43 but it was still enough to sneak into the playoffs as the #8 seed. Their match up against the Cancun dynasty would send the Xtreme packing in 3 games.

As this team seems to struggle, their all star shooting guard Dave Troychak keeps improving.

G MIN FG% FT% 3P% R A PF B TO STL PTS

Scooter Jacobs 80 43 49.1 77.4 32.0 5.5 3.2 3.7 0.7 1.8 2.1 17.3

Dave Troychak 80 28 42.9 72.6 23.1 3.2 3.4 0.7 0.7 1.4 2.6 16.9

Mike Reardon 80 42 48.8 63.5 0.0 2.9 7.3 3.3 0.1 1.7 2.8 15.8

Raul Qvevedo 80 25 34.8 78.0 10.9 4.5 2.3 3.2 1.9 1.3 1.5 11.6

Mike Begley 72 27 46.5 97.9 0.0 4.9 0.7 3.6 1.2 0.8 0.7 11.5

Marty Williams 80 19 45.6 84.8 0.0 5.8 1.0 2.5 0.8 0.9 0.5 7.6

J.D. Yetman 80 19 41.1 84.1 29.8 2.2 1.2 1.4 0.0 0.4 0.7 7.3

Gary Agey 80 20 37.5 66.9 16.3 5.6 3.4 3.2 1.9 1.7 0.6 5.7

Jose Nobis 41 16 40.5 100.0 7.7 4.1 1.1 2.0 1.3 1.1 1.1 5.5

Andy Davis 47 8 29.4 77.8 22.2 1.9 0.4 0.8 0.1 0.7 0.6 2.4

Johnny Burns 47 8 29.2 90.0 0.0 0.3 1.7 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.5 1.8

Pierce Shea 79 4 36.0 80.6 0.0 0.9 0.7 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.3 1.7

Pat Herget 8 2 16.7 100.0 0.0 0.6 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.1 1.0

Steve Felix 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

WBA Season 8:

Season 8 of the WBA didn't prove to be any better for the Xtreme. This would be only the second season the team did not see post season play since its 7 season existence. Miami had the #10 overall pick in the draft and with that they chose C Oshodi Bombata. Bombata was a great player for a team that didn't really need him. Miami was very deep at the 5. Bombata played most of his minutes behind John Davis at the 4. And to think this is the draft where Jarius Miles was picked #23 by Texas.

Miami picked up Woody Reynolds in exchange for Pierce Shea in a trade with Montana. And in a 3 team trade involving California and Montana, Miami acquired rebounder John Davis while giving up Mike Reardon and Raul Qvevedo. Late in the season Miami would also make another move and trade Scooter Jacobs and a first round pick for Tyler Durdan.

Despite the teams lack of performance there were some minor accolades. Marty Williams received 2nd runner up honors for most improved player. And Dave Troychak again made the all-star reserve team.

When asked about the teams slump coach Bangerter said “We are at a crossroads with our team right now. We have some great talent that is still developing and we have some veteran players who quite frankly are overpaid for their production. In 2 more seasons we will see how our young talent develops and I think the Miami fans will be pleasantly surprised.”

G MIN FG% FT% 3P% R A PF B TO STL PTS

Dave Troychak 80 32 40.3 76.0 17.7 2.7 4.2 0.8 0.6 1.5 2.7 19.5

Marty Williams 78 36 43.3 83.0 33.3 10.3 1.8 4.4 1.7 1.7 1.0 15.5

Tyler Durden 79 29 45.8 87.8 23.9 3.1 1.3 3.1 0.8 1.0 1.4 14.7

John Davis 81 37 45.6 81.9 0.0 11.0 2.6 4.1 0.2 2.0 1.8 12.9

Woody Reynolds 80 36 43.8 87.3 25.9 2.3 6.2 2.8 0.0 1.8 2.0 11.6

Jose Nobis 74 17 34.4 100.0 13.3 4.2 1.0 2.1 1.1 1.7 1.1 6.1

J.D. Yetman 75 12 42.6 88.5 34.1 1.5 0.6 1.1 0.0 0.4 0.5 4.8

Oshodi Bombata 75 13 52.4 45.0 0.0 3.1 1.1 1.4 0.8 0.5 0.3 4.8

George Grabows 80 14 43.9 84.1 18.9 0.6 2.1 0.9 0.0 0.5 0.5 4.5

Pierce Shea 34 11 27.7 69.6 0.0 2.1 1.6 0.5 0.0 0.3 0.5 4.1

Ray Walters 45 13 40.6 92.9 0.0 2.1 0.1 1.1 0.3 0.2 0.3 3.6

Andy Davis 56 12 29.6 68.8 24.3 2.3 0.8 1.0 0.4 1.1 1.0 3.4

Steve Felix 6 12 29.2 50.0 0.0 3.3 0.2 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.2 2.7

Quest Campbell 11 7 16.7 77.8 0.0 2.5 0.1 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.3 1.4

WBA Season 9:

In the 9th season of the WBA more trades were made and the Xtreme acquired PG Alvin Simpson from the Utah Highlanders. Simpson brought something to the table that Miami has needed since their acceptance into the league. Simpson was a true passer and it showed as Miami's passing game grew leaps and bounds. Miami again chose to trade its picks away rather than draft, Simpson being a product of that. Miami also was able trade for Bill Rainwater. The same SF/PF that had solely taken Miami out of the playoffs 3 seasons before. Miami had an intimidating starting line up with Simpson, Troychak, Rainwater, Davis, and Williams. The front office as well as the rest of the Miami staff felt like they had a team that could contend with the best.

As the season progressed Troychak was having a breakout year with 35+ point games. Rainwater was doing what he was hired to do. The only trick with Rainwater was keeping him out of foul trouble. Davis and Williams were dominating the boards and Simpson consistently would win weekly passing titles. Despite all that the Xtreme kept finding a way to lose and it was usually by less than 5 points.

After trying several different lineup combinations and a variety of coaching styles the Xtreme determined that the problem was with the point guard. Despite the fantastic passing ability Simpson possessed his affinity to shoot the ball whenever he touched it proved to be the downfall of Miami. With the trade deadline rapidly approaching the front office tried desperately to fix this problem but to no avail they just couldn't move Simpson.

Soon after the trade deadline the coach Brent Bangerter became distracted with other things going on in his life and could not give the game his full attention. Miami quickly fell to nearly worst in the league. Then with just about 15 games left in the season Miami went on a winning spurt. Some thought they may be able to pull it out and make the playoffs. But the last 5 games against unbeatable powerhouse teams proved those speculations wrong. Miami ended the season second to last with a record of 25-55.

On a positive note: Dave Troychak again named as an all-star reserve. He was named on the 3rd all WBA team and also on the 3rd all defensive team. Undrafted rookie Milo Chambers also proved that he can hang with the big boys. Because Chambers wasn't drafted he was snubbed by the WBA when his name wasn't put on the all rookie team ballot. Hence the best rookie point guard in the league did not make the all rookie team.

G MIN FG% FT% 3P% R A PF B TO STL PTS

Dave Troychak 79 40 41.9 75.5 16.4 3.0 5.7 1.0 0.8 2.3 3.3 24.7

Bill Rainwater 75 28 49.9 87.3 0.0 5.5 0.7 4.9 0.8 3.4 0.8 16.2

John Davis 80 37 49.8 93.5 0.0 9.4 1.8 4.3 0.2 1.4 1.5 13.3

Marty Williams 79 27 44.5 82.6 0.0 7.3 1.3 3.6 1.4 1.1 0.7 11.8

Jose Nobis 80 24 35.6 100.0 9.5 5.1 1.1 3.2 1.9 2.1 1.7 9.0

Tony Gaston 80 25 47.9 85.7 0.0 5.7 1.1 2.8 0.7 0.7 0.3 8.2

Alvin Simpson 80 32 32.6 84.4 22.2 2.2 8.4 2.7 0.0 0.9 2.2 7.6

Milo Chambers 53 20 27.8 73.0 25.0 2.1 4.5 1.5 0.1 1.2 0.9 3.4

Pierce Shea 59 7 37.3 85.7 0.0 0.9 1.0 0.3 0.0 0.1 0.7 3.1

Vincent Alfonso 50 7 29.5 52.6 33.3 1.6 0.8 0.6 0.2 0.5 0.5 2.0

Euclid Spafford 6 7 23.1 50.0 0.0 1.5 1.0 0.3 0.5 0.2 0.0 1.7

Brent Bangerter 24 8 21.7 77.3 0.0 0.3 1.5 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.6 1.5

Kyree Havens 43 9 18.1 92.9 5.0 1.1 2.4 0.7 0.3 0.5 0.5 1.4

Damone Randle 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

The End.

Until the story goes on…….