The International Basketball League (IBL) was a semi-professional men's basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States to join. The IBL also sometimes featured teams from China and Japan which temporarily relocated to the United States for the IBL season. The IBL season typically ran from the end of March through July.
History Founded by Portland area sports promoter Mikal Duilio, the league featured 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 two rules created specifically for the league:
The "Immediate Inbound" Rule: After a made basket, the referee threw the ball to a nearby player from the team which had been scored on, instead of a player throwing in the ball from under the basket, to eliminate wasted time. A 22-second shot clock was used instead of the NBA's 24-seconds. A defensive non-shooting foul or kicked ball reset it to 12.
The test games proved popular and resulted in the founding of the IBL in August 2004. Founded with eight 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 on 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 season which saw nine different teams compete. Four teams played an entire schedule and thus made them eligible for the playoffs.IBL 2010/11 Winter Division Championship Tournament
In July 2011, Duilio sold the league to Vancouver, Washington, businessman Bryan Hunter.IBL ownership fills void for driven Hunter Sharleen Graf was appointed as the league's new commissioner.
In March 2014 the IBL ceased operation as an independent entity and combined with the West Coast Basketball League (WCBL). Teams were split into an International Conference and Continental Conference based on geography.
Teams International Conference Team City, State Arena Founded JoinedBellingham Slam Bellingham, WA Whatcom Pavilion 2005 2007Lone Star Strikers Conroe, TX Oak Ridge High School 2013 Olympia Reign Olympia, WA Little Creek Casino 2008 Portland Chinooks Beaverton, OR Eastmoreland Courts 2009 Salem Sabres Salem, OR Chemeketa Community College 2013 Seattle Flight Seattle, WA North Seattle Community College Wellness Center 2013 Vancouver Volcanoes Vancouver, WA O'Connell Sports Center 2005 Continental Conference Team City, State Arena Founded JoinedHollywood Shooting Stars Hollywood, California 2012 2014Los Angeles Team Macleem Los Angeles, California Mt. Carmel Recreation Center 2014 2014Malibu Beachdogs Mailibu, California 2014 2014Santa Barbara Breakers Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara City College 2006 2014Santa Monica Jump Santa Monica, California 2012 2014Venice Beach Warriors Venice Beach, California 2013 2014
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) Dayton Air Strikers (rejoined the Premier Basketball League) Gary Splash (joined the Independent Basketball AssociationWeekly Sports and Franchise Report 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 AssociationWeekly Sports and Franchise Report) 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)
Teams history
Akron Cougars (2007), as Cuyahoga Falls Cougars (2005–06) Akron Energy (2007) Akron Lightning (2005) Albany Legends (2010–11) Arizona Flame (2008–09), as Scottsdale Flame (2007); as Phoenix Flame (2007) Arizona Lightning (2007) Arizona Raptors (2010), as Phoenix Red Rock Raptors (2009) Aurora Cavalry (2006) Battle Creek Knights (2005–08, 2010-11Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report) BC Titans (2010Titans Decline to Participate on 2011 IBL Season ), as Vancouver Titans (2008–09) Bellingham Slam (2008–2014); migrated to Seattle Pro-Am Cedar Valley Jaguars (2005–06) Chicago Steam (2009) Chico Force (2005–07) Colorado Crossover (2006–07) Dayton Air Strikers (2011) Dayton Jets (2005–06) Des Moines Heat (2005) Detroit Pros (2005) Edmonton Chill (2008) Edmonton Energy (2009–12) Elgin Racers (2007–08), as Windy City Dawgs (2005–06) Elkhart Express (2006–08) Eugene Chargers (2006–07) Gary Splash (2010-11Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report) Gary Steelheads (2008) Grand Rapids Flight (2005–09) Great Lakes All-Stars (2010) Holland Blast (2006–11) Hub City Hurricanes (2007) Jersey G-Force (2012–2014), as New Jersey Titans (2011) Kankakee County Soldiers (2009–11Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report), as Windy City Soldiers (2008), as Chicago Heights Soldiers (2007) Lake County All-Stars (2010–11) Lake County Lakers (2006) Lansing Capitals (2006–07, 2010–11) Las Vegas Pride (2009–10), as Nevada Pride (2009) Las Vegas Stars (2007–08) L.A. Lightning (2008–2010) Macomb County Mustangs (2005–06) Mahoning Valley Wildcats (2005) Marysville Meteors (2007), as Columbus Cyclones (2006) Nippon Tornadoes (2008–09, 2012) Oakland Slammers (2005–06) Ohio Hidden Gems (2010) Olympia Reign (2008–2014) Orlando Venom (2012–2014), as Florida Winning Ways (2011) Portland Chinooks (2005–08; 2011–2014), as Oregon Waves (2009–11) Salem Stampede (2006–07) Salem Soldiers (2005–07; 2012) Santa Barbara Breakers (2007) Seattle Mountaineers (2006–07, 2009) Shaanxi Kylins (2008) Shanxi Zhongyu (2008–09) Snohomish County Explosion (2008–09), as Everett Explosion (2007) Tacoma Tide (2009–10) Tacoma Jazz (2007–08) Tacoma Jets (2007), as Tacoma Thunder (2005–06) Tri Valley Titans (2007), as Tri City Ballers (2006); as San Jose Ballers (2005) USA All-Stars (2008–2014) Vancouver Volcanoes (2005–2014); migrated to The Basketball League Washington Raptors (2007) West Coast High Flyers (2008) West Coast Hotshots (2005–2012), as Central Oregon Hotshots (2005–10) West Virginia Wild (2006) Yamhill High Flyers (2009–2012)
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 Los Angeles Lightning 2-1 (best-of 3) Oregon Waves 2010 Summer Albany Legends 126-111 Bellingham Slam 2010 Winter Kankakee County Soldiers 88-87 Gary Splash 2011 Vancouver Volcanoes 124-116 Edmonton Energy 2012 Bellingham Slam 142-109 Portland Chinooks 2013 Bellingham Slam 117-114 Vancouver Volcanoes 2014 Bellingham Slam 143-126 Vancouver Volcanoes
Wins by club Team Championships Summer Seasons Winter Seasons Bellingham Slam 4 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014 Elkhart Express 2 2006, 2007 Battle Creek Knights 1 2005 Los Angeles Lightning 1 2009 Albany Legends 1 2010 Kankakee County Soldiers 1 2010 Vancouver Volcanoes 1 2011
Notable people Commissioners Mikal Duilio (2004–July 2011) Sharleen Graf (July 2011 – 2014)
Players Toby Bailey, former UCLA player and NCAA Champion; NBA player Tim Hardaway, former Golden State Warriors star David Jackson, former NBA and Euroleague player; former Oregon Duck Shawn Kemp, former Seattle SuperSonics star Lamond Murray, 13-year NBA veteran Dennis Rodman, former Chicago Bulls player and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member Bryon Russell, former Utah Jazz star Fred Vinson, former Seattle SuperSonics player and current NBA Assistant Coach Grayson Boucher American street ball player
Coaches Rob Ridnour, head coach of the Bellingham Slam and father of Seattle SuperSonics guard Luke Ridnour Logan Vander Velden, head coach of the Battle Creek Knights and former Los Angeles Clippers player"Vander Velden takes the helm in Battle Creek", IBLHoopsOnline.com, 24 October 2006, International Basketball League, retrieved 27 December 2007
See also USA All-Stars
References
External links Official league website