The Treasure Coast Tropics, originally known as the Miami Tropics, was a professional basketball club in the United States Basketball League (USBL) from 1987 to 1996.
History The team was originally based in Miami. The team debuted in 1987 as the Miami Tropics, winning the USBL title by defeating the Rhode Island Gulls 103–99 in the final. After a two-year hiatus, the club resumed operations in 1991, reaching the championship three years in a row. In 1991, they lost 110–108 to the Philadelphia Spirit. In August 1991, the club was bought by John Lucas.
Back-to-back titles followed in 1992 (116–114 to the Philadelphia Spirit) and 1993 (139–127 to the Westchester Stallions).
For the 1996 season, they moved to Port St. Lucie, Florida, changing their name to the Treasure Coast Tropics. The Tropics disbanded at the end of the season.
Notable players like former NBAers, Richard Dumas, Chuck Nevitt, Mario Elie, Roy Tarpley and World B. Free played for the franchise.
A new franchise under the name Miami Tropics was founded in 2006 and it joined the ABA.MIAMI TROPICS 2007 - usbasket.comMIAMI TROPICS History - usbasket.com
Seasons StagioneLeagueNameWL%PlacePlay-offCoach1987USBLMiami Tropics181260,02ºChampions Sam Worthen1988USBLMiami Tropics131743,36ºdid not qualifyGeorge Whittaker1991USBLMiami Tropics13765,01ºFinal Eric Dennis Kevin Mackey1992USBLMiami Tropics22484,61ºChampions John Lucas II1993USBLMiami Tropics141058,33ºChampionsJohn Lucas II1994USBLMiami Tropics18966,72ºSemifinalsDirk Minniefield1995USBLMiami Tropics81830,87º- Kevin Mackey1996USBLTreasure coast Tropics81830,85º- Ken Bannister
Notable players
Ken Bannister World B. Free Ron Rowan Chuck Nevitt Richard Dumas Mario Elie Roy Tarpley Clinton Wheeler Lloyd Daniels Shelton Jones Steve Bucknall Jim Rowinski Derreck Hamilton Gerard King
Home arenas Miami Tropics Gibson Center at Miami Dade South Community College (Miami, Florida) 1991 Golden Panther Arena - Florida International University (Westchester, Florida) 1992–93 Gibson Center at Miami Dade South Community College (Miami, Florida) 1994
Treasure Coast Tropics Miami Dade Kendall (Kendall, Florida) 1996
Rosters 1991 season Steve Bucknall, Lloyd Daniels, Ron Matthias, Chris Harris, Chuck Nevitt, Lorenzo Williams, Derek Strong, Shelton Jones, Ricky Jones, Ken McFadden, Sean Gay.1991 Miami Tropics Roster - statscrew.com1991 Miami Tropics Stats per player - statscrew.com 1992 season Richard Dumas, Ken Bannister, Treg Lee, Sheldon Owens, David Robinson, Dana Hardy, Roy Tarpley, Jerome Scott, Grant Gondrezick, Gerald Williams.1992 Miami Tropics Roster - statscrew.com1992 Miami Tropics Stats per player - statscrew.com
1993 season Ken Bannister, Luther Burks, Cliff Robinson, Johnny McDowell, Grant Gondrezick, Dwight Stewart, Anthony Lawrence, Ricky Calloway, Chris Childs, Freeman Williams, Duane Washington.1993 Miami Tropics Roster - statscrew.com1993 Miami Tropics Stats per player - statscrew.com
See also Miami Majesty
References
External links USBL at atapbr.org United States Basketball League 1985-2007 at funwhileitlasted.net Miami Tropics USBL 1991 at newspapers.com