The Albany Patroons are a professional basketball team that plays in North American Premier Basketball. Previously, the team competed in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and in the United States Basketball League (USBL).
The Patroons' home arena was the 3,500-seat Washington Avenue Armory, a former New York National Guard armory with a castle-like exterior. In 1990, the Patroons moved from this location and into the newly constructed Times Union Center, then called the Knickerbocker Arena. When the team was re-established in 2005, it moved back into the Armory. In February 2009, the CBA announced it was abbreviating its regular season as of February 3. On its official website, it was announced that the team would not play in the 2009-2010 season.
In 2017, the Patroons became one of the inaugural members of North American Premier Basketball (NAPB), and resumed using the Washington Avenue Armory as their home court.
Video Albany Patroons
History
Originally entering the CBA as an expansion franchise in the 1982-83 season, the Patroons won league championships in 1984 and 1988, defeating the Wyoming Wildcatters in both instances.
NBA head coach Phil Jackson won his first championship ring when he guided the Albany Patroons to the 1984 CBA championship. Andre Gaddy was named MVP of the series. Jackson would later win NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers.
In 1988, the Patroons won a second championship, this time under head coach Bill Musselman. Musselman would later coach the Minnesota Timberwolves, and several Patroons from the 1987-88 championship year - including Scott Brooks, Tod Murphy, Tony Campbell and Sidney Lowe - played on those early Timberwolves squads.
In the 1990-1991 season, the Patroons completed a 50-6 regular season, including winning all 28 of their home games; at that time, George Karl was the Patroons' head coach. Future NBA players Mario Elie and Vincent Askew were part of that 50-6 squad.
During the Patroons' time in the CBA, they won two CBA championships and five Eastern Division regular season titles. For the 1992-93 season, the Patroons were renamed the Capital Region Pontiacs, as the team received sponsorship from the local car dealerships. After that season, the franchise was relocated to Connecticut, where it played for 1½ years as the Hartford Hellcats.
Other notable basketball coaches that have coached the Patroons are Bob Thomason and Bruce Brown.
Rebirth
After a decade-long absence, the Patroons rejoined the CBA as an expansion team for the 2005-06 season with their original name, original colors (gold and kelly green), and a return to the old Washington Avenue Armory. Former NBA star Micheal Ray Richardson, who played for the Patroons in the 1987-88 season, became the team's head coach, while the Patroons' career scoring leader, Derrick Rowland, was named his assistant coach. In the Patroons' first year back, they finished with a 20-28 record, good for third place in the CBA Eastern Conference. Albany qualified for the playoffs, but lost in the first round of the CBA round-robin style playoffs. The Patroons were led by T. J. Thompson, who averaged a league-high 25.4 points per game, and local product James Thomas, who in two stints with the Patroons led the team in rebounds per game. On April 25, 2006, the CBA moved its league offices into the Patroon's home, the Washington Avenue Armory (News Brief).
In the 2006-07 season, the Patroons won the CBA American Conference championship and advanced to the best-of-five CBA Finals against the Yakama Sun Kings. The Patroons lost game one at the Armory, to the Sun Kings. However, this was overshadowed when the next day, coach Micheal Ray Richardson was suspended for the rest of the season for firing expletives at hecklers during games and his comments in an interview with the Albany Times Union newspaper, stating that Jews were "crafty (because) they are hated worldwide." Without Richardson, the Patroons dropped the next two games of the finals, as the Sun Kings won their second consecutive championship. Three days after the conclusion of the series, it was announced that Richardson would not be back to the coach the Patroons. Richardson, now the coach of the Oklahoma Cavalry, was replaced by Vincent Askew.
On July 10, 2007, former Patroon Jamario Moon signed a two-year contract with the Toronto Raptors. Moon had a strong rookie campaign, averaging 8.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
On June 14, 2006, the Patroons purchased the rights to a United States Basketball League team, also to be called the Patroons, and play in the Washington Avenue Armory. The team replaced the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs. However, after only two years and very low attendance at their home games, the Patroons ended their USBL affiliation on June 19, 2007, and returned to the CBA.
In July 2008, arena management and the Albany Times Union revealed that the Patroons might not return for the 2009 season. Jim Coyne, general manager of the Armory and commissioner of the Continental Basketball Association, told the newspaper that if the team did not sell 600 season tickets by the end of July the team would either fold or move. At that time the Pats had about 50 season ticket holders.
Both the league and the Patroons folded after the 2009 season citing the terrible economy, according to the Albany Times Union.
Second return and North American Premier Basketball
On August 30, 2017, it was announced that the Albany Patroons would return to the Washington Avenue Armory in January 2018 under ownership of former players. The new team became one of the inaugural members of North American Premier Basketball (NAPB). The Patroons' roster includes former NBA players Maurice Taylor, Smush Parker and Jamario Moon.
Maps Albany Patroons
Current roster
Year-by-year
References
External links
- CBA League Website
- USBL League Website
- USBL Patroons - Discussion Forum
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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