The Battle Creek Flight are a team in the Independent Basketball Association (IBA) located in Battle Creek, Michigan . They previously played in the Premier Basketball League (PBL) and in the International Basketball League . The team was known as the Battle Creek Knights prior to the 2013–14 season.
24-820: The Sauk Valley Predators are a Premier Basketball League team that began play in the 2012 season. Based in Northwestern Illinois , the Predators play their home games at several sites in the region, including Sterling High School in Sterling, Illinois and Highland Community College in Freeport among others. The Predators team included players such as Carlton Fay ( Southern Illinois University ), Jereme Richmond (University of Illinois), Mike Rose (Eastern Kentucky) and Herman Favors (Georgia State). Head coach Kevin Keathley led
48-529: A controlling interest to remove the entire board of directors. Newman then refused to reschedule a weather-delayed playoff game between the Rochester RazorSharks and Wilmington Sea Dawgs although the two teams agreed to a make up date, wanting instead to force Rochester to accept a forfeit. It was on the heels of these two incidents that the Nighthawks and RazorSharks ownership groups decided to found
72-562: A draft. The Rochester RazorSharks won the league championship. The league approved expansion teams in Chicago and Scranton, Pennsylvania for the 2012 PBL season. Also, Chattanooga, Tennessee , Hershey, Pennsylvania , and Madison, Wisconsin were named as cities pending approval for expansion teams. On 18 July 2011, the PBL announced the Dayton Air Strikers were returning to the league for
96-754: A record of 9–11. The Knights opened the playoffs with a win against the Elgin Racers 116–100, only to fall to the Elkhart Express in the Eastern Conference finals 130–147. During the off season, the Knights announced a switch to the winter playing Premier Basketball League (PBL). In their first year in the PBL, the Knights reeled off 12 straight wins before falling on the road to the Wilmington Sea Dawgs . They would lose only one other game and finish with
120-592: A victim of the IBL's expansion. The team finished 11–10, respectable, yet a far cry from being undefeated. The team lost their only playoff game 144–139 to the Holland Blast , an expansion team. Again, three all-stars were named, Logan Vander Velden , Mike Williams, and Jay Youngblood. Youngblood was also in the top 25 scorers, averaging 22.0 ppg (he also played part of the season with the Cuyahoga Falls Cougars . After
144-661: The Augusta Groove , joined the league, but from the Continental Basketball Association . On June 23, the Halifax Rainmen , an ABA team the previous year, announced they were also joining the PBL. The first International Basketball League defection came on July 31 when the Battle Creek Knights joined the league. The Rochester RazorSharks went on to win their second straight PBL title after beating
168-577: The Buffalo Stampede , citing a failure by the team to adhere to league standards. The Maryland GreenHawks were also dropped from the league. The Bluegrass Stallions , another ABA team located in Kentucky, joined. The league also added the expansion Dayton Air Strikers . In January, the Vermont Frost Heaves abruptly announced the cessation of operations and their players were dispersed via
192-594: The 2012 season. In addition, the Northwestern Illinois -based Sauk Valley Predators began their inaugural season in the PBL for 2012. On August 22, 2011, it was announced the Charleston Gunners would be the PBL's sixth team for the 2012 season. On September 15, 2011, it was announced the Northwest Indiana Stars were leaving the ABA to be the PBL's seventh team for the 2012 season. On 21 September 2011 it
216-550: The 2015 PBL Championship, winning the first two games in a best-of three series against the Lake Michigan Admirals. Championship Series (Best 2 of 3) Lake Michigan Admirals (2) vs Rochester RazorSharks (1) Rochester wins PBL Championship series 2 games to 0 Many new franchise additions occurred in the 2015 off-season including the Jamestown Jackals, Kentucky Mavericks , Western New York Thundersnow , and
240-439: The 2017 season. It was announced that the league would be revived under new management for the 2020 season. The league announced due coronavirus outbreak the season would be put on hold. The PBL was formed after a number of disagreements between several former member teams of the modern American Basketball Association (ABA) and ABA CEO Joe Newman . Eight of the initial ten PBL teams either played in or were slated to play in
264-521: The ABA. In early 2007, Newman was voted out of his position as CEO of the ABA by the board of directors, which included Maryland Nighthawks owner and then-ABA COO Tom Doyle (who was later a commissioner of the PBL), citing dissatisfaction with how Newman executed his duties as CEO, the large number of ABA teams that did not have the funds to operate, and high number of games when an ABA team did not show up. Newman responded by using his and other shares that formed
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#1732858627583288-744: The Battle Creek Knights. The Battle Creek Knights, the Wilmington Sea Dawgs and the Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry would not return for the 2010 season. The Maryland Nighthawks changed the name of their franchise to the Maryland GreenHawks . The Puerto Rico Capitanes joined the league, performing concurrently in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional . At the end of the season, the league officially severed ties with
312-717: The IBA-PBL. Prior to the start of the season, the defending champions, the Central Illinois Drive, ceased operations, but were then rebooted as the Bloomington Flex . On 24 May 2013, the six PBL teams announced that the two leagues would cease interleague play, and that the leagues would hold separate playoffs. In the first round of the PBL playoffs, the Bloomington Flex beat the Indiana Diesels two games to none, and
336-799: The PBL. Championship Series (Best 2 of 3) Indiana Diesels (2) vs Rochester RazorSharks (1) Rochester wins PBL Championship series 2 games to 1 Several games in the 2015 season had to be postponed due to winter weather, leading to a rescheduling of games in March to ascertain that every team in the league would have played at least 15 games before the playoffs. The best-of-three finals-only playoffs between Midwest Division Champions Lake Michigan Admirals and East Division Champions Rochester RazorSharks opened on March 21 in Waterlivet, Michigan, with game two set for March 28 in Rochester. The Rochester RazorSharks won
360-568: The PBL. Dr. Sev Hrywnak, owner of the Rochester RazorSharks, invested close to $ 2 million to start the PBL. The business model was structured so that teams entering the initial season did not have to pay an entrance fee of $ 100,000 and that all travel would be covered by the League. This would allow new teams the opportunity to have financial success from the start. Former Houston Rockets point guard and current NBA on TNT analyst Kenny Smith
384-682: The Rochester RazorSharks beat the Sauk Valley Predators two games to none. In the finals, the Flex beat the RazorSharks two games to none to win their second consecutive title. On 21 September 2013, the PBL announced the first of what is expected to be up to six expansion teams, with the Lima Express signing to play for the 2014 season, which will begin in January. On 12 November 2013, the PBL announced
408-695: The addition of the Pee Dee Vipers , an expansion team based in Florence, South Carolina. Three days later, the league announced that the Lake Michigan Admirals would return for 2014. On November 25, the PBL announced the addition of the Buffalo 716ers and the Erie Hurricane . In late November the Chicago Tide joined the league. On 6 February 2014, it was announced that the newly formed Grand Rapids Cyclones would join
432-528: The regular season, and won the championship game, beating the Dayton Jets 124–121, for a final record of 21–0. In addition to being the IBL's power team on the court, the Knights also led the league in attendance. Playing at Kellogg Arena , crowds of 2,500+ were not uncommon, and the team drew 1,854 to the championship and All-Star game, which they hosted. Three Knights made the all-star team; Bobby Madison, Jamal Gooding, and Mike Williams. The 2006 Knights were
456-1035: The return of the Danville Riverhawks. Mavericks owner Jerry Nelson also become an equity partner in the PBL. In addition, the PBL gained a new Southeast Conference which includes six members of the Tobacco Road Basketball League : Cary Invasion , Charlotte Elite, Durham Legacy , Huntersville HoopForLyfe, Raleigh Revolt, and the Wilmington Sea Dawgs . Championship Series (Best 2 of 3) Lake Michigan Admirals (3) vs Rochester RazorSharks (1) Rochester wins PBL Championship series 2 games to 0 Championship Series (Best 2 of 3) Kentucky Mavericks (2) vs Rochester RazorSharks (1) Rochester wins PBL Championship series 2 games to 1 Battle Creek Knights The Knights lived up to their nickname of "The IBL's Power Team", by beating opponents by an average of 128–114. The Knights were led in scoring by Mike Williams, at 22.4 ppg. The Knights were undefeated in
480-463: The season, coach Williams resigned and was replaced by former Knight Logan Vander Velden . With Vander Velden at the helm, the Knights began to regain their winning ways, and locked into the 5th seed for the IBL playoffs, where they were eliminated by the defending champion Elkhart Express in the East final. The Knights started off with a 1–4 record, but rebounded to eventually end the regular season with
504-600: The team to a winning season and a playoff appearance. Keathley was assisted by Kirk Engelkens and Ryan Vazquez. Darrick Druce was the strength and conditioning coach. This article about a basketball team in Illinois is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Premier Basketball League The Premier Basketball League , often abbreviated to the PBL , is an American professional men's basketball minor league that began play in January 2008. The league folded after
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#1732858627583528-533: Was announced that the St. Louis Pioneers were also leaving the ABA to join the PBL, changing their name to the St. Louis Phoenix. The Central Illinois Drive won the PBL championship for 2012, defeating the Rochester RazorSharks, 101-80. The Drive was 18-1 in regular season and 22-1 total. During the off season the league announced it would be merging with the Independent Basketball Association to form
552-679: Was announced the Lake Michigan Admirals were also leaving the ABA to be the PBL's eighth team for the 2012 season. On 23 September 2011 it was announced that the PBL's ninth team for the 2012 season would be the Central Illinois Drive based in Bloomington, Illinois . On October 12, 2011, it was announced that the Indiana Diesels were also leaving the ABA to be the PBL's tenth team for the 2012 season. On October 14, 2011, it
576-525: Was the league's first commissioner. During the 2008 off season, six more former ABA teams decided to move to the PBL. First, on May 9, the Manchester Millrats and the 2006–2007 and 2007–2008 ABA champion Vermont Frost Heaves moved. Then on May 20, the inactive Detroit Panthers re-activated and joined the league. And on May 21, the Quebec Kebs joined. On June 5 another team with an ABA history,
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