Around The Basketball League: Lansing Pharaohs Building A Culture Playing Up-Tempo, Potawatomi Fire Draw Successful Expansion Blue Print, Albany Patroons and Syracuse Make Big Roster Additions

With TBL All-Star Weekend around the corner, teams are beginning to look ahead to the second half of the season and a playoff run.

Playing Up-Tempo Basketball, Lansing Pharaohs Focused On Building A Winning Culture In Michigan 

Within the first month of the season while Toledo Glass City and the Jamestown Jackals have fought over first place in the Upper Midwest Division, the Lansing Pharaohs have become a team-to-watch as they currently ride a three-game win-streak into tonight’s game against in-state rival the Detroit Hustle. 

Led by six players in double-figures, Lansing has a cohesive collection of scorers who can fill it up in a hurry with Ja'myrin Jackson (20.9 points per game) and Muhammed El-amin (18.9 points per game) providing the heavy lifting on offense, while Sam Muldrow (16.4 points and 11 rebounds per game) has anchored the paint by delivering on offense and manning the boards. 

It’s the benefit veteran coach Scott Newman is working with in a division where there’s no such thing as an easy win. 

“Generally, expansion teams start off slow and might win only three games the whole year,” Newman told Phil Friend of the Lansing State Journal. “But we’ve had the opportunity to put together a team with a nice mixture of veterans and young guys. We’ve been able to slowly but surely jell. We’re trying to build the right culture.”

For Lansing, it’s a team thing. They hit the class together and rank first in TBL in defensive rebounds (39.9 per game). They share and move the ball at a steady clip and rank third in TBL as a team in assists per game (20.3). And the Pharaohs play tough on defense by ranking fifth in TBL in blocks per game (4.6), before getting out in transition and knocking down big shots from outside (fourth in TBL in 3-pointers made at 11.7 per game).  

“I pride myself on being an up-tempo coach both offensively and defensively,” Newman added. 

“I like to have a style of play that not only the players enjoy playing, but fans will enjoy, come in, buy their ticket and be able to see a high-scoring game.”

Potawatomi Fire Maps Blueprint For Successful TBL Expansion Team

No one said structuring an expansion team, selecting a coaching staff, and building a roster that can compete would be a flawless venture in The Basketball League, but General Manager David Qualls and the Potawatomi Fire are showing it’s possible to actually put a winning product on the floor with a concrete blueprint in place.

In this case, the Fire put the ball in the hands of their community. 

A new business venture for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, who also operates the FireLake Casino and Grand Casino Hotel & Resort, the Potawatomi Fire became the first tribally owned sports team in Oklahoma, and joined the Mohegan Tribe (WNBA’s Connecticut Sun and the National Lacrosse League’s New England Black Wolves) as the professional sports teams owned by tribal nations in the United States. 

The result through the first 10 games of the season: an 8-2 overall record in the Central Conference thanks to Mr. Triple-Double himself, Deshawn Munson, who ranks third in scoring in TBL at 25.9 points per game. The roster is also complimented nicely by “glue guys” and backcourt mate, Tevin Foster, who has both great floor vision and a sense for where the team is going. 

“We all have the same mission. I see a great team. I think we’ve got something special,” said Foster in an interview with Brian Johnson of the Shawnee Star. “It’s been a great experience. Many of these guys have played at a high level. We just want to keep the flow going. We’ve just got to take it one game at a time. I think, if we can keep it together, we can go win the league. There’s a lot of leadership on this team.”

Under the leadership of former NBA player and basketball head coach, Derrick Rowland, the Fire are not only becoming an on-court attraction in the City of Shawnee but the organization is equally appealing to players who truly want a positive professional experience instead of empty promises. 

“They treat the people in this organization a whole lot better and in a different standard than what most of the teams in the TBL are used to," Center Anthony Allen told Allison Herrera with KOSU and NPR. 

That kind of real support and personal investment goes beyond the stats. 

"Our business plan has never been one-and-done," added David Qualls. "You keep growing tomatoes and know that you're going to have some losses and some wins."  

Deon Lyle, Deshawn Munson, Anthony Allen, Tevin Foster 

In Battle For First, Patroons and Stallions Make Big Additions For Second Half Push

With next weekend’s TBL and NBLC All-Star game signifying the half-way point of the season, the transaction wire is already picking up steam as teams begin to position themselves for the second half of the season and a postseason push. 

The Syracuse Stallions (6-3) and Albany Patroons (7-2) have already made two big signings with former 2015 MAC Player of the Year from the University of Buffalo, Justin Moss, ready to make his debut on Saturday against the Lancaster Kings and the Albany Patroons welcoming back center Anthony Moe who returns from Chilé. The new (or re-new) additions to each team comes just in time for the weekend match-up between Syracuse and Albany, with the Stallions’ looking to snap their three game losing streak and the Patroons attempting to cushion their first place lead in the conference. In 4 games for Albany, Moe averaged 19.3 and 8.8 rebounds per game including a season-high 26 points against Connecticut. 

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Wendell Maxey has covered and written about professional basketball and sports for 19 years including eight years reporting on the NBA in New York and Portland where his work appeared on ESPN.com, NBA.com, USA Today, FOX Sports, YAHOO Sports!, SLAM Magazine, and The Oregonian among other publications and outlets. Connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn or read through his archive on Linktree.