Albany Patroons
Encyclopedia
The Albany Patroons were a professional basketball
team that played in the Continental Basketball Association
(CBA) (and played in the United States Basketball League
(USBL) from 2006 until 2007).
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.
NBA head coach Phil Jackson
won his first championship ring when he guided the Albany Patroons to the 1984 CBA championship. Walter (Walt The Stalt) Williams was named MVP of the series and went on to become a key assistant coach to Jackson. 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.
Three years later, 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 stars 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
, Jerry Krause
and Bruce Brown
.
. 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.
team, which would also be called the Patroons, and would also 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.
July 2008: It was announced by arena management and the Albany Times Union that the Patroons may not call the Washington Avenue Armory home next season. Jim Coyne, general manager of the Armory and commissioner of the Continental Basketball Association
, told the newspaper that if the team doesn't sell 600 season tickets, by the end of July, the team will either fold or move. The Pats currently have about 50 season ticket holders.
Both the league and the Patroons have folded, citing the terrible economy, according to the Albany Times Union.
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team that played in the Continental Basketball Association
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...
(CBA) (and played in the United States Basketball League
United States Basketball League
The United States Basketball League , often abbreviated to the USBL, was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985. The final champions are the Kansas Cagerz, who won the title game on July 1, 2007.-History:...
(USBL) from 2006 until 2007).
The Patroons' home arena was the 3,500-seat Washington Avenue Armory
Washington Avenue Armory
The Washington Avenue Armory, officially known as the Washington Avenue Armory Sports and Convention Arena and listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Washington Avenue Armory, is now a multi-purpose arena in Albany, New York. It was the home of the Albany Legends of the...
, 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.
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
Phil Jackson
Philip Douglas "Phil" Jackson is a retired American professional basketball coach and player. Jackson is widely considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of the National Basketball Association . His reputation was established as head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1989 through 1998;...
won his first championship ring when he guided the Albany Patroons to the 1984 CBA championship. Walter (Walt The Stalt) Williams was named MVP of the series and went on to become a key assistant coach to Jackson. Jackson would later win NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
and Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
.
In 1988, the Patroons won a second championship, this time under head coach Bill Musselman
Bill Musselman
William Clifford Musselman was an American basketball coach in the NCAA, the ABA, the WBA, the CBA, and the NBA. He was a fiercely intense coach who once was quoted as saying "defeat is worse than death, because you have to live with defeat."-Early life:Musselman was the second of five children....
. Musselman would later coach the Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Founded in 1989, the team is currently owned by Glen Taylor...
, and several Patroons from the 1987-88 championship year - including Scott Brooks
Scott Brooks
Scott William Brooks is a retired American professional basketball player from Lathrop, California and is the current head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder of the NBA...
, Tod Murphy
Tod Murphy
Tod James Murphy is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 3rd round of the 1986 NBA Draft. A 6'9" center-forward from the University of California, Irvine, Murphy played in 5 NBA seasons for 4 different teams...
, Tony Campbell
Tony Campbell
Anthony Campbell is a retired American NBA basketball player.Campbell played high school basketball at Teaneck High School in Teaneck. A 6'7" small forward out of Ohio State University, Campbell was selected 20th overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 1984 NBA Draft...
and Sidney Lowe
Sidney Lowe
Sidney Rochell Lowe is an American basketball coach and is currently an assistant coach with the Utah Jazz. He is a former NBA player and head coach, and has served as the head coach at North Carolina State University,.-Biography:Lowe began his career at DeMatha Catholic High School in...
- played on those early Timberwolves squads.
Three years later, the Patroons completed a 50-6 regular season, including winning all 28 of their home games; at that time, George Karl
George Karl
George Matthew Karl is a former National Basketball Association and American Basketball Association player. He is the current head coach of the Denver Nuggets. On December 10, 2010 he became the seventh coach in NBA history to record 1,000 wins.-Biography:Karl was born in Penn Hills,...
was the Patroons' head coach. Future NBA stars Mario Elie
Mario Elie
Mario Antoine Elie is an American former professional basketball player and coach. Currently, he works as an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings.-Early life and career:...
and Vincent Askew
Vincent Askew
Vincent Jerome Askew is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the 1987 NBA Draft...
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
Bob Thomason
Bob Thomason is the current head men's basketball coach at the University of the Pacific. He has held that position since the beginning of the 1988-89 season. Originally from Concord, Thomason is a 1967 graduate of Clayton Valley High School...
, Jerry Krause
Jerry Krause
Jerry Krause is a former professional basketball scout and general manager for, among other franchises, the Baltimore Bullets and, most notably, the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association. He is a two-time recipient of the NBA's Executive of the Year award.-Early career:Krause was...
and Bruce Brown
Bruce Brown
Bruce Brown is an American documentary film director, known as an early pioneer of the surf film...
.
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 ArmoryWashington Avenue Armory
The Washington Avenue Armory, officially known as the Washington Avenue Armory Sports and Convention Arena and listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Washington Avenue Armory, is now a multi-purpose arena in Albany, New York. It was the home of the Albany Legends of the...
. Former NBA star Micheal Ray Richardson
Micheal Ray Richardson
Micheal Ray "Sugar" Richardson is an American former professional basketball player and currently the head coach of the London Lightning of the National Basketball League of Canada. Richardson played college basketball for the Montana Grizzlies...
, 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
James Thomas (basketball)
James D. Thomas, Jr. is an American professional basketball player. A 6'8" forward from the University of Texas at Austin, Thomas was the recipient of the 2004-05 NBA Development League Rookie of the Year. He played in the NBA for the Portland Trail Blazers, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, and...
, 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
Yakama Sun Kings
The Yakama Sun Kings were a Continental Basketball Association franchise located in Yakima, Washington, United States, covering the central Washington sports market of Yakima, Tri-Cities and Ellensburg...
. The Patroons lost game one at the Armory, to the Sun Kings. However, this was overshadowed when the next day, coach Micheal Ray Richardson
Micheal Ray Richardson
Micheal Ray "Sugar" Richardson is an American former professional basketball player and currently the head coach of the London Lightning of the National Basketball League of Canada. Richardson played college basketball for the Montana Grizzlies...
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
Vincent Askew
Vincent Jerome Askew is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the 1987 NBA Draft...
.
On July 10, 2007, former Patroon Jamario Moon
Jamario Moon
Jamario Raman Moon is an American professional basketball player. Moon played college basketball for one season at Meridian Community College and began his professional career with teams in the United States Basketball League and NBA Development League, the Harlem Globetrotters, and Mexican...
signed a two-year contract with the Toronto Raptors
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's re-expansion...
. Moon had a strong rookie campaign, averaging 8.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
USBL
On June 14, 2006, the Patroons purchased the rights to a United States Basketball LeagueUnited States Basketball League
The United States Basketball League , often abbreviated to the USBL, was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985. The final champions are the Kansas Cagerz, who won the title game on July 1, 2007.-History:...
team, which would also be called the Patroons, and would also 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.
July 2008: It was announced by arena management and the Albany Times Union that the Patroons may not call the Washington Avenue Armory home next season. Jim Coyne, general manager of the Armory and commissioner of the Continental Basketball Association
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...
, told the newspaper that if the team doesn't sell 600 season tickets, by the end of July, the team will either fold or move. The Pats currently have about 50 season ticket holders.
Both the league and the Patroons have folded, citing the terrible economy, according to the Albany Times Union.
Year-by-year
| Year | League | Reg. Season | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982/83 | CBA | 4th, Eastern | Did not qualify |
| 1983/84 | CBA | 2nd, Eastern | Champions |
| 1984/85 | CBA | 1st, Eastern | Eastern Division Finals |
| 1985/86 | CBA | 4th, Eastern | Eastern Division Semifinals |
| 1986/87 | CBA | 2nd, Eastern | Eastern Division Finals |
| 1987/88 | CBA | 1st, Eastern | Champions |
| 1988/89 | CBA | 1st, Eastern | Eastern Division Semifinals |
| 1989/90 | CBA | 1st, American Eastern | American Conference Finals |
| 1990/91 | CBA | 1st, National Eastern | National Conference Finals |
| 1991/92 | CBA | 3rd, American Eastern | American Conference 1st Round Shootout |
| 1992/93 | CBA | 2nd, American Eastern | Did not qualify |
| 2005/06 | CBA | 3rd, Eastern | 2nd in Eastern Round Robin |
| 2006 | USBL | 4th, Eastern | Lost First Round |
| 2006/07 | CBA | 1st, American Eastern | Lost CBA Finals |
| 2007 | USBL | 2nd | Withdrew from league |
| 2008 | CBA | 4th, Eastern | Did not qualify |
| 2009 | CBA | 2nd | Lost CBA Finals |