Kentucky Colonels (ABA 2000) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This article is about the professional basketball team in the re-launched American Basketball Association.
For the 1967-1976 American Basketball Association team, see Kentucky Colonels
Kentucky Colonels
The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of any franchise in the league's history, but the team did...

.
For other uses, see Kentucky colonel (disambiguation)
Kentucky colonel (disambiguation)
Kentucky colonel may refer to:*Kentucky colonel - an honorary title conferred by the governor of the U.S. state of Kentucky.*Kentucky Colonels - a team in the American Basketball Association from 1967 to 1976...

.

Kentucky Colonels (ABA 2000) were a member of the ABA 2000, the second version of the American Basketball Association. The first American Basketball Association

American Basketball Association

The American Basketball Association was a professional basketball league founded in 1967. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger in 1976.-League history:...

played from 1967 through the 1975-1976 season and included a team called the Kentucky Colonels

Kentucky Colonels

The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of any franchise in the league's history, but the team did...

. Both versions of the Colonels played in Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

.

Since the departure of the original Colonels in 1976, Louisville had hosted a handful of professional basketball teams including the Louisville Catbirds

Louisville Catbirds

The Louisville Catbirds were a basketball team of the CBA who played in the mid 80s.-History:The Catbirds played two seasons in 1983-85 in Kentucky before moving to La Crosse, Wisconsin, in which the team would reach the CBA finals three times, winning twice 1990 and in 1992). Head coach Flip...

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 :...

in the 1980s and the Louisville Shooters

Louisville Shooters

Louisville Shooters was a team from Louisville, Kentucky that competed in the Global Basketball Association during its inaugural 1991-1992 season and three games into its second season....

of 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:...

. Unsuccessful efforts were made to bring the NBA's relocating Charlotte Hornets and Vancouver Grizzlies

Vancouver Grizzlies

The Vancouver Grizzlies were a professional basketball team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They were part of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Toronto Raptors, as part of the NBA's...

to Louisville, along with the Houston Rockets

Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...

at a time that they were demanding a new arena. Then, the ABA 2000 was formed and brought professional basketball back to Louisville.

In 2004, the New ABA

American Basketball Association (21st century)

The American Basketball Association, often abbreviated as ABA, is a semi-professional men's basketball league that was founded in 1999. The current ABA has no affiliation with the original American Basketball Association that merged with the National Basketball Association in 1976...

brought back the Kentucky Colonels to Louisville during the 2004 season. The roster included such names as former Kentucky Wildcats

Kentucky Wildcats

The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky , a founding member of the Southeastern Conference...

Anthony Epps and Antwain Barbour

Antwain Barbour

-Career:After playing for Kentucky Wildcats at NCAA, Barbour joined Kentucky Colonels of ABA league on 2004.Next season he played at Chinese league with Yakima Sun Kings and on 2006 he arrives to Spain for finishing the 2005–2006 LEB season with UB La Palma...

, former University of Louisville

University of Louisville

The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...

standout Luke Whitehead

Luke Whitehead

Luke Edward Whitehead is an American basketball player. He played forward for the University of Louisville...

and Syracuse University

Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...

alum Jeremy McNeil

Jeremy McNeil

Jeremy McNeil is an American basketball player who played college basketball for Syracuse University during their first National Championship in 2003. He played 135 games spanning from 1999–2004, which included 21 starts...

. In the front office, former NBA veteran Tree Rollins

Tree Rollins

Wayne Monte "Tree" Rollins is a retired American professional basketball player who played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association for the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets and Orlando Magic. He was primarily known under his playing name, Tree...

was the general manager and all-time ABA great Lou Dampier was director of player personnel. Henry Bacon

Henry Bacon

Henry Bacon was an American Beaux-Arts architect who is best remembered for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. , which was his final project.- Education and early career :...

was initially named head coach, but after a 2-5 start to the season, he was replaced by assistant coach Kevin Keathley

Kevin Keathley

Kevin Keathley is a basketball coach and author who has spent nine years coaching on both the college and professional levels of basketball. He coached the East Kentucky Miners of the Continental Basketball Association during the 2009-10 season.-Lees College:...

. Coach Keathley would guide the team to a 19-12 finish overall and a second round playoff loss to the eventual ABA champion Arkansas Rimrockers

Arkansas RimRockers

The Arkansas RimRockers were a NBA Development League team. They participated in minor league basketball based in Little Rock, Arkansas.Logo design: A red, white, and blue ball going through a basketball rim ....

. Antwain Barbour was named All-ABA for the 2004-2005 season and Coach Kevin Keathley was named an ABA Coach of the Year. The Colonels played three exhibition games in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in the summer of 2005. In 2006, the Colonels finished the season 2-14.

On January 4, 2007, the ABA announced that a team called the Kentucky Colonels was going to resume play in 2007-08, but they will be located in Murray, Kentucky

Murray, Kentucky

Murray is a city in Calloway County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 17,741 at the 2010 census and has a micropolitan area population of 37,191. It is the 22nd largest city in Kentucky...

. However, later the Murray team decided to change their name to the Kentucky Retros

Kentucky Retros

The Kentucky Retros was a professional basketball team based in Louisville, Kentucky that was scheduled to begin play in the American Basketball Association in 2007...

in deference to the tradition associated with the Colonels name.

On November 5, 2008 the ABA announced that ABA basketball would return to Louisville in the form of the The Louisville Basketball League. The LBL is the first and only official minor league system to the ABA (www.TheL-aba.com).

See also