Live video webcast added for IBL Championship game
ALBANY, N.Y. – The 2010 International Basketball League Championship game will feature a live video webcast, the league announced. The game, pitting the Albany Legends against the Bellingham Slam, is scheduled for an 8 p.m. Eastern Time tip-off on Friday at the Washington Avenue Armory in Albany.
The internet webcast can be viewed at
The video webcast will feature play-by-play commentary provided by KBAI-AM 930’s Doug Lange and Mark Scholten. KBAI broadcast all ten Slam home games during the regular season, and also broadcast the 2008 IBL Championship game between Bellingham and the Elkhart Express. Friday’s title game will be broadcast live in the Bellingham area and will also be available online at
For Bellingham listeners, Lange and Scholten will kick things off with a shortened version of The Zone sports talk show starting at 4 p.m. Pacific Time, leading up to the Bellingham Slam Pre-Game Show at 4:35 p.m. The Zone and pre-game show will be broadcast on both KPUG-AM 1170 and KBAI AM-930, while the game itself will be broadcast only on KBAI.
For more information, contact the Slam at (360) 734-SLAM or visit their website at
Bellingham Slam Media Report
Slam face toughest challenge yet in Friday’s IBL Championship
ALBANY, N.Y. – The Bellingham Slam will face perhaps their toughest challenge in franchise history as they play the Albany Legends in the 2010 International Basketball League Championship game on Friday. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. local time at the Washington Avenue Armory in Albany.
The Slam, seeded sixth at the start of the playoffs, upset the Los Angeles Lightning in the second round of the IBL’s postseason tournament in Portland, Ore., before easily dispatching the Yamhill Highflyers in the third round on July 3.
Bellingham finished the regular season with a 13-7 record, but six of their losses were by three points or fewer. Despite finishing with the most losses in the team’s three-year stint in the IBL, the Slam appear to be peaking at the right time as they have won their last four games by an average margin of nearly 27 points.
Albany, who finished the regular season with a league-best record of 16-3, were fortunate to escape the second round of the playoffs as they needed a buzzer-beating bucket in regulation to force overtime and eventually eliminate the eighth-seeded Battle Creek Knights with a 119-117 win. The next day, the Legends dominated the Vancouver Volcanoes, 124-105, in the third round to earn a spot in the title game. Finishing with the league’s best record gave Albany to right to host the title match.
The Slam have faced plenty of tough challenges while playing in the IBL, most notably in 2008 when they defeated the two-time defending champion Elkhart Express in the title game, but this game will certainly be their toughest yet as not only is the opponent as or more formidable than the Express, but the game must be won away from the friendly confines of Whatcom Pavilion. Never before has a road team won the IBL Championship game in the league’s five-year history.
This season, the Slam have been led by guard Jacob Stevenson, a Bellingham native who has played for the team since it started in 2005. Stevenson is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 25.8 points per game, best in the league among players who appeared in at least 20 games. He also ranks fifth in the league in assists, at 6.7 per game.
Guards Paul Hafford and Ryan Diggs finished as the Slam’s second and third best scorers in 2010 with 17.4 and 16.4 points per game averages, respectively. Hafford, a co-MVP of the 2008 Championship game, and Diggs, the MVP of this season’s conference playoff tournament in Portland, both have the ability to take over games with their offensive ability.
Center Ike Ohanson and forward Lukas Henne have been dependable options in the post, with Ohanson averaging 14 points and a team-leading 11.3 rebounds per game.Henne saved his best for the playoffs, as his defensive efforts against Los Angeles, punctuated by five blocked shots, helped the Slam pull off the second-round upset.
Guards Morris Anderson and Derrick Webb have proven to be important contributors in their rookie professional seasons.Anderson has been one of the IBL’s top point guards, averaging 12.9 points, 6.8 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game. Webb has demonstrated to be a reliable option off the bench as of late for Bellingham, averaging 17.8 points in the team’s last four games.
Another player the Slam may need to play an important role is forward Tyler Amaya, who returned to the team in June after a stint on New Zealand. Amaya suffered an ankle injury in just his second game back, but that has fully healed and he should be ready to go on Friday.
The Albany Legends boast a roster with seven former NCAA Division-I athletes. They are led by ex-NBA and Cincinnati guard Kenny Satterfield, who comes in averaging 19.0 points and 8.2 assists per game. Two other key contributors are forward Gordon Klaiber, who leads the team with 19.5 points per game and also averages 7.5 assists, and center DeAndre Thomas, who at 6-foot-8 and 300 pounds, is averaging 16.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per contest and provides an imposing presence in the post for the Legends. Overall, Albany sports a balanced attack with eight players averaging double-digits in scoring.
KBAI-AM 930 will broadcast the game live from Albany with Doug Lange and Mark Scholten handling the play-by-play. A live internet stream of the broadcast will also be available at The broadcast will begin at 4:35 p.m. Pacific time.
For more information, contact the Slam at (360) 734-SLAM or visit their website at
Legends get shot at league title
Albany will take on Slam in IBL championship game on Friday
By BRYAN FITZGERALD, Special to the Times Union
First published in print: Thursday, July 15, 2010
ALBANY -- The Albany Legends will have a shot at ending their first season with their first championship Friday night.
After rolling through the regular season and playoffs with a league-best 18-3 record, the No. 1-seeded Legends will play host to the No. 4-seeded Bellingham Slam for the International Basketball League championship at Washington Avenue Armory.
Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m., and tickets range from $12 to $25.
"We have a chance to show Albany a great game," said Legends coach Derrick Rowland, "and be a part of history."
Rowland already is part of that history. Twenty-two years ago he helped lead the Albany Patroons to their second championship.
"Anytime I take the floor and am part of any team, I feel like I have a chance to win," Rowland said. "Eighteen and three is a great record for a first-year team," Rowland said. "I was fortunate enough to have some great talent and some great people. Playing in Albany, there's just something about winning here and we had all those things working in our favor."
Former Patroon Gordon Klaiber, recently named the MVP for the Intercontinental playoffs, is doing it all for the Legends lately.
He leads Albany in scoring, averaging 19.5 points per game, and he's third in rebounds (7.5). "I've been in this situation before," Klaiber said. "The MVP award doesn't mean much right now. I'm not out there by myself. This championship is more important."
FormerUniversity of Cincinnati standout Kenny Satterfield is second in the IBL in assists, averaging 8.2 per game. Former Indiana University big man DeAndre Thomas and former Bearcat Jermaine Tate lead the Legends in rebounds, averaging 8.8 and 9.0 per game, respectively.
Defense usually takes a back seat in the up-tempo IBL games, but Rowland and the Legends have been focused on clamping down better than most. "In this league, teams are going to get a lot of shots up," rookie guard Lloyd Johnson said. "What we want to do is try to contest every shot and pressure guys. Teams are scoring 120, 130 points and we just want to limit them to at least 100."
Johnson, a Schenectady native in his first season of professional basketball, was one of five Legends to be named to the IBL all-star team. He expects a good amount of friends and family to be in the stands Friday night.
"I should have a lot of people here," Johnson said. "I'll try to put on a good show for them."
Bryan Fitzgerald, a local freelance writer, is a frequent contributor to the Times Union. He can be reached at 454-5452 or by e-mail at .
At a glance
What: The International Basketball League championship game
Who: Albany Legends vs. Bellingham Slam
Where: Washington Avenue Armory
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Tickets: $25 for courtside, $12 for reserved seating
Team leaders
Points: F Gordon Klaiber, 19.5 ppg; G Kenny Satterfield, 19.0; G Rashad Woods, 17.2.
Rebounds: F Jermaine Tate, 9.0 rpg; C DeAndre Thomas, 8.8; Klaiber, 7.5.
Assists: Satterfield, 8.2 apg; G Damone Morris, 3.8; G Tony Scruggs, 3.0.
Read more:
Legends want championship legacy
Published: Thursday, July 15, 2010
The Albany Legends International Basketball league MVP Gordon Klaiber at the Washington Ave Armory in Albany. (Mike McMahon / The Record) 07/14/10
The Albany Legends International Basketball league team head coach Derrick Rowland team hold a press conference for the IBL Championship game that will start this Friday at the Washington Ave Armory in Albany. (Mike McMahon / The Record) 07/14/10
By Andrew Santillo
The Record
The Albany Legends International Basketball league MVP Gordon Klaiber's portrait on a ball with L-R Bob Catherwood, Head Coach Derrick Rowland and CEO Stephen Miller at the Washington Ave Armory in Albany. (Mike McMahon / The Record) 07/14/10
ALBANY — Derrick Rowland remembers what it felt like to win championships playing for the Albany Patroons.
Now he’d like to win one as a coach and give his Albany Legends players memories that they will always remember.
In their first year as an organization, the Legends will face the Bellingham Slam at 8 p.m. on Friday night at the Washington Avenue Armory for the 2010 International Basketball League title.
“This is something that they will be telling their grandkids,” said Rowland, who won titles with the Patroons in 1984 and ’88. “You can talk about this all the time. Every play is huge. We’re playing for history right now.”
In their inaugural season, Rowland and his players, along with co-owner Steve Miller have brought winning basketball to the area.
“We made a promise to the people of Albany and the Capital District that we would provide affordable, professional basketball and a great family experience,” Miller said. “I think we’ve done that.”
The Legends are 18-3 in their first season, winning the Continental Division regular-season title and two playoff games to reach the finals.
“We’ve become a family,” said assistant coach Bob Catherwood.
Leading the way for the Legends this season has been former University of Cincinnati standout Kenny Satterfield (19.0 ppg) and the team’s leading scorer, forward Gordon Klaiber (19.5 ppg).
Klabier, who played at Fairleigh Dickinson, was named the Most Valuable Player of the Continental playoffs.
“The MVP award doesn’t mean much right now,” he said. “I’m not out there by myself. My teammates get me involved and they have a lot to do with me getting that award. Even if I hadn’t received it, this championship game means more.”
The Legends almost didn’t even make it out of their first playoff game.
Trailing 99-93 to the Battle Creek Knights with less than three minutes remaining, the Legends rallied to force overtime and won a thriller, 119-117.
“We’ve overcame adversity in a couple situations,” said Rowland, who called that comeback one of the greatest he’s ever been a part of. “When our backs were against the wall, we’ve seemed to answer.”
The Legends have eight players averaging in double figures, showing that points can come from anywhere and everywhere.
“Every game someone different has stepped up,” Catherwood said. “The bench has been great. When they come in, we lose very little.”
During the playoffs in Portland, Ore., the Legends received praise from players on the other teams, saying that they should win the title.
“The other teams watched us play and they said ‘You should win it all,’” Klaiber said.
The Slam (15-7) have been here before, winning the IBL title in 2008, their first season in the league.
Rowland said his team needs to play their own game, setting the tempo by playing tough defense and having that lead to transition points.
In games that are routinely played in the 100s, it may seem strange to talk about defense as being a key.
In fact, the Legends allow 113.3 points per game, but they score 125.9 per game.
With their coaching strategies they’ve been able to limit the other team’s top scorers and make things difficult.
“We just want to contest every shot we possibly can and pressure guys,” said Albany native Lloyd Johnson. “Teams are scoring used to scoring 120 or 130 points and we try to limit them to 100.”
Johnson, who played at Albany High and SchenectadyCountyCommunity College, expects a number of friends and family on hand Friday night.
“I’m going to have a lot of people here,” he said. “I’m going to try to put on a show for them.”
The team has accomplished a lot this season, but they know there’s one thing left to do.
“We’ve reached all of our goals so far,” Rowland said. “We have one more in front of us and that’s to win the championship.”
“If we win, it should be something we can remember and always look back on as something we accomplished,” Klaiber said.