The World Basketball Association will be holding its 4th Free Agent League Tryouts on April 13th & 14th, 2007 at Life University in Marietta, Georgia. This camp will be conducted in order to give free agents an opportunity to be exposed to all teams in the WBA. There will be a Free Agent Selection Draft held directly after the camp. At last season's Free Agent Camp, 40 players from the camp were drafted by teams in the league. This season 60 players will be drafted, as each team will select in 8 rounds. There will be a separate College/Rookie draft held directly after the Free Agent Draft. Drafted free agents and rookies will report to team training camps directly after the Free Agent camp, joining vets and protected players for preparation for opening night on April 27th. Teams participating in the 2007 WBA are...

  · Biloxi, MS
  · Marietta GA
  · Evansville IN
  · Rome, GA
  · Mayas-USA (Dallas)
  · Murfreesboro TN
  · Knoxville, TN
  · South Haven, MS
  · Little Rock,AR
  · Hattiesburg, MS

The WBA is a stepping stone to the future for you aspiring pro players. Last season, numerous players moved on to professional playing jobs overseas, as well as, in the CBA and D-League - even the NBA - as former WBA players David Young was drafted by Seattle and Kyle Davis was signed as a free agent by the New Jersey Nets Anthony Grundy with the Atlanta hawks, and Josh Powell with the Indiana Pacers.
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WBA Annouces New Addition to Dallas

Nov. 17, 2006
Dallas, TX - The World Basketball Association has announced that the very successful Mayas de Yucatan of Mexico's #1 league LNBP (Liga Nacional Balonocesto Professional) has successfully had it's bid to join the WBA for the upcoming 2007 season accepted. On Thursday, November 16th 2006, Mayas-USA(Dallas) held a national press conference at it's world headquarters in Merida, Mexico to announce the team's plans to place a franchise in Dallas, Texas. Mayas-USA has also announced their Head Coach and General Manager for their team operations in the United States will be Lionel Garrett . Garrett is a former NBA player with the Clippers, former WBA Head Coach with the Marietta Storm, and spent this past season as the Head Coach of the team's LNBP franchise in Mexico, Mayas de Yucatan. Garrett guided the expansion franchise with former WBA stars Daryl Dorsey and Mike Benton to a playoff birth this season in the LNBP. Garrett and the Mayas having just come off a very successful season at the international professional level look for Mayas-USA to being the premier development stage for their organization abroad. WBA Director of Basketball Operations Chris Terrell was quoted as saying "The WBA is committed to providing an exposure stage to it's athletes to opportunities with the NBA and with high level international teams. The union between the LNBP team and their WBA Minor League affiliate in Dallas will be yet another in-road for players to take that next step in their careers. We're very happy about the development plans and direction of this expansion and encourage other overseas teams to build a bridge of development from the United States to professional play in their country."

The WBA's best two teams and best two players were on display Saturday night.

But there was only one trophy for the taking, and the Rome Gladiators made sure it belonged to them.

Again.

Showing great poise and relentless depth, the Gladiators claimed their second straight WBA title by earning a 125-114 double-overtime victory over Cartersville in the league's championship game at Shorter's Winthrop King Centre.

"This one was sweeter than last year," said head coach Harold Ellis. "We proved tonight that we have the best 12 players in this league, hands down. We've had the best record all year and tonight was the final proof of who's No. 1."

Rome and Cartersville entered the playoffs as the No. 1 and 2 seeds, respectively, and the match-up of the two teams provided for a thrilling championship game.

But Rome ultimately showed itself to be the deeper squad, outscoring Cartersville 15-4 in the second OT to put an exclamation point on their third season of existence.

"We have at least five guys who come off the bench for us that could be starting for any team in this league," said forward Edmund Saunders, who finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds.

"Our depth has been big for us all year, and it was the difference tonight."

The league announced before the game that Rome's Shaun Fountain and Cartersville's Mike Dean were being named the WBA's Co-Players of the Year. And both players proved themselves deserving of the honor.

Dean, the former Coosa star, scored 29 points on 11-of-28 shooting. Fountain finished with 25 points, nine assists and six rebounds and was named the playoffs' MVP to go along with his regular-season award.

"Winning the two awards is great," said Fountain. "It shows that hard work, prayer and believing in yourself go a long way.

"But more than (the individual honors), I'm just thrilled that we won the title," he said. "Throughout my basketball career, I've come close so many times but I never got over the hump until tonight."

But Cartersville certainly made the Glads work for this one. Though the Warriors never led at any stage of the game, they picked some opportune times to tie the score.

They tied it for the first time all night with 1.5 seconds to go in regulation, then overcame a seven-point deficit in the first overtime to tie it again and send it into double OT.

But Rome opened the second extra session with a 10-2 run and held on from there.

Five Rome players finished in double figures. In addition to Fountain and Saunders, Ray Cunningham scored 18 points, Rashiem Wright scored 17 (including nine in the second overtime) and Carl Edwards finished with 10.

"We won this thing as a group just like we've done all season long," said Ellis, who was named the league's Co-Coach of the Year, sharing the award with Cartersville's David Archer. "I'm so proud of this team."

The WBA is an assemblage of far-flung teams from all over the Southeast. But there wasn't much travel required for the teams - or their fans - for Friday's all North Georgia affair, which was played in front of a good-sized crowd at the WKC. (The building was roughly three-quarters full).

"I can't thank the fans enough," said Ellis. "This gym had a lot of energy tonight and they've supported us so well the past two years."

The Glads opened the night with a 9-0 run, led 27-20 at the end of the first quarter, 53-41 at the half and 79-67 at the end of the third. But the Warriors, led by Dean, charged back to tie it in the fourth quarter, setting the stage for the late drama.

"Give Cartersville credit, they gave us a really hard test," said Saunders. "But we showed who was the best team." Again.

NOTE: Former Atlanta Hawk Mike Glenn, who played at Coosa, was the emcee of the pregame and postgame ceremonies.

1. Darryl "Majic" Dorsey (6-1, PG, Marietta Storm - WBA)***
ESPN magazine cover boy is ultra-talented PG and finally getting recognition he deserves.

2. Eric Fiegi (6-9, F, Salem Stampede - IBL)
Can go inside or out; leads IBL in scoring (33.7 ppg) and getting long looks from NBA.

3. Nate Johnson (6-2, G, Kansas Cagerz - USBL)
Reigning USBL MVP is lightning quick, an exceptional defender and explosive scorer.

4. Brian Chase (5-10, PG, Nebraska Cranes - USBL)
Score-first point man is averaging 21.8 ppg and shooting a sizzling 92 percent from line.

5. Will Pippen (6-9, F, Mufreesboro Musicians - WBA)***
Nephew of Scottie Pippen is tearing up league to tune of 22.5 ppg and 9.2 rpg.

6. Jay Youngblood (6-5, G, Cuyahoga Falls Cougars/Battle Creek Knights - IBL)
One of minors' best all-around natural athletes; has worked out for Cavaliers.

7. Mike Mackall (6-9, C/PF, Oklahoma Storm - USBL)
Low-post presence is sometimes dominant ; averages 14.9 ppg on 55 percent shooting.

8. Cedric McGinnis (6-9, F/C, Murfreesboro Musicians - WBA)***
Nephew of former NBA All-Star George McGinnis can post up or play wing effectively.

9. Detrick White (6-1, PG, Mississippi HardHats - WBA)***
Quick, intelligent point man is team-first guy who's capable of scoring 20 if necessary.

10. Steve Castleberry (7-0, C , NEPA Breakers - USBL)
A shocker when he doesn't get a double-double; averaging 15.2 ppg and 11.2 rpg.

11. Ajamu Gaines (5-10, G, West Virginia Wild - IBL)
Undersized shooting guard not an undersized talent. Averages 29.0 ppg.

12. Quannas White (6-1, PG, Oklahoma Storm - USBL)
Unselfish playmaker may be most underrated player in all of minors.

13. Will Caudle (6-9, F, Cleveland Majic/Murfreesboro Musicians - WBA)***
Strong inside presence with good hands and nice shooting touch.

14. Ryan Edwards (6-5, F, Lake County Lakers - IBL)
Does a little bit of everything well; fifth in IBL in scoring at 26.1 ppg.

15. Brad Lechtenberg (6-2, G, Vancouver Volcanoes - IBL)
Long-range bomber may be best pure shooter in all of minors; averages 25.6 ppg.

16. George Leach (6-11, C, Rome Gladiators - WBA)***
True center who doesn't mind doing dirty work at the expense of individual glory.

17. Chris Sandy (6-2, G, Brooklyn Kings - USBL)
Has stepped up play to tune of 20.9 ppg and 47 percent on three-pointers.

18. Bobby Brown (6-6, SG/SF, Cartersville Warriors - WBA)***
League's reigning defensive player of year can shut down anyone from points to forwards.

19. Jared Bledsoe (6-3, G, Holland Blast - IBL)
Quick, strong and a relaible scorer; improving with each game.

20. Renaldo Major (6-7, F, Dodge City Legend - USBL)
Hard-worker is model of consistency; averages 18.9 ppg on 49 percent FG shooting.

Sam Amico is the editor of probasketballnews.com. He can be reached at amico@probasketballnews.com.

1. Rome Gladiators (WBA)***
Gladiators won 11 straight following 1-2 start; credit belongs to inside-out combo of George Leach (6-11) and Shaun Fountain (6-1).

2. Oklahoma Storm (USBL)
Coach Bryan Gates' boasts one of most balanced teams in all of pros, with talents like Terrence Johnson, Terrance Crawford and Mike Mackall.

3. Dodge City Legend (USBL)
Renaldo Major and Julian Banks have been huge for a team that also features 7-foot-9 rookie center Sun Ming Ming.

4. Cartersville Warriors (WBA)***
Standouts Bobby Brown and Mike Dean are two of best in all of minors, making sure Warriors play fearless basketball.

5. Columbus Cyclones (IBL)
Owner Charlie Mitchell says he would play any minor league team in any league, "anytime, anywhere." THAT is how good these guys are.

6. Nebraska Cranes (USBL)

7. Mississippi HardHats (WBA)***
Detrick White and Horatio Webster are two excellent examples of the fact WBA is loaded with exceptional talent this season.

Shaun Fountain named WBA Player of the Week - Jun. 19, 2006

Atlanta, GA - Shaun Fountain (5'10''-G-77, college: Wisc.-Milwaukee) of the Rome Gladiators has been named WBA Player of the Week for the week ending 6/19/06. Rome kept their hold on the top seed in the upcoming WBA Championship Tournament by getting two very impressive wins on the road at Little Rock, Arkansas and at the Mississippi Hardhats. In the two victories Rome improved to a league best 15-3 on the season with 2 games to play. Led by the very steady point guard play of Shaun Fountain (5'10''-G-77, college: Wisc.-Milwaukee) their magic number is now 1 to clinch the top seed and the best overall record on the season. Fountain in a hostile environment controlled the flow of both of the road wins averaging 15.5 points and 8.5 assists and 0 turnovers.