National Wheelchair Basketball Association

NEWSLETTER omu 01 the Commluio..., • 111 S •• lon Building • l .. inoton. K Y 40506

Volume XXXII December 23. 1992 Number 4

PLAYER CLASSIFICATION LISTING PUBLISHED

For the first time since 1986, this Office has compiled and published a listing of team rosters and players' classifications. This has come about through the assignment given Assistant Commissioner Mike Woodard to chase down the unrecorded classifications of players listed on NWBA member teams for the past two seasons . The response to his inquiries has been positive in the main . There are many players listed without official classifications but whose classifications are imminent.

Players whose names appear on game report forms submitted to this Office are checked regularly for their team membership and classification . Team representatives are alerted to the need for notification of roster additions to the Office of the Commissioner as well as processing of Player Applications Forms for new players.

u. S. APPEAL OF GOLD MEDAL WITHDRAWAL CONTINUES.

The appeal process being pursued by the U. S. Disabled Sports Team to get the International Coordinating Committee (ICC) to reverse the decision made to strip the U. S. Wheelchair Basketball Team of the gold medal won in the 1992 Paralympic Games in Barcelona, Spain advanced a step when the Sports Coordinating and Executive Committees of the International Stoke Mandeville Wbeelchair Sports Federation voted to request the ICC to hear the appeal.

At the mid-year meeting held in Milan, Italy, December 3-5, Phil Craven, Chairman of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) presented the facts in the case , referring to the 55-page appeal document that the United States Disabled Sports Team had prepared and submitted to the IWBF.

The appeal comes following a positive urine test on U. S. Team player David Kiley for the substance dextropropoxyphene, a mild painkiller and non-performance enhancing

prescription medication after the championship game against Holland . Kiley had taken the pill two days earlier to still the "shooting1

pains in his legs. In the events that followed, the ICC, through the presidents of the six-member international sports federations, voted to disqualify the U. S. from the competitions and reallocate the medals to Holland, France and Germany, respectively. Some two weeks had elapsed by that time .

If the ICC agrees to hear the appeal, it will probably be in April when it is scheduled to have its last meeting. Thereafter J the International Paralympic Committee will take over authority for the 1996 Paralympic Games.

TEAM MEMBERSHIP TERMINATED

After reviewing the series of violations committed by the Kentucky Rolling Throughbreds over the past two seasons, the NWBA Executive Committee ruled on December 15 to terminate the team 1s membership in the NWBA. Acting on recommendations from the Commissioner, the Executive Committee ruled also to suspend the participation of all individuals on the team 1s 1992-93 roster pending application for reinstatement to the Commissioner and to discipline any NWBA team which agrees to play the Kentucky Rolling Thoroughbreds or any team which knov.>ingly plays a team with a suspended Kentucky Rolling Thoroughbreds player in its lineup.

The following individuals are suspended indefinitely:

Mike Akin Wm. Burton Larry Diamond David Hartsek Kurt Kelley Mike Paulus Allen Rose Steve Stobaugh

Rod Boblitt Rob Coisman Charles Hall Kenneth Jolly Jim Paulus V1rgil proffitt Mark Saylor

The basis for the action is found in NWBA Constitution Article V, Section 5, Termination of Membership.

2

The Thoroughbreds have failed to answer satisfactorily to violations of NWBA rules and regulations involving their use of ineligible players and have disregarded the payment of fines a nd penalties imposed over the past two st:!l:ilions .

PEOPLE IN THE NWBA

o Southern Conference Commissioner Roger A. Davis, Jrls address has changed to: 1536 Hermitage View Blvd., Madison. TN 37115. Tel: (615) 865-8958.

o Angelo Mongiovi of the New Jersey Blue Devils of the Mid-Atlantic Conference has resigned his position on the NWBA Tournament Selection Committee citing the fact that he does not "have the contact with a large number of NWBA teams that 1 once had. II Mongiovi served on the Committee since its inception in 1990.

o Charlie Hudnall, President of the Carolinas Conference. has announced his resignation as of December . Hudnall served the conference as Assistant Commissioner from 1989 to 1992 .

o Frank Brasile, Assistant Commissioner of the Central Intercollegiate Conference. has announced his resignation from the office at the end of the 1992- 93 season, bringing to a c lose 20 years of direct leadership in the sport. Brasile's increasing responsibilities as a faculty member at the University of Nebraska at Omaha have dictated the decision, he wrote in a letter to the Commissioner earlier this season .

A founder of the CIC and the National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament, Brasile has coached teams at the University of Illinois ( 1974-78), and Richmond, VA (1979-81). He served as the assistant coach to the U. 5 . women's team in 1990 in 51. Etienne, France which won the world championship. and in 1992 in Barcelona, Spain which returned with the silver medal. His published articles on skills testing in the sport havQ aidQd coaches in their evaluation of players for selection to national teams dating back to 1986.

Brasile has indicated he will continue to work in support of the NWBA's endeavors nationally and internationally.

DECEMBER: 30 YEARS AGO - 1962

There were five conferences and 30 teams in the NWBA. By December 19. the scores of 29 games had been reported to the Office of the Comm1ssioner. Tom Timme of the St . Louis Rams, led the 9-team Midwest Conference with a 20.0 points per game average. Marvin Lapicola of the Chicago Sidewinders was second with an average of 16.8 points. The December 19 Newsletter carried this dramatic game description: "Billy Clem sank a 35-foot hook shot with one second left against the Champaign-Urbana Black Knights to give Kansas City a 27 -25 victory."

20 YEARS AGO - 1972

The December 1 deadline date for receipt of team rosters passed with 36 teams delinquent including these teams of yesteryear: Montco Ironsides, Greenville, SCi High Point, NC; Johnstown, PA Rehab Center; Woodrow Wilson Rehab Center; Springfield Spoke Jockeys: Vancouver Cablecars; Nashville Wheelcats; Green Springs Sizzlers, Hayward, CA: Holyoke Hotwhee1s: Nutmeg. WAC ; San Jose Spinners; West Virginia Rehab Center. The annual membership dues of $50.00 were to be sent to NWBA Treasurer Bill Dombroski.

10 YEARS AGO - 1982

The Executive Committee meeting in Chicago on December 10 and 11. directed the Commissioner to draft a proposal for an amendment to the Bylaws which would give the Commissioner authority to deny player transfers which were deemed not to be in the best interests of the Association. 11

There were 29 conferences. two with three divisions (North Central and Southern) and one with two divisions (Southern California). A total of 175 teams were registered .

Two new Assistant Commissioners were welcomed into the NWBA : Bill Bowness of the 7-team California-Nevada Conference, and Boots Cooper of the 4-team Prairie Conference (Canada) .

CORRECTIONS

Our attention has been drawn to some errors in the November 30 issue of the Newsletter:

o Ariel Roman, inducted into the NWAA

Hall of Fame, did not begin his wheelchair basketball career with the Bulova Watchmakers, as reported. He played initially with the Brooklyn Whirlaways.

a Ben Lipton was inducted into the NWBA Hall of Fame in 1974 and not 1973, the year of its inception.

o The Eastern Conference listing of officers and team representatives was omitted from the 1992-93 Directory which accompanied the November 30 Newsletter . A copy of the missing page is included with this Newsletter to all those who received the Directory.

COACHES' SELECTION EXTENDED

A decision has been made by the Chairman of the Coaches' Selection Committee, Marvin Lapicola. to delay the pick for the men's national team coach for 1993 and 1994 until the post Christmas period . The extra time was requested by members of the Committee in order to gain additional information from the candidates.

USA BASKETBALL RESTRUCTURES

USA Basketball's Board of Directors met in Chicago on December 14 to review several recommendations presented by its Executive Committee for restructuring the organization. Final approval of the recommendations which will involve amendments to the constitution will take place at a special congress in Chicago on February 1, 1993.

The proposed changes in the organization involve the way in which teams will be selected for national and international competition . Herefotore, all teams have been selected by a single committee. Beginning in 1994, the responsibility for selecting players and staff will accrue to the organizations "most directly involved with supplying staff members and athletes for that team. n

Thus I it is proposed that a Committee for Wheelchair Basketball will be established, ml:ld~ up of nine p~l'sons: Chairperson, four NWBA appointees, two At -large representatives. and two athlete representatives. The Committee would select the players and staff for the World Championship I Pan American Wheelchair Games. and Summer Paralympic Games. There would be a Committee for men and another for

3

women.

Among other actions taken by the Board was the approval of the establishment of a Standing Committee for the Disabled chaired by NWBA Commissioner Stan Labanowich . Included on the Committee are James E. Delaney, Commissioner of the Big Ten Conference, and Judith Hoiland, Associate Athletic Director, UCLA, representing the NCAA; George Killian, Executive Director of the NJCAAj and Robert F. Kanaby.

NWBA President Marvin Lapicola attended the meeting along with Commissioner Labanowich.

ELECTION OF VP TO TAKE PLACE AT ANNUAL MEETING

The annual meeting of the NWBA will take place on Thursday, March 25 from 7 to 9 pm . • and on Friday I March 26 from 9 to 4 pm. at the Boston-Cambridge Hyatt Regency.

The last item on the agenda will be the election for First Vice President of the NWBA. The incumbent is Armand lITipll Thiboutot of Wayland, MA.

Nominations for the five-year term of office should be sent to Lew Shaver I Chairman, Nominations Committee, Bellows 122, Southwest State University, Marshall, MN 56258 .

RUSSELL TO CHAIR TSC MEETING IN LEXINGTON, KY

The Tournament Selection Committee will convene in Lexington, KY immediately following the Bluegrass Invitational Wheelchair Basketball Tournament on February 7 to rank and assign teams to the sixteen regional tournaments that constitute the first level of play leading to the Final Four of the 45th NWBT. The champions will advance to one of the four sectional tournaments three weeks later from which four finalists will emerge to en ter the NWB T .

Presiding over the Committee's deliberations will be Bruce Russell of Kitchener. Ontario, who succeeds Morris Gardner of Trafford, Alabama as Chairman. Gardner chaired the Committee for the past three years in which the present postseason playoff system has been in effect . He currently serves as Treasurer of the NWBA and will continue to

4

serve on the TSC .

Following the resignation of Angelo Mongiovi from the Committee, reported earlier, Russell has confirmed the appointment of Stan Kosloski of the CouuecUcut Spokebenders to replace him. The remaining members of the Committee are Wayne Kunishige, Fresno Red Rollers, Leroy Ransom, Pacific Coast Conference, Ron Williams, Dallas Wheelchair Mavericks, and Jim Taylor, Chicago Wheelchair Bulls .

Facing the Committee will be the difficult task of ranking the 64 or more teams expected to advance into postseason play and distributing them as evenly as possible among the sixteen regionals, taking both team records and travel distance into account. An additional Committee responsibility is the assigning of game officials to the tournaments from those names recommended by both conferences and independent teams. The notification of teams and officials concerned will be undertaken immediately to enable travel arrangements to be made in advance of the February 20 and 21 weekend on which the regionals fall.

NOMINATION OF OFFICIALS FOR POSTSEASON PLAY

Conference commissioners and representatives of all independent teams applying for regional tournament berths are reminded about the procedures for recommending game officials for the regionals . They are spelled out fully in Regulation 4, page 43, of the NWBA Constitution, Bylaws and Executive Regulations. Conferences are required to recommend two officials and two alternates ; independent teams, one official and one alternatej tournament directors, one official.

MORE BIDS RECEIVED FOR POSTSEASON TOURNAMENTS

Three additional bids have been received for hosting regionals and sectionals. Rockford Chariots bid to host a regional tournament while the Dallas Wheelchair Mavericks put in a bid for both a regional and the Southern Sectional Tournament . The Grand Rapids Pacers bid to host the Midwest Sectional.

The dates of the regionals are February 21-23; sectionals, March 13 1nd 14.

The following bids have been awarded:

EAST: Regionals Kitchener, Ontario; Toledo, OH; Richmond, VA; and a s ite to be named by the Big East Conference Sectional - Philadelphia, PA

MIDWEST: Regionals - Denver, CO; Little Rock, ARj st. Louis, MOj Rockford, IL Sectional - Minneapolis, MN

SOUTH: Regionals Charlotte, NC; Birmingham, ALj Chattanooga, TN; Houston, TX Sectional - Dallas, TX

FAR WEST: Regionals - Kent, WA; (3 sites still to be arranged) Sectional - Fresno, CA

The 45th NWBT dates are March 26 and 27.

LATEST TOP 25

The TSC Top 25 for December based on nine members voting:

Last Month

1. Recommendations must be submitted in writing 2. to the Office of the Commissioner of the NWBA 3. postmarked no later than January 28, 1993 . 4.

Fresno Red Rollers (4) 3 Arkansas R. Razorbacks (4) 1 Dallas Mavericks (1) 2 Golden St. Road Warriors 6

5. Keep in mind that officials recommended must 6. come only from among those listed in the 1992- 7. 93 Officials Test Results (scheduled to be 8. published in early January) who have both 9. successfully passed the annual test and have 10. been approbated by the NWBA using the 11. official form . 12.

13. 14. 15. 16.

Ottawa Royals 4 Chattanooga Big Wheels 7 Casa Colina Condors 5 North Florida Renegades 8 Grand Rapids Pnccrs 9 Music City Lightning 10 Twin City Spinners 11 Lakeshore Pioneers 12 Toledo Silver Streaks 14 UTA Movin' Mavs 15 Alberta Northern Ughts 20 Long Beach Flying Wheels 13

17. Chicago Bulls 19 18. Courage Rolling Timherwolves 17 19. Virginia Beach Sun Wheelers 25 20. Houston Rollin' Cougars 23 21. Utah Western Wheelin' Jazz 22 22 . Baltimore WAC 16 23. Los Angeles Stars 18 24. San Diego Knights 21 25. Denver Rolling Cowboys

Honorable mention : U. of Illinois Fighting Illini Pasadena Big Wheels

APPLICATIONS FOR REGIONAL TOURNAMENT BERTHS

All teams seeking 8 berth in a postseason regional tournament are required to submit the application form included with Uris Newsletter. The deadline for submitting the form, together with the $50.00 fee, is January 27.1993.

19TH NWWBT AT WSU

The 19th Annual National Women 's Wheelchair Basketball Tournament will be held March 20-25 . 1993 at Wright State University in Dayton. OH. Nine NWBA member teams will vie for the title won last year by the Illinois Fighting lllini .

Tournament Director is Jean Denney . For detailed information on game schedules I program advertising, accommodations, and annual meeting schedule, contact Jean at:

356 Nutter Center or 009 PE Wright State University Dayton. OH 45435 (513) 873- 2725 (W) (513) 767-1780 (H) (513) 873-2368 FAJ{

5