The Newfoundland Rogues basketball team will be leaving the American Basketball Association and joining the Basketball League for its next season, team officials announced Thursday.
Team owner Tony Kenny said travel difficulties related to COVID-19 played a major role in the decision to switch leagues. The Newfoundland Rogues played – and won – six games as part of the American Basketball Association before being forced to suspend play last winter.
The TBL has a partnership with the National Basketball League of Canada, which means the Newfoundland Rogues will play against teams from both leagues.
“We had an opportunity here, because [TBL] has a partnership with the NBL of Canada, that we can now play games in Canada, which reduces travel a lot, ”he said. “If they’re in Canada, we know the game is going, we don’t have to worry.”
Kenny said the team will have a 40-game schedule, with 28 games played at Mary Brown’s Center and 12 on the road. He said the league will also have playoff games and an all-star game. The Newfoundland Rogues will host teams from the United States as well as Ontario and Quebec through its partnership with the NBL.
“We’re going to have the best of both worlds,” Kenny said.
Kenny said the season is scheduled to start in late January and run through mid-May, with the playoffs starting immediately after. He said the squad and schedule will be finalized by October 1.
The head coach is working to fill out the roster
Head coach Jerry Williams said several players who were on the 2021-22 roster have moved on and he is working to fill positions on this year’s team.
“I talk to a lot of guys about coming to play in Newfoundland,” he said.
Williams said he was in talks with former NBA player Ron Artest, among others. He said more than six players have been confirmed so far.
“You’ll be surprised,” he said.
David Magley, former NBA player and president of TBL, said the league uses NBA rules, including a 48-minute game and offensive scoring.
“We think that’s what the fans want to see,” he said.
Room for two basketball teams?
Magley helped found the league in 2018, which now has around 52 teams, including two in Canada. He said the league hopes to have 24 teams in Canada over the next four years. He said TBL will also help NBL grow in Canada, after nearly three years plagued by disruptions due to COVID-19.
“I help develop both leagues at the same time, and there really shouldn’t be much noticeable difference when you see us play,” he said.
The Newfoundland Rogues are one of two basketball teams in St. John’s — the other being the Newfoundland Growlers, who play at Memorial University Stadium as part of the Canadian Elite Basketball League.
Magley said he thinks there is room for two basketball teams in the city.
“Why can’t two leagues, especially two that don’t overlap much in schedule, play at the same time?”
The now-defunct St. John’s Edge basketball team played as part of the NBL, but was forced to suspend its season in the fall of 2021 when St. John’s Sports and Entertainment ended to the team’s lease at Mary Brown’s Centre.
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