Friday, June 5, 2009

Jacksonville, Florida—From the home office, well at least my home office in Jacksonville, Florida, here is the latest from the office of the Director of Basketball Operations.

We had a very strong week last week with two teams added to our roster. We have added teams in Pittsburgh, PA and in Louisiana. The two ownership groups are very strong with some very aggressive plans for marketing and development of their markets. In coming weeks we would like to surround these markets with investors in other cities and towns. The south is a basketball hotbed and we have significant interest in Louisiana, Florida, Georgia and Alabama. Up north, we have strong interest from other markets in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Ontario. These areas would fit in perfectly with our existing cities of Pittsburgh, Lancaster, Canton and Barberton, OH. Interest has also been expressed in Washington, Oregon and California. We will have all teams finalized by August 1st with no more expansion teams being accepted after that date.

During our owners conference call on Saturday, there were quite a few things that we discussed, mainly the rules we will be using for next season. What we have decided to do is to institute FIBA rules and tabled the discussion of utilizing a 22 second shot clock. The reason we are using FIBA rules is simple; we would like to prepare our players for international competition. The rest of the world goes by FIBA rules and if we want our players to advance in the world of basketball, we believe we should use the rules that the rest of the world goes by. When it comes to the 22 second clock, we are of the belief this is something that will speed up the game, force quicker decisions and of course increase scoring. This is an issue that was divided so we will make a final decision before our free agent camp in August.

One of the other things we discussed was our free agent camp and draft. The free agent camp and draft will be taking place in Canton, Ohio on the weekend of August 14th. This will be a league wide event with all teams participating. We are hoping to attract over 100 prospective players from around the country. These players will have the opportunity to showcase their talents in front of all of the coaches and general managers from the GPBL in a two day camp. Immediately following the camp, our first ever player draft will be held. This is an event we are excited about and are looking forward to. We will not only be showcasing our players and staff, but vendors from the world of basketball will be there to showcase their merchandise.

As the season approaches, we know there is quite a bit of work that needs to be done. We have teams to recruit, players and coaches to sign, venues to secure and so many other details to finalize. Keep the suggestions coming and know we are reading all of the comments our new fans are sending along to us. We value your input as it is your entertainment dollar that will be giving us a venue to showcase the talents of our ballplayers. For more information on the league, go to www.thegpbl.com.

Sincerely,
Chris Munson
Director of Basketball Operations
Global Professional Basketball League

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