Local man bringing ABA team to St. Joseph
ABA
Roger Nichols is used to running semi-professional teams and the Maryville resident has another one to build.
Nichols was recently awarded an American Basketball Association franchise in St. Joseph and the team — the Shields — will start play in November.
Nichols first ran a semi-pro football team in Independence, before operating the Nodaway County Lightning and Nodaway County Bulls.
Now, he will run an ABA franchise that is part of an expansion for the league.
There are currently 12 different divisions in the ABA and the Shields will be assigned to the Great Plains Division.
“The ABA is nothing to laugh at,” Nichols said. “There are always players developing to future players over time.”
Other divisional teams are the Topeka Steel, Kansas City Soul, Tulsa Twisters, Bartlesville Rimrattlers, Colorado Kings, Salina Saints, Colorado Gray Wolves and the St. Louis Spirit, another expansion team. The league was relaunched in 1999 after the league with the original name merged with the National Basketball Association in 1976.
There will be 120 teams competing for the ABA Championship next year. The Jacksonville Giants have won the past two titles, beating the Windy City Groove each time.
“We’ve found a very experienced man on and off the court,” ABA co-founder Joe Newman said in a press release of Nichols.
The league features 48-minute games with seven seconds to get the ball across the half-court line. If a team is unsuccessful, a turnover initiates a 3D light, which means a 2-point shot is worth three; a 3-pointer is worth four points and a half-court shot is five points.
Players in the league also can’t foul out, but six fouls on a player leads to a technical.
Nichols is a Kansas City native and served stints as a basketball coach at the high school level at Kansas City East and St. Joseph Central, before moving into the college game at Highland (Kansas) Community College.
He started coaching at the professional level in 1992 and has been involved off and on since.
“You continue to progress and try to reach your goal,” Nichols said of moving into pro ball.
Most recently he helped coach the Kansas City Majestic, a member of the Women’s Blue Chip Basketball League.
The idea for an ABA franchise followed and after a few phone calls, a franchise was awarded to St. Joseph.
“I would love to have a team located in Maryville, but the decision is because of population,” Nichols said. “It makes a difference when it comes to this sort of thing. The league approves the location and you go according to approval of the league.”
Nichols will serve as the owner, general manager and head coach of the franchise. Currently there is no location for home games yet, though Nichols is working on it.
Nichols is in the process of not only getting sponsors for the team, but also building a roster.
The goal is to have players on the roster with a mix of good shooters, tall players and quickness, but only 12 can dress for a game. Nichols recalls seeing a game between Topeka and Salina and the talent level in the league impressed him.
The coaching staff is already in place. The assistant coach will be Anthony Thomas, who played at Division I San Diego before moving into pro ball in Germany and Finland.
The player personnel operations department includes Kansas City natives Derek Durham and David Hickman, who played professionally in France. Durham, likewise, saw time professionally in France after attending Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
“They make a strong staff,” Nichols said.
Tryouts will be held Sunday, July 16, from 2-4 p.m. at the St. Joseph Rec Center at 2701 Southwest Parkway. Eligible players have to be 18 years or older and not currently playing on a high school, college, semi-pro or professional team. There is a $50 tryout fee (cash or money order only). Interested players should send playing background to Nichols at [email protected].
