International Basketball League

International Basketball League (IBL)
International Basketball League Logo
Sport Basketball
Founded 2004
Inaugural season 2005
Ceased 2014
No. of teams 13
Countries  United States
Continent FIBA Americas (Americas)
Last
champion(s)		 Bellingham Slam (2014)
Most titles Bellingham Slam (4)
Official website IBL.com

The International Basketball League (IBL) was a semi-professional men's basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States to join. The IBL also sometimes featured teams from China and Japan which temporarily relocated to the United States for the IBL season. The IBL season typically ran from the end of March through July.

History

Founded by Portland area sports promoter Mikal Duilio,[1] the league features rules designed to create a fast-paced, high-scoring brand of basketball. Duilio first began planning for the league with a series of test games in Portland and Seattle in November 2003. These games featured a mixture of traditional college and NBA rules, plus two rules created specifically for the league:

  • The "Immediate Inbound" Rule: After a made basket, the referee threw the ball to a nearby player from the team which had been scored on, instead of a player throwing in the ball from under the basket, to eliminate wasted time.
  • A 22-second shot clock was used instead of the NBA's 24. A defensive non-shooting foul or kicked ball reset it to 12.

The test games proved popular and resulted in the founding of the IBL in August 2004. Founded with eight teams, the league expanded to 17 by the start of the season in April 2005. Each team played approximately 20 regular season games, most of them centered on their home region, with the teams with the two best records playing in a championship game at the end of the season. The Battle Creek Knights won the inaugural title by going undefeated in the regular season and beating the Dayton Jets in the finals.

In the league's first year, the up-tempo rules resulted in the average team scoring 126.9 points per game, nearly 30 points more than the NBA team average in 2004-05, and slightly higher than the NBA record for points per game by a team in a single season, set by the Denver Nuggets in 1981-82.

In 2010, the league launched a winter season which saw nine different teams compete. Four teams played an entire schedule and thus made them eligible for the playoffs.[2]

In July 2011, Duilio sold the league to Vancouver, Washington, businessman Bryan Hunter.[3] Sharleen Graf was appointed as the league's new commissioner.[4]

In March 2014 the IBL ceased operation as an independent entity and combined with the West Coast Basketball League (WCBL).[5] Teams were split into an 'International Conference' and 'Continental Conference' based on geography.

Teams

Joined other leagues

Teams history

IBL Champions

YearChampionScoreRunner-Up
2005 Battle Creek Knights124-121Dayton Jets
2006 Elkhart Express119-108 (OT)Columbus Cyclones
2007 Elkhart Express113-109Portland Chinooks
2008 Bellingham Slam118-111Elkhart Express
2009 Los Angeles Lightning2-1 (best-of 3)Oregon Waves
2010 Summer Albany Legends126-111Bellingham Slam
2010 Winter Kankakee County Soldiers88-87Gary Splash
2011 Vancouver Volcanoes124-116Edmonton Energy
2012 Bellingham Slam142-109Portland Chinooks
2013 Bellingham Slam117-114Vancouver Volcanoes
2014 Bellingham Slam143-126Vancouver Volcanoes

Championships by club

TeamChampionshipsSummer SeasonsWinter Seasons
Bellingham Slam42008, 2012, 2013, 2014
Elkhart Express22006, 2007
Battle Creek Knights12005
Los Angeles Lightning12009
Albany Legends12010
Kankakee County Soldiers12010
Vancouver Volcanoes12011

Notable people

Commissioners

  • Mikal Duilio (2004–July 2011)
  • Sharleen Graf (July 2011–2014)

Players

Coaches

Final regular season standings

References

  1. ↑ "Portlanders start pro hoops league". Portland Business Journal. 17 August 2004.
  2. ↑ IBL 2010/11 Winter Division Championship Tournament
  3. ↑ IBL ownership fills void for driven Hunter
  4. ↑ "International Basketball League Names New Commissioner". Our Sports Central. 23 July 2011.
  5. ↑ "WCBL joins IBL in vision for minor leagues". Our Sports Central. 28 March 2014.
  6. ↑ Weekly Sports and Franchise Report
  7. ↑ Weekly Sports and Franchise Report
  8. ↑ Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
  9. ↑ Titans Decline to Participate on 2011 IBL Season Archived 2010-03-17 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
  11. ↑ Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report
  12. ↑ "Vander Velden takes the helm in Battle Creek", IBLHoopsOnline.com, 24 October 2006, International Basketball League, retrieved 27 December 2007
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