Manly Mcllwain of Bradford makes it past the 1st cut for Pro Basketball Team

[Elmira Bulldogs Fan]

http://www.elmirabulldogs.com/index....id=1&Itemid=23

It looks like Manly has a up hill battle but I am pulling for him. This team has 6 D-1 players on it , he has to be having the time of his life at training camp.

Training Camp Roster. Final roster to be posted 2/24/08.

Name, Height/Position, Hometown, College

Darwin Young, 6'1/PG, Buffalo, NY, University of Buffalo

Steven Hodge, 5'10/PG, Hartford, CT, Johnson & Whales University

Justin Cichon, 6'2/SG, Utica, NY, Utica College

Lester McNair, 6'2/SG, Ithaca, NY, Buffalo State

Demontric Doddles, 6'7/SF, Harrison Valley, PA, Mansfield University

David Ruffin, 6'4/SF, Buffalo, NY, University of Hartford

Will Campbell, 6'8/PF, Elmira, NY, University of Alabama Birmingham

Yanif Ducreay, 6'11/C, Elmira, NY, Montana State-Northern

Mkenzie Clark, 6'10/PF, Buffalo, NY, Auburn University

Jaaron Greene, 7'0/C, Elmira, NY, George Washington

James Harris, 6'2/SG, Elmira, NY, Corning C.C.

Matt Wolf, 5'11/PG, Elmira, NY, Corning C.C.

Manly Mcllwain, 5'10/PG, Bradford, NY, N/A

Lorenzo Lee, 6'2/SG, Elmira, NY, Corning C.C.

[CAL12]

I am curious about this, because I happen to know what kind of player Manly was in high school, and it is shocking to me that this could occur. He was very streaky, but never had the potential to move on to another level. Was this "Pro basketball team" desparate or what is the deal? Very hard to believe.

[devster5534]

this pro bball team isn't your normal pro team...it's a failed franchise that is trying to succeed in another city...they hyped their first team to be very good and have the potential to beat an NBA team, yet they would lose to ABA teams...now they're in a unknown league that has a maximum of 10 teams (i forgot how many exactly) and they're trying to start over...hopefully their arena won't be on a hill this time so they can't blame their poor attendance on that.

[CAL12]

I figured that was the case, because I can't recall the last Bradford player to play at the collegiate level, let alone the "semi-pro team" Thanks for clearing this up.

[devster5534]

no problem. they were one of the jokes of the ABA

[Elmira Bulldogs Fan]

The Corning Bulldogs were an ABA team. The Elmira Bulldogs play in the NPBL and are a totally different team other then one or two players who will have now played on both teams. They also have replaced %50 of the teams ownership that walked away resulting in the Corning team to stop play in the ABA. The Corning Bulldogs ABA team was one of the more talented teams in the entire ABA, a top 5 talented team easily.

The Corning Bulldogs defeated the First State Fusion by 67 points in a game at Corning. It was the same First State Fusion that put a beat down on the Syracuse ABA team. So you could make a strong case that the Corning ABA team was about 80 points a game stronger then the Syracuse ABA team which is a large amount. The Elmira Bulldogs have picked up a few of the former Syracuse ABA teams players , I believe this may have been a mistake as they did get beat by the First State Fusion so really how good can they be ?

The Corning team also lost to the defending ABA champion Vermont Frost heaves 91-86 and it looks like Vermont will repeat again. After the Corning team stopped playing the teams top players were picked up by the Manchester Millrats , the ABA's current 2nd best team. So to say the Corning team was not very talented is a lie.

The Elmira Bulldogs NPBL team is stacked up with former D-1 players and I believe the local kid from Bradford will be a local 12th man which a lot of semi-pro teams do just to help with attendence and give the team a local feel.

Will this team last ? No one really knows, but from the buzz around town with the Elmira mayor taking part in opening game ceremonies on Saturday night a crowd of close to 1000 people is expected. Will it drop off from there ? Probably.

[DSport]

I wish them luck. The more sports we have in the area the better.

[devster5534]

The Corning Bulldogs were an ABA team. The Elmira Bulldogs play in the NPBL and are a totally different team other then one or two players who will have now played on both teams. They also have replaced %50 of the teams ownership that walked away resulting in the Corning team to stop play in the ABA. The Corning Bulldogs ABA team was one of the more talented teams in the entire ABA, a top 5 talented team easily.

The Corning Bulldogs defeated the First State Fusion by 67 points in a game at Corning. It was the same First State Fusion that put a beat down on the Syracuse ABA team. So you could make a strong case that the Corning ABA team was about 80 points a game stronger then the Syracuse ABA team which is a large amount. The Elmira Bulldogs have picked up a few of the former Syracuse ABA teams players , I believe this may have been a mistake as they did get beat by the First State Fusion so really how good can they be ?

The Corning team also lost to the defending ABA champion Vermont Frost heaves 91-86 and it looks like Vermont will repeat again. After the Corning team stopped playing the teams top players were picked up by the Manchester Millrats , the ABA's current 2nd best team. So to say the Corning team was not very talented is a lie.

The Elmira Bulldogs NPBL team is stacked up with former D-1 players and I believe the local kid from Bradford will be a local 12th man which a lot of semi-pro teams do just to help with attendence and give the team a local feel.

Will this team last ? No one really knows, but from the buzz around town with the Elmira mayor taking part in opening game ceremonies on Saturday night a crowd of close to 1000 people is expected. Will it drop off from there ? Probably.



Oh man.

First off, Corning and Elmira are basically the same team, with some new players...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmira_Bulldogs
http://www.stargazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/SPORTS/712200324/1002

They replaced 50% of the ownership because there were only two owners to begin with...not too hard to replace 50% when only one bails out.

Next, everyone read here about how the owner hyped that the team could beat an NBA team..and then the team went 2-3...

http://www.oursportscentral.com/boards/showthread.php?t=8938

Then, I guess you failed to mention the way that Corning team lost 4 straight before bowing out of the ABA. And by the way, First State beat Syracuse by 10. What a beating.
^^^
http://abalive.com/schedule/



This team is a joke. Oh yea and they blamed poor attendance on their arena being on a hill in Corning. Make sure the arena isn't on a hill before you leave for their game!!

[Elmira Bulldogs Fan]

If the Corning ABA team beat the First State Fusion by 67 points and the Syracuse ABA team lost to the First State Fusion by 10 points that would be close very close to an 80 point swing.
If you think the Corning team was bad then I would have loved to see a tape of the sham that was in Syracuse.

[Elmira Bulldogs Fan]

DVester if you were from the area you would know that the CCC main campus is on a steep narrow road with many curves that does go up a hill for about 5 miles. Many high school students from the area usually opt to not go to CCC just because of that hill and its track record with serious accidents in the winter. It is apparent you are not from this area so perhaps you should talk about what you know as the hill at CCC is an issue that we all understand and as locals have become familliar with it.

[devster5534]

If the Corning ABA team beat the First State Fusion by 67 points and the Syracuse ABA team lost to the First State Fusion by 10 points that would be close very close to an 80 point swing.
If you think the Corning team was bad then I would have loved to see a tape of the sham that was in Syracuse.


That's like comparing apples and oranges...you can't compare two teams fairly unless they play each other

[devster5534]

DVester if you were from the area you would know that the CCC main campus is on a steep narrow road with many curves that does go up a hill for about 5 miles. Many high school students from the area usually opt to not go to CCC just because of that hill and its track record with serious accidents in the winter. It is apparent you are not from this area so perhaps you should talk about what you know as the hill at CCC is an issue that we all understand and as locals have become familliar with it.


but still, you can't blame a team's failure on it...if it was such a problem, it shouldn't have been the venue in the first place...and the marketing should make up for it since it was the venue

[Elmira Bulldogs Fan]

I think you can blame a team's failure on the venue location but then you must blame the owner's for putting the team in that venue in the first place.
I do not think marketing department was to blame in Corning as they had numbers in the 300+ range for Houston and Vermont and most people guessed they would have a typical CCC mens basketball crowd of about 30. I do know that the two Wednesday night crowds were very small and in about the 100 range. I think when it was all said and done the marketing people did a good job with what they had to work with. The owner's messed up with putting a team in that venue.

They now have a good central location in Elmira surrounded by a lot of homes. The NPBL looks like a small budget weekend only league with only a 14game regular season so I would guess they only need about 300 fans to stick around. If they can not get 300 people a game in a good location then I would be shocked.

[The1andONLY51]

Why didn't you try out if this team is so bad? Could you have made it? Why don't you stop bashing them and let them play?

[Elmira Bulldogs Fan]

I was at the home opener last night and Manly did not get into the game. Awesome game though and a big crowd. Look's as if this team has finally found a home, good for them.

[devster5534]

Why didn't you try out if this team is so bad? Could you have made it? Why don't you stop bashing them and let them play?

alright, let's not take this that much out of context...i said they were a bad team compared to other professional leagues (not the nba or d-league)