24:
242:, which were a founding member of the league, would not be playing in the MPBA in the upcoming season, because the team was "unable to submit, per league rules, a venue agreement or playing dates for the upcoming season." The same day, the Flex announced they would not be playing in any league in 2016. The Flex's departure leaves the league with seven teams for the 2016 season.
257:
On
December 14 the former front office of the Groove announced they would be joining the American Basketball Association with their season set to begin December 20, and continuing to use the Groove name and logo. A December 17, 2015 email from ABA CEO Joe Newman to MPBA officials stated the name and
245:
The league announced on
November 5, 2015, that it had assumed control of the Chicago Force and Windy City Groove franchises, citing "league rules regarding ownership and team operation guidelines." Coaches Rick Pryor and Handy Johnson, who had coached the respective teams in 2015, would be retained,
278:
On August 31, 2016, the league observed the milestone of advancing its 50th player to a higher domestic or foreign league since beginning play in
January 2015, when 2016 Most Valuable Player Alfonzo Houston of the Pontiac 66ers signed with Nuova Polisportiva Stabia in Italy. To date, the MPBA has
253:
of the same name in the same city, which had been in operation for thirteen years. On the same date a trademark application was filed by
Chicago Basketball League Corporation for the name and logo of the Windy City Groove, despite the fact the name and logo were created by Joyce Thomas of Joyce
227:
was won by the Swarm 115-106, after trailing by as many as 17 points in the first half and by as many as 13 in the fourth quarter. Champaign's Avery Smith was named
Playoff Most Valuable Player after averaging 32 points and seven rebounds per game in the postseason.
258:
logo in question were not to be used in the ABA until the matter was resolved. Windy City defeated
Chicago Fury 109-106 on Dec. 20, and continued to use the name and logo in the ABA, despite a cease and desist letter issued by MPBA attorneys on January 7, 2016.
612:
Alfonzo
Houston, Pontiac 66ers (unanimous selection); Dion Cooksey, Windy City Groove; Connell Crossland, Gateway Steam (unanimous selection); Kyle Meyer, Lima Express (unanimous selection); Marcus Hammonds, Pontiac 66ers.
235:, were announced as the first-ever expansion team in the MPBA. Following the Lima announcement, on September 21, the league announced the Pontiac 66ers as the league's second expansion team for the 2016 season.
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558:
Justin Bocot (unanimous selection); Jerrold Brooks, St. Louis RiverSharks; Anthony Slack, Bloomington Flex (unanimous selection); Keith DeWitt, St. Louis RiverSharks; Marcus Goode, St. Louis RiverSharks.
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199:
and the
Gateway Steam hosted the Chicago Force. The RiverSharks upset the Flex 113-109, ending Bloomington's 24-game win streak, which had dated back to May 2013. The Steam defeated the Force 115-103.
220:
The first game of the semifinals saw the RiverSharks beat the Steam 153-129. In the second game, the Swarm handed the Flex their first-ever playoff loss, 111-100, to advance to the championship game.
625:
Jordan Walker, Champaign Swarm; Dion
Cooksey, Windy City Groove; Jakeem Hill, Chicago Blues; Connell Crossland, Gateway Steam; Marcus Hammonds, Pontiac 66ers; Aaron Williams, St. Louis RiverSharks.
619:
Cordaryl
Ballard, Lima Express; Michael Rogers, Champaign Swarm; Al Rapier, Chicago Blues; Isiah Martin, Windy City Groove; Aaron Williams, St. Louis RiverSharks; Devon Jenkins, Windy City Groove.
565:
Nate Fuqua, Windy City Groove; Tarvin Gaines, Gateway Steam; Aaron Weaver, Champaign Swarm; Matt Salley, Bloomington Flex; Derrick McDonald, Chicago Force; Lavante Douglas, Windy City Groove.
206:, the Champaign Swarm hosted the Steam, and the Force hosted the Windy City Groove. All three games were broadcast in high definition via multi-camera productions on the league's website.
172:
MPBA is organized by Ed Schumer, Commissioner and CEO, Steven A. "Buzz" Zeller, Chief Operating Officer, Craig Fata, Associate Commissioner and Chief Communications Officer, and
261:
On July 20, 2016, the league announced the Jacksonville (Illinois) Generals would be joining the MPBA for the 2017 season. The team will play its games at MacMurray College.
169:(PBL). After a perfect 18-0 record in 2014, the team was suspended and then dismissed from the PBL by league officials after a scheduling conflict in the 2014 PBL playoffs.
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On August 9, 2016, the league announced the Eureka (Illinois) Blaze would be joining the MPBA for the 2017 season. The team will play its games at Eureka High School.
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sent two players to the National Basketball Development League (NBA D-League), 47 players to overseas teams, and one to training camp with the NBA's Chicago Bulls.
858:
868:
249:
On November 13, 2015, the league announced that the Chicago Force would be changing their name to the Chicago Blues, citing the existence of a
213:
in a Final Four-style format. The St. Louis RiverSharks secured the top seed with a 16-4 record by virtue of a 3-1 season series win over the
873:
217:, who also finished 16-4. The Champaign Swarm entered as the #3 seed with a 15-5 record, and the Gateway Steam were fourth at 5-15.
571:
Darius Smith (unanimous selection); Nate Fuqua, Terry Evans, St. Louis RiverSharks; Keith DeWitt, Anthony Slack; Marcus Goode.
761:
246:
the league said. General Manager Don Starks would be replaced with Jay Carter as GM and Kelly Norris-Jones as Assistant GM.
195:. St. Louis defeated Gateway 108-96. Two more games took place at Family Arena on January 4, as the RiverSharks hosted the
187:
The league tipped off its inaugural season on January 2, 2015, as the St. Louis RiverSharks and Gateway Steam played at
202:
The first time all six teams were in action at the same time was January 15, when the Flex hosted the RiverSharks in
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On September 9, 2015, the Lima Express, which had played their first two seasons in the
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On August 21, 2016, the league announced that the Lima Express will be moving to
209:
The 2015 regular season ended on April 7. The playoffs began two nights later in
155:
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158:, Chicago Force, Gateway Steam, St. Louis RiverSharks and Windy City Groove.
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have previously competed. The Flex were 2012 and 2013 champions of the
144:
34:
275:. They will also be the hosts of the 2017 postseason tournament.
176:, Associate Commissioner and Director of Basketball Personnel.
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that began play in January 2015. The six charter members were:
744:"Bloomington Flex to take 2016 season off, reassess future"
843:
712:"Pontiac 66ers to join Flex in Midwest basketball league"
124:
643:"MPBA lineup set with addition of two St. Louis clubs"
179:
The league appears to have ceased operations in 2017.
271:
for the 2017 season. The team will play its games at
762:"MPBA assumes control of Chicago, Windy City clubs"
726:"MPBA to play 2016 season without Bloomington Flex"
238:Then, on October 30, 2015, the MPBA announced the
17:Midwest Professional Basketball Association (MPBA)
864:Professional sports leagues in the United States
850:
70:Welcome to the future of minor league basketball
859:Defunct basketball leagues in the United States
161:Of the six inaugural season teams, only the
784:Midwest Professional Basketball Association
730:Midwest Professional Basketball Association
495:Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center
363:Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center
141:Midwest Professional Basketball Association
869:2015 establishments in the United States
223:The championship game, held April 10 at
851:
780:"Force changing name to Chicago Blues"
534:Al Grushkin, St. Louis RiverSharts
13:
874:Sports leagues established in 2015
116:Champaign Swarm, Chicago Blues (1)
14:
885:
837:
594:Connell Crossland, Gateway Steam
254:Thomas Designs in October 2015.
714:. Pantagraph. 21 September 2015.
606:: Diante Watkins, Chicago Blues
600:C.J. Hampton, Windy City Groove
588:Durrell Robinson, Pontiac 66ers
143:(MPBA) was a professional men's
22:
815:
582:Alfonzo Houston, Pontiac 66ers
552:: Avery Smith, Champaign Swarm
528:Justin Bocot, Bloomington Flex
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546:Aaron Weaver, Champaign Swarm
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516:went on hiatus in October 2015
1:
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592:Defensive Player of the Year:
538:Defensive Player of the Year:
823:"Windy City Groove schedule"
540:Darius Smith, Chicago Force
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251:women's tackle football team
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694:"Lima Express Joining MPBA"
669:"Flex Forced From Playoffs"
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473:Emerson Performance Center
408:Emerson Performance Center
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233:Premier Basketball League
167:Premier Basketball League
134:Midwest Basketball League
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132:Not to be confused with
317:U.S. Cellular Coliseum
598:Sixth Man of the Year:
544:Sixth Man of the Year:
426:Jacksonville, Illinois
273:U.S. Cellular Coliseum
225:U.S. Cellular Coliseum
844:Official MPBA website
617:All-MPBA Second Team:
580:Most Valuable Player:
563:All-MPBA Second Team:
526:Most Valuable Player:
463:St. Louis RiverSharks
421:Jacksonville Generals
313:Bloomington, Illinois
302:First season in MPBA
269:Bloomington, Illinois
193:St. Charles, Missouri
610:All-MPBA First Team:
556:All-MPBA First Team:
451:Pontiac High School
108:Chicago Blues (2016)
829:. 14 December 2015.
798:"Windy City Groove"
786:. 13 November 2015.
700:. 9 September 2015.
623:All-Defensive Team:
569:All-Defensive Team:
468:St. Louis, Missouri
403:St. Louis, Missouri
336:Champaign, Illinois
308:Bloomington Express
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750:. 30 October 2015.
732:. 30 October 2015.
586:Coach of the Year:
532:Coach of the Year:
430:MacMurray College
385:Eureka High School
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649:. 29 October 2014
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491:Chicago, Illinois
486:Windy City Groove
447:Pontiac, Illinois
359:Chicago, Illinois
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380:Eureka, Illinois
341:Parkland College
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240:Bloomington Flex
215:Bloomington Flex
197:Bloomington Flex
163:Bloomington Flex
152:Bloomington Flex
121:Official website
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125:www.theMPBA.com
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748:Pantagraph.com
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805:. Retrieved
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766:USBasket.com
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189:Family Arena
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75:No. of teams
49:First season
807:23 December
673:CIProud.com
647:theMPBA.com
604:Playoff MVP
575:2016 Awards
550:Playoff MVP
521:2015 Awards
211:Bloomington
204:Bloomington
174:A.J. Guyton
113:Most titles
105:champion(s)
103:Most recent
44:August 2014
853:Categories
653:29 October
629:References
145:basketball
62:Ed Schumer
35:Basketball
698:419Sports
93:Continent
299:Founded
678:3 April
183:History
83:Country
41:Founded
802:Justia
296:Arena
148:league
501:2015
498:2014
480:2015
477:2014
457:2016
454:2016
436:2017
433:2016
415:2015
412:2014
392:2017
389:2016
369:2015
366:2014
348:2015
345:2014
323:2016
320:2013
293:City
290:Team
283:Teams
67:Motto
31:Sport
809:2015
680:2014
655:2014
139:The
52:2015
191:in
58:CEO
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78:8
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