The Independent Basketball Association (IBA) was a semi-professional men's basketball league that began play in the fall of 2011. The six charter members were Battle Creek Knights, Chicago Redline, Gary Splash, Kankakee County Soldiers, Lake County Stars and Rockford Riverdawgs.
The IBA played two separate seasons each calendar year: a Spring season (March–June) and a Fall season (September–January). Teams competed in one or both league competitions.
The last commissioner of the IBA was Barry Bradford, president of the Kankakee County Soldiers.
History The first league championship (2011–12) was won by the Kankakee County Soldiers, who also won the 2012 Spring season championship.
In the Spring of 2012 the league expanded beyond its midwest footprint, adding a total of seven teams: Albany Legends, Kenosha Ballers, Lansing Capitals, Los Angeles Lightning, Malibu Pirates, Springfield Xpress and St. Louis Trotters.
The Holland Dream were added to the IBA for its third season in 2012–13, bringing the league total to 14 teams.
IBA and PBL joined forces in 2013, but the merger was short-lived. Travel issues, questions of league rules and other issues were too much to overcome and the two parted ways before the end of the Spring season.
2013-14 began with the addition of the Windy City Blazers, who played previously as the Windy City Monsters in the ABA. Grand Rapids Fusion and Markham City Racers entered league play for the 2014 Spring season.
In the Fall season of 2014-15 four teams (Binghamton Pioneers, Jersey G-Force, Kansas City Kryptonite, and Toronto 3D) played a partial schedule in anticipation of full league membership in 2015. CyFair Cobras, Houston Xperience and Louisiana Soul also were to compete as "branding teams" in the Fall season. None played an IBA game.
In December 2014 Schenectady Legends captured their first IBA championship, defeating Kenosha 154–137. Albany High School graduate Lloyd "Pooh" Johnson score an IBA championship game record 61 points and was named the game MVP.
Kankakee County won their league-best sixth championship in the Fall of 2015 by avenging their finals loss to St. Louis for the Spring title.
Teams Team City Arena Founded First season in IBA Grand Rapids Fusion Grand Rapids, Michigan City High Middle School 2014 2014 Kenosha Ballers Kenosha, Wisconsin Boys & Girls Club of Kenosha 1995 2012Memphis BluesMemphis, TennesseeBert Ferguson Community Center20162017Milwaukee FalconsMilwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee Academy of Science 2016 2016Peoria PanthersPeoria, IllinoisPeoria High School20132017 St. Louis Trotters St. Louis, Missouri Mathews-Dickey Boy's & Girl's Club 1970 2011Vehicle City RoyalsFlint, MichiganHamady High School2017 Windy City Blazers Aurora, Illinois Prisco Community Center 2011 2013
Former teams Team City Arena Founded Last season in IBA Battle Creek Flight Battle Creek, Michigan Kellogg Arena 2004 2011 Binghamton Pioneers ^ Binghamton, New York Binghamton High School 2014 2014 Chicago Redline Chicago, Illinois Calument Park Recreation Center 2011 2013 Gary Splash Gary, Indiana Genesis Convention Center 2010 2013 Holland Dream Holland, Michigan Holland Civic Center 2005 2012Illinois Hoopville WarriorsBelleville, IllinoisHoopville Athletic Center 2010 2016International RacersLemont, IllinoisLithuanian World Center 2014 2014 Jersey G-Force ^ Union City, New Jersey Union City Sports Complex 2011 2014Kankakee County SoldiersKankakee, IllinoisKVPD RecCenter 2007 2016 Kansas City Kryptonite ^ Kansas City, Kansas travel team 2014 2014 Lake County Stars Deerfield, Illinois Trinity International University 2011 2014Lansing CapitalsDimondale, MichiganAim High Sports 2006 2016 Los Angeles Lightning Thousand Oaks, California Gilbert Sports Arena 2007 2012 Malibu Pirates Moorpark, California Moorpark High School 2012 2012 Rockford Riverdawgs Loves Park, Illinois Clinton Sports Complex 2010 2011Schenectady LegendsScotia, New YorkScotia-Glenville High School 2010 2014 Springfield Xpress Springfield, Illinois Lanphier High School 2012 2013 Toronto 3D ^ Toronto, Ontario The RISE Centre 2014 2014
^ = affiliate members (did not compete for championship)
Champions Season Champion Runner-up Result 2011 Fall Kankakee County Soldiers Gary Splash 2-0 (best-of 3 series) 2012 Spring Kankakee County Soldiers Albany Legends 150-116 2012 Fall Kankakee County Soldiers Battle Creek Knights 2-1 (best-of 3 series) 2013 Spring Kankakee County Soldiers Gary Splash 116-99 2013 Fall Kankakee County Soldiers St. Louis Trotters 118-112 2014 Spring Grand Rapids Fusion Markham City Racers 104-92 2014 Fall Schenectady Legends Kenosha Ballers 154-1372015 Spring St. Louis Trotters Kankakee County Soldiers 100-852015 Fall Kankakee County Soldiers St. Louis Trotters 95-812016 SpringKenosha BallersSt. Louis Trotters 87-832016 FallKenosha Ballers Milwaukee Falcons 117-982017 SpringSt. Louis TrottersWindy City Blazers123-116
Awards SeasonLeague MVPDefensive Player of the YearCoach of the YearGeneral Manager of the Year2011 FallRyan Edwards, Kankakee County SoldiersChris Wesby, Gary SplashBarry Bradford, Kankakee County SoldiersMelvin Smith, Rockford Riverdawgs2012 FallBilly Baptist, Kankakee County SoldiersThomas Cobbs, Kenosha BallersTerry Sare, Battle Creek KnightsBarry Bradford, Kankakee County Soldiers2013 FallRyan Edwards, Kankakee County SoldiersWillie Davis, St. Louis TrottersHarold Webster, St. Louis TrottersBarry Bradford, Kankakee County Soldiers2014 FallLloyd Johnson, Schenectady LegendsNicholas Reed, St. Louis TrottersScott Knapp, Schenectady LegendsMike Ceolho, Schenectady Legends2015 FallJay Bradford, Kankakee County SoldiersBarry Bradford, Kankakee County Soldiers2016 SpringNicholas Reed, St. Louis TrottersThomas Cobbs, Kenosha BallersTony Moore, Kenosha BallersTony Moore, Kenosha Ballers2016 FallDevron Bostick, Kenosha BallersThomas Cobbs, Kenosha BallersRichard Moe, Milwaukee Falcons
References
External links Official IBA website