GREENVILLE, S.C. JULY 10, 2002 – The National Basketball Development League has increased the number of weekend dates from its inaugural season 20% so more than half of this season’s schedule will be played on Friday nights and Saturdays making games more accessible for fans.
The NBDL will tip off its second season on Friday, November 15 with all eight teams in action. The league’s rivalries will be renewed as the NBDL’s defending champions, the Greenville Groove, host the Columbus Riverdragons, who came within two points of defeating the Groove during the 2002 NBDL Playoffs, at the BI-LO Center at 7 p.m. ET.
Mobile will renew their Playoff rivalry with North Charleston as the Revelers play host to the Lowgators at 7 p.m. CT / 8 p.m. ET at the Mobile Civic Center. The Fayetteville Patriots and Asheville Altitude will square off at the Crown Coliseum at 7:30 p.m. ET in a battle for North Carolina bragging rights. Additionally, the Roanoke Dazzle will host the Huntsville Flight at the Roanoke Civic Center at 7 p.m. ET on opening night.
The 2002-03 NBDL season will also feature a special New Year’s Eve game between the Fayetteville Patriots and the Huntsville Flight at the Von Braun Center at 11 p.m. CT / 12 midnight ET on January 1.
The NBDL’s national television schedule on ESPN2 will be announced on July 17. A complete National Basketball Development League schedule and individual team schedules can be found online here at nbdl.com.
The NBDL, the NBA’s minor league includes the Fayetteville Patriots (N.C.), North Charleston Lowgators (S.C.), Huntsville Flight (Ala.), Mobile Revelers (Ala.), Roanoke Dazzle (Va.), Columbus Riverdragons (Ga.), Greenville Groove (S.C.), and Asheville Altitude (N.C.). The league offers players the opportunity to develop their talent in a highly competitive atmosphere under the NBA’s umbrella. Eight NBDL players and one head coach were called up to the NBA during the NBDL’s inaugural season and five executives have moved from NBDL teams to positions with major league organizations. Designed to help grow the sport of basketball both domestically and internationally, the NBDL serves as a source of on-court talent for the NBA’s 29 teams and as a diverse human resources pool for the NBA and its teams by training employees in management, operations, public relations, sales and marketing positions in each NBDL city.
