As the inaugural tip-off game for the Steel City Yellow Jackets creeps closer, the team has been busy finalizing the roster and coaching staff to get ready for their first game against the Baltimore Hawks on November 8th. Here are the players who will represent Pittsburgh this year.
#1 Antonio Reddic, Guard, 6’4” (CCBC)
#2 Gilmore Cummings, Guard, 6’2” (Edinboro)
#4 Keith Johnson, Guard, 5’6” (Penn State Wilkes-Barre)
#5 Aujani Ogbonna, Guard, 5’10” (CCAC)
#7 Lawrence Baker, Forward, 6’6” (IUP)
#11 Geno Bianco, Guard, 6’4” (Thiel)
#13 Mike Dixon, Guard, 6’0” (LaRoche)
#21 Maurice Mendoza, Forward, 6’6” (Sinclair)
#23 Brett Young, Forward, 6’5” (Slippery Rock)
#24 Lamar Castile, Guard, 6’2” (CCBC)
#30 Jason Hood, Forward, 6’5” (Central Florida)
#31 Albert Varacallo, Forward, 6’4” (Washington & Jefferson)
#32 Robert Duck, Guard, 6’3” (University Of Virgin Islands)
The team also announced their coaching staff for the 2014-2015 season.
Marvin Wright, Director of Basketball Operations
Averill “Ace” Pippens, General Manager & Head Coach
Wayne Copeland, Assistant Coach
Milan Tyler, Skills & Conditioning Coach
Dwayne “Rook” Morris, Director of Gameday Operations & Skills Coach
Arthur “Booter” Coleman, Team Manager
Jason Pippens, Team Manager
The Steel City Yellow Jackets have already generated a little buzz around the ABA and will begin this season ranked 19th in the American Basketball Association (ABA) Power Rankings, the highest ranking of any first year expansion team in this year’s class.
The Power Rankings are determined by a number of factors, including won-loss records, number of games, and difficulty of schedule, also the Preseason rankings take in to account successful business practices off of the court.
Joining Steel City in the Preseason Top 32 are divisional rivals (6) Jersey Express, (23) Providence Sky Chiefs and (26) Brooklyn SkyRockets. The full top 32 Rankings are listed below.
1. Shreveport-Bossier Mavericks
2. Jacksonville Giants
3. South Florida Gold
4. Chicago Steam
5. Atlanta Wildcats
6. Jersey Express
7. Orange County NovaStars
8. Arizona Scorpions
9. Richmond Elite
10. Bay Area Matrix
11. Montgomery Blackhawks
12. West Michigan Lake Hawks
13. Calgary Crush
14. Texas FUEL
15. Colorado Kings
16. Bowling Green Bandits
17. Mobile Bay Tornadoes
18. West Texas Whirlwinds
19. Steel City Yellow Jackets
20. Central Valley Titans
21. North Carolina Coyotes
22. Fayetteville Flight
23. Providence Sky Chiefs
24. Miami Midnites
25. Indy Naptown All-Stars
26. Brooklyn Skyrockets
27. Vancouver Ballaholics
28. South Coast Fire
29. Lafayette Xperience
30. Charleston City Lions
31. Jackson Showboats
32. Gainesville Heat
The 2014-2015 regular season begins Saturday, November 8th when the Yellow Jackets host the Baltimore Hawks in Pittsburgh, PA.
For more information, visit the Yellow Jackets’ website at www.catchthebuzz.net or follow them on Twitter @SCYellowJackets.
Photo Courtesy of Steel City Yellow Jackets Facebook
