Make sure you scroll all the way through as there are some links and resources to give you even more information on the Columbus Condors. Thank you and enjoy!
Prior to the 2020 season of The Basketball League, it was announced that there would be a significant addition to the league, seven expansion teams added. Expectations are usually not very high for newer teams, but the Columbus Condors started off with a solid first few games. Unfortunately, the Condors’ debut season was cut short due to the COVID-19 epidemic. However, before the premature end to the season, the Condors showed that newer teams can come out of the gate and compete with the best, shown in a 121-127 loss to the defending champions, the Albany Patroons. A premature end to the season saw the Condors tied in the league standings with the Patroons with six wins and three losses.
The Ohio based team was started with the mission to create an avenue for the large pool of players in Ohio to follow their sports dreams and play professional basketball. In an interview with ABC 6 the Condors General Manager, Cordayl Ballard, said that TBL was just a level under the G-League. Just a few steps below the NBA, this gives more players a chance to try to make it in the sport. The team market owner, Darrell Miller, an Ohio native but a fan of the ABA team Pittsburgh Condors (where the team takes its name from) wanted to put together a team that was composed of mostly Ohio natives. According to Miller, it was important to keep the local flavor in the team.
The locality of the team makes it that much more marketable to the people in Columbus, as well as stretching out to the rest of Ohio. The state has a massive basketball following, supported by the fact that arguably the best basketball player in the world (some may say of all time) is a kid from Akron, Ohio, LeBron James. Adding the 2016 NBA Championship that broke Cleveland’s fifty-two year no championship curse, basketball popularity has been on the rise in Ohio.
A good example of the team’s local flavor is Columbus born Shooting Guard/Small Forward, A.J. Davis. Davis was leading the Condors in scoring before the season was cut short due to the pandemic. His (Davis’) most notable performance came in that close loss versus the Albany Patroons, a game in which he scored a career-high 38 points while having a 52 percent field goal average. This outstanding performance could easily be attributed to his homecoming; Davis had just returned home after a short stint in the middle east playing for Zakho Sports Club, in the Iraq Superleague. Having a player of this caliber, with years of
professional experience can help raise the quality of play, as well as, develop the younger players on the roster.
If the few games that the Columbus Condors played are a preview of things to come, the city of Columbus has a lot to be excited about in the minor league basketball scene. Being a new team to the league, they (the Condors) are a great example of how a new team can break into a league. If this past year for the Condors is an indication for the direction of the league as a whole, then fans of The Basketball League have a lot to look forward to when it comes to the new expansion teams that have joined TBL. The Condors are proof that strong expansion teams are possible and that with their addition and additions like the Condors we can see a stronger league in regards to both quality of play and competitiveness.
This piece was written by Enrique Ortiz, a common contributor for Globally Ballin. This piece is the second article of the "Who Are They" series. An article series that takes a look at all the teams in The Basketball League from a fresh set of eyes. Each piece in this series will be out and available on the website every Tuesday, enjoy!
ALSO - Below is a link that will take you to an audio interview we did at the 2019 TBL Draft Combine. The interview is with team market owner, Darrell Miller. This audio interview is a part of the Globally Ballin Patreon page. So, if you are not already subscribed, a subscription may be required. Click the links to find out and learn more, enjoy!
References:
AJ Davis Basketball Profile. USBASKET. https://basketball.eurobasket.com/player/AJ-Davis/Dominican-Republic/Metropolitanos-de-Mauricio-Baez/300473?
Burggraf, Gabe. Former Buckeye backs Columbus Condors; New Semi-Pro Basketball Team
Featuring Local Talent. 2020. The Lantern. https://www.thelantern.com/2020/01/former-buckeye-backs-columbus-condors-new-semi-pro-team-featuring-local-talent/
Smith, Mary. 2020. Meet the Condors, Columbus’ new minor league basketball team. ABC6.
https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/meet-the-columbus-new-minor-league-basketball-team-the-condors
Schedule and Results 2020, retrieved from: columbuscondors.com
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