If there is a theme with the clubs in The Basketball League that I have noticed, it has been creating a community around the club and building the club through the community. In the case of the Dallas Skyline, this theme is the heart and soul of their organization. On top of putting together a squad of mostly local players, the Skyline has youth clinics and camps and is setting up a cheer-leading squad called the Flygirls. Reaching more than just basketball fans, they (Skyline) are giving opportunities for younger players to reach their dreams of playing basketball professionally, as well as, giving opportunities to local dancers. These projects were set up with the mission of connecting every inch of the Dallas Metroplex.
Making their debut in the 2020 season, the Skyline was boasting the second-place spot with a 9-4 record before the league was ended due to the pandemic. The team was looking like possible title contenders led by point guard, Daylon Guy, who averaged 21.5 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per game.
I spoke with the Dallas Skyline owner and General Manager, Prescott Mack, to ask him about the short season, the goals of the team, and the future of the club as a whole. First, we spoke about their expectations coming into and in the middle of their debut season. He said, “We started the season with high hopes, a bit too confident if you ask me”, a response referring to their great start to the season.
He explained that their Head Coach, Chris Terrell, is an extremely competitive character and from his hiring, it was “championship or bust”. Mack explained that seeing the training camp and preparation coming into the 2020 campaign, they knew they were going to cause match-up problems. Mack even thought that their record could have been better stating, “I believe we would have had an even better record if it weren’t for injuries”.
Talking about the season cut short, I then asked how the team was doing after finding out that the rest of their debut season was going to be canceled. “It wasn’t great”, said Mack, talking about the spirit of the team after the cancellation of the season. He expressed that there were several unaccomplished goals for the club as a whole, saying “there’s a lot of unfinished business we feel is hanging over our heads both internally and externally”. Basketball, however, was not done for the players, as they have been playing in a few pro-ams and summer leagues. Keeping their form for the 2021 season is the goal, now, for the Skyline.
In our conversation, Mr. Mack continually brought up the things that could have been improved with the club. The team was known to be more of a second-half team, putting amazing second-half performances to cover up their average starts to games. He (Mack) looked at their warmup and pre-game preparation as an area that could be improved. These preparations included those for both players and staff; “Our travel plans should be more efficient, and we need to create a much better home-court advantage atmosphere to provide that advantage”.
The Dallas Skyline take their name from what they believe sets Dallas apart from other cities, their beautiful skyline. This name does not just highlight the beauty in the buildings, but also the beauty in the community and the community they are trying to build around the club. This is shown by the owner and GM of the club, Prescott Mack, a Dallas native who wants to change the lives of more young people and inspire a community. At the end of the day, that is really what sports are about, inspiring a community, at least in the case of The Basketball League. For the Skyline organization, the sky is definitely the limit with the Dallas community to push them to further heights.
This piece was written by Enrique Ortiz, a common contributor for Globally Ballin. This piece is the third 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 the owner and GM, Prescott Mack. 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:
Dallas Skyline Basketball Club. (n.d.). Retrieved July 11, 2020, from https://www.dallasskylinebc.com/
Gentry, D. (2019, September 10). Dallas Skyline: New Pro Basketball Club Makes Dallas Home. Retrieved July 11, 2020, from https://texasmetronews.com/sports/dallas-skyline-new-pro-basketball-club-makes-dallas-home/
US Basketball News, Scores, Stats, Analysis, Standings - usbasket. (n.d.). Retrieved July 11, 2020, from https://basketball.usbasket.com/
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