Argyle, Texas – The Pro Basketball Association announced on Thursday that the North Texas Prowlers had joined the PBA for the 2021 Spring-Summer Season. Team owner Heath Tipton is a minor league pro, having successfully fielded teams in the MBL and ABA, among others. The Prowlers are a well respected organization, led by Head Coach Terry Williams and Assistant Ezell Craft, the Prowlers have a terrific team that will be competing in the Texas bubble where clubs share in game day costs such as facility, referees, operations, stats, video, DJ all at one North Texas location, the MAC, played Sunday nights from May until August.
Already slated to be in uniform for the Prowlers this PBA season include: 6’4 Guard Brandon Fields, 6’0 Guard Tay Merriwether, 6’6 Forward Ty Thomas, 6’9 Forward Dayton Mickens, 6’7 F/C Jonathan Durley, 6’5 Forward Sean McCary, 6’3 Guard Chris Bibbs, 6’3 Guard Myron Taylor, and 6’10 Center Ernest Vannorsdell. The Prowlers still have two draft picks in the upcoming PBA draft held after two National combines but they’re stacked.
Brandon Fields is an electric scoring combo guard capable of spending time at 1 or 2 that can create out of pick and roll and starred for the Texas Legends of the NBA G-League where he averaged 10ppg and 6apg just this past season including successive 25 point plus performances in back to back games with 26 points against the Sacramento Kings affiliate in Stockton followed up by 27 the following game against the Golden State Warriors G-League affiliate Santa Cruz two nights later. Santa Cruz had Jeremy Pargo in uniform in their back court trying to slow down Fields and the former NBA guard had his hands full. Stockton had Isaiah Canaan at guard when they matched up with Fields and Canaan who averaged 13ppg for the Philadelphia 76ers is another super high level player.
Putting Fields experience into context helps outline how good of a player this really is for the Pro Basketball Association. The whole roster is high level, high power. Shooters, scorers, high flyers. Tay can run the squad and take pressure off of Fields. Ty Thomas is an experienced stretch forward with NBA range and experience in the top leagues in Mexico. “Bama” Mickens is a matchup nightmare at 6’9 and a face up and step out kind of game that is hard to defend with his length. Vanorsdell covers the rim and changes everything on the interior defensively… they’re the real deal. Get ready PBA! This isn’t your typical rec level semi-pro league ladies and gentlemen.
The Pro Basketball Association from it’s inception put people in position around the league that come from high level backgrounds. PBA National Director of Scouting Antoine Broxsie is a current NBA coach in the Houston Rockets organization. Laselle Taylor is the International Scouting Director for Mexico and has coached in all the top leagues down there for 4 decades. Eric Carr is a proven overseas coach in the Middle East. Zoran Milovic the same for Eastern Europe. Samir St. Clair coached in Japan and the Middle East and is the PBA Scouting Director for Japan. League Deputy Commissioner Ricky Benitez coached all over the World including the top league in Venezuela, Mexico, and in International tournaments in Chile, Hungary, and China and currently serves as advisor for Latin America. PBA Commissioner Chris Terrell coached in the CBA, the top league in China, with multiple first round NBA draft picks playing for him as well as a decade and a half overseas in Europe, Latin America, Canada, the D-League, etc. The Pro Basketball Association has scouting directors set up all over the World with top level agents in Countries like France, Australia, Argentina, and Austria to name a few. When a league puts an emphasis like that, the way it has, it’s bound to attract top level talent and help get that talent on to higher levels domestically and internationally. If you want Pro – You want the PBA.
The Pro Basketball Association 2021 Pro Combine and Draft will be held in two locations beginning with 3/27 in Rochester, New York and then 4/3 in Dallas, Texas. With pending announcements the PBA will have a minimum of 42 teams (From Seattle to New York City and everywhere in between – America) in the two round draft which means 84 draft eligible players will become a part of the Pro Basketball Association. Players and/or their representation is encouraged to email profile/video to [email protected] or visit Pro Basketball Association Combine and Draft – Pro Basketball Association (pbaplayers.com) or follow FB/IG @probasketballassociation
