FORT WAYNE 1997-98 AMERICAN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS

Fort Wayne Fury
CBA 1991-2001

On May 1, 1990, the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was awarded a CBA expansion franchise. Six months later, the name "Fury" was selected from a "Name the Team" contest, and the franchise made preparations to enter the CBA for the 1991-92 season.

Despite having a losing record in its earliest years, the Fury were one fo the top draws in the CBA, constantly at or near the top of the league in average attendance. It also boasted some top individual talent, including homegrown scorers and a rapper trying to play his way into the NBA.

In the 1991-92 season, Fury guard Myron Brown won the CBA All-Star Classic Slam Dunk competition, while during the regular season Derrick Gervin and Jay Edwards combined for 88 points in a 133-124 loss at Quad City - only the third time in CBA history that two players scored more than 40 points apiece in the same contest.

Before the 1992-93 season, head coach Gerald Oliver left the sidelines to run the Fury from the front office. Mo McHone, at that time the director of player personnel, became the Fury's new head coach, but after compiling a 9-20 season, McHone was replaced by NBA Hall of Famer Rick Barry. Even with that, the franchise could only muster a 20-36 record and a fourth-place Eastern Division regular season finish.

The 1993-94 season started out like the past two seasons, and Rick Barry was fired, to be replaced by assistant coach Clifford Ray. Myron Brown won his second CBA Slam Dunk championship, the first player to win the title more than once. The Fury particiapted in the CBA's "Dakota Capital Classic" post-season play-in tournament, but were eliminated by the Rochester Renegades 121-91.

Under new head coach Bruce Stewart, the 1994-95 Fury improved their on-court play, and were above .500 by New Year's Day, the first time in franchise history that the Fury had a winning record so late in the season. On November 30, 1994, Fort Wayne's Lloyd Daniels set a franchise record when, in a 137-136 loss at Omaha, Daniels scored 49 points. Two other players, Charles Thomas and Keith Johnson, tallied the franchise's first ever "triple-doubles" in the 1994-95 season.

The 1995-96 season saw the debut in a Fury uniform of Damon Bailey, the former Indiana high school "Mr. Basketball" and Indiana University standout. But after a 6-14 record, Gerald Oliver, the Fury's original head coach, steps in to guide the franchise for the rest of the season. During Oliver's tenure, the Fury acquire Evric Gray, Carl Thomas, Eric Anderson and Jaren Jackson, who along with Bailey would help guide Fort Wayne to the playoffs. As the 95-96 season wound to a close, the Fury sent 11-1 at the Allen War Memorial Coliseum, a run still talked about by Fury fans as "Memorial Magic." On the final day of the season, the Fury qualified for the playoffs with a 110-96 (6.5-0.5) victory over Grand Rapids, with Evric Gray scoring 29 points in the victory. Fort Wayne knocked off the top-seeded Rockford Lightning in the playoffs, then upended the Quad City Thunder to reach the CBA championship. Unfortunately for Fort Wayne, the Sioux Falls Skyforce defeated the Fury four games to one, bringing the Jay Ramsdell Trophy back to South Dakota.

Although the Fury struggled in the 1996-97 season, going 20-36, Myron Brown earned his first CBA All-Star Classic appearance, where he scored 10 points (although Brown previously participated in the dunk competitions, this was the first time he actually played in the All-Star Classic). Jimmy Carruth set a new CBA single-season record for blocked shots (190), then received an NBA call-up to the Milwaukee Bucks. And Keith Smart scored his 3,000th career CBA point when the Fury won 97-90 over the Conecticut Pride.

The Fury won their only regular season division championship in the 1997-98 season, when their 31-25 record took first place in the American Conference. Keith Smart, now the Fury's rookie head coach, narrowly missed earning CBA Coach of the Year honors, despite having guided the Fury to their first division title - and their first winning season - in club history (Smart was awarded Coach of the Month in November 1997, with the Fury sporting a 6-1 record at the time). The Fury battled Idaho in a tough five-game playoff series, only to advance to the semifinals - and get clobbered in three straight games by the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

The 1998-99 season was notable by the appearance of a guard who only played eight games, and had more personal fouls (24) than total points (7-15 FT, 1-4 FG, 15 TP). Of course, most people knew guard Percy Miller by his stage name - rapper "Master P." The rapper and record company mogul wanted to show that he had the skills to play in the NBA, and signed with the Fury as a free agent. During the 1998-99 season, the NBA was in the middle of a protracted lockout, and the CBA was the only game in town. But when the NBA resumed their season in mid-January, a record 63 CBA players were "called up" to the NBA, including eight Fort Wayne players - Damon Bailey, Moochie Norris, Carl Thomas, Will Cunningham, Evric Gray, Darrin Hancock, Randell Jackson and Mikki Moore. Moore actually completed a rare CBA triple play of honors, as he was named to the All-CBA First Team, the All-Defensive Team, and the All-Star team.

Although the team was not as strong in the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 seasons as it had been in the past, the franchise honored its past by naming a 10th anniversary "All-Fury" starting lineup. The first team consisted of guard Damon Bailey, guard Moochie Norris, forward-guard Jaren Jackson, forward-center Mikki Moore, and forward Travis Williams. The second team consisted of guards Carl Thomas and Jay Edwards, forwards Evric Gray and Lloyd Daniels, and center Jimmy Carruth.

Unfortunately, the 2000-2001 season would prove to be the Fury's last. Under the league ownership of Isiah Thomas, the CBA shut down on February 8, 2001. The Fury were one of five franchises to continue to play, however, finishing out the season in the International Basketball League.

             W   L   QW     QP   Result
1991-1992   21  35  87.5  150.0  did not make playoffs
1992-1993   20  36  98.5  158.5  did not make playoffs
1993-1994   19  37 104.5  161.5  lost in Dakota Capital Classic
1994-1995   24  32  99.5  171.5  lost in quarterfinals
1995-1996   25  31 113.0  188.0  lost CBA championship
1996-1997   20  36  93.0  153.0  did not make playoffs
1997-1998   31  25 117.0  210.0  lost in semifinals
1998-1999   28  28 103.5  187.5  lost in quarterfinals

             W   L  PCT   GB     Result
1999-2000   26  30  .464         lost in quarterfinals

             W   L   QW     QP   Result
2000-2001   11   9  41.0   74.0  season ended early

CONTINENTAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

1991-1992 did not make playoffs
1992-1993 did not make playoffs
1993-1994 lost in Dakota Capital Classic to Rochester, 91-121
1994-1995 lost in quarterfinals to Rockford, 0 games to 2
1995-1996 Won in quarterfinals over Rockford, 3 games to 1
          Won in semifinals over Quad City, 3 games to 2
          Lost CBA Championship to Sioux Falls, 1 game to 4
1996-1997 did not make playoffs
1997-1998 Won in quarterfinals over Idaho, 3 games to 2
          Lost in semifinals to Sioux Falls, 0 games to 3
1998-1999 Lost in semifinals to Grand Rapids, 2 games to 3
1999-2000 Lost in quarterfinal game to Rockford, 94-104
2000-2001 League disbanded in mid-season

INTERNATIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE

2000-2001 did not make playoffs