Schenectady Legends

Formed in 2010, the Schenectady Legends are a semi-professional basketball team in the Independent Basketball Association (IBA). The franchise was originally known as the Albany Legends, changing their name in 2014 with a move to Schenectady.

Schenectady Legends
Founded2010
LeagueIBA
Team historyAlbany Legends (2010-14)
Schenectady Legends (2014-present)
Based inSchenectady, New York
ArenaSchenectady YMCA
ColorsBlue & Yellow
Head coachScott Knapp
Championships2 (2010, 2014)

As a result of experiences gained while playing with the Legends, more than 80% of alumni and current players, including former NBAers have been promoted to top professional leagues on five continents, including: the NBA D-League (Kyle Cuffe, Springfield Armor 2010), Japan, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Thailand, Canada, England, Italy, Chile, France and Germany.

Some local capital region players playing abroad include Lloyd Johnson (Lucera, Italy), EJ Gallup (TBB Trier), Evan Lane (Tunisia, Africa), Will Harris (Denmark) and Scotty McRae (Chile and Italy) and Prince Jackson (Italy).

History

The team was established in April 2010 by an independent and locally owned organization, a year after the demise of the Albany Patroons. The team were part of the International Basketball League. The Legends finished off their inaugural season 19-3 and went on to win the IBL 2010 championship.

Albany finished with a 15-7 record in 2011, losing in the IBL semifinals to the Edmonton Energy.

After two seasons in the IBL, the Legends joined the Independent Basketball Association. Albany finished 12-5 in the 2012 spring season, coming up short in the IBA championship game.

In March 2014 the team announced they would be moving to Schenectady County[1] and compete in the 2014-15 IBA Fall season. The Schenectady Legends played their home games in multiple venues throughout the Mohawk Valley, as a means to increase their local brand and recognition, while raising money for local charities. The team finished a perfect 11-0 in the IBA regular season.[2]

On September 4, 2014 the club announced the hiring of former Siena College player Scott Knapp[3] as its head coach.

On December 14, 2014 the Legends completed a perfect 13-0 season by defeating the Kenosha Ballers 154-137 in the IBA championship game.[4] Legends player Lloyd Johnson was named the IBA Finals MVP after scoring 61 points in the championship game.[5][6]

Current roster

Head Coach: Scott Knapp

# Pos. Ht. Player Acquired College
3 G 6'0" Lloyd Johnson 2010 Schenectady County Community College
5 G 6'4" EJ Gallup 2011 Coastal Carolina
8 G 6'0" Shea Bromirski 2010 St. Rose College
10 G 6'2" T.J. Czeski 2012 Wagner College
11 G 6'1" Brian Ledbetter 2014 St. Rose College
15 G 6'1" Kareem Thomas 2014 St. Rose College
20 G 6'2" Andy Robinson 2014 University of Buffalo
21 F 6'7" Tyrone Butler 2014 Schenectady High School
23 F 6'5" Zach Bye 2012 St. Rose College
24 F 6'5" Sheldon Griffin 2012 St. Rose College
32 C 6'7" Anthony Bruin 2014 Iona College
33 F 6'8" Clayton Longmire 2014 St. Rose College
42 F 7'0" Brad Sheehan 2014 Georgia Tech

Notable former players

Kenny Satterfield

Rashaun Freeman

Season results
SeasonWinsLossesWinning PercentageFinishPlayoff WinsPlayoff LossesPlayoff Results
2010193(.864)1st20IBL Champion
2011157(.682)2nd (tie)11IBL Semifinals
2012 Spring125(.706)2nd21IBA Runner-up
2014 Spring11(.500)N/ADNPDNPDNP
2014 Fall110(1.000)1st20IBA Champion
All-time5816(.784)--722 championships

Coaches
# Name Term[b] GC W L Win% GC W L Win% Achievements
Regular season Playoffs
1 Derek Rowland 2010 22 19 3 .864 2 2 0 .1000 IBL Championship
2 Ben Smith 2011-2012,2014 26 18 8 .692 2 1 1 .500
3 John Coffino 2012 12 7 5 .583 3 2 1 .667
4 Nick Dean 2012 3 3 0 .1000 0 0 0 .000
5 Scott Knapp 2014 11 11 0 .1000 2 2 0 .1000 IBA Championship
All-Time 2010-2014 74 58 16 .784 9 7 2 .778 2 Championships

References
  1. "Legends Announce 2014 Spring Showcase" (PDF). Schenectady Legends. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  2. "Legends close home schedule with win". The Leader-Herald. 7 December 2014.
  3. "Scott Knapp named head coach of the Schenectady Legends". USbasket. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  4. "Schenectady Legends". Twitter. 14 December 2014.
  5. "IBA Basketball". Twitter. 14 December 2014.
  6. "Knapp goes undefeated in first season as coach". The Daily Gazette. 17 December 2014.
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