Jackson Free Press

So you want to be a pro basketball player? All of those YMCA warriors who insist "all I need is a shot to get in the NBA" will get a chance on April 10 when the city's new pro franchise, the Jackson Rage, holds a tryout from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at Millsaps College. For those more grounded in reality, their first exposure to the Rage will be on May 15, when the team plays the Chattanooga Majic at 7 p.m. The team will play all 10 of its home games at Jackson State's Williams Athletics and Assembly Center.

There has been some grumbling on Jackson sports talk radio about the team's choice of a venue because of the perception that "the neighborhood is unsafe." Take it from a veteran of many games at the A&A Center: Attending a game there is safe for anybody of any race. Granted, the neighborhood around JSU is not a garden spot (yet), but we're talking about going to an event on a state university campus at 7 p.m., not standing outside an abandoned house at 2 a.m.

Two members of the Rage management team are very familiar to Mississippi basketball fans. Coach Richard Williams won more games than any coach in Mississippi State history. He led the Bulldogs to the Final Four in 1996. Williams recently returned to coaching at his alma mater, Pearl High School. Thomas Billups, the director of pro player personnel, has won five state titles as Lanier High School's coach.

The club is co-owned by Jackson businessmen Michael Yant and Eric Wiley.
The Rage is part of the new World Basketball Association, a far-flung eight-team league that hopes to develop and showcase players for the NBA, CBA, NBDL and European leagues. (Yant also owns the other Mississippi team, the Tunica Gamblers.) Each team will play a 20-game schedule, with playoffs to follow.

The WBA is organized to keep costs down. Each team has 10 players with a minimum of three rookies and a maximum of two players with five years or more of pro experience. The team will likely be made up mostly of former college players with Mississippi ties to create fan interest.

For more information on the Rage, including tryouts, call 853-6716 or go online at http://www.ragebasketball.com

THE COMPETITION

Tunica: Tunica Gamblers. Will play home games at Tunica's Rosa Fort High School.

Chattanooga, Tenn: Chattanooga Majik. No coach or venue named yet.

Elizabethtown, Ky.: Kentucky Reach. A division of Global Reach, a Christian ministry.

Macon, Ga.: No nickname yet, but former NBA star Tree Rollins is the coach.

Peachtree, Ga.: Southern Crescent Lightning. Former Moss Point High School star Litterial Green is the team's coach and general manager.

Rome, Ga.: Rome Gladiators. The team's arena is fittingly named The Forum.

Raleigh, N.C.: Raleigh Knights: It's a 704-mile drive from Jackson to Raleigh.