Jackson Free Press

This November, Jackson's new semi-pro basketball team will take the court as a member of the American Basketball Association.

Grant Worsley III, the Jackson Showboats' owner and general manager, introduced players for the team's inaugural season Thursday at Mississippi Basketball and Athletics (2240 Westbrook Road). Five players have joined the team, including former Jackson State University player Gertavian Blake.

"I'm ready to take on the city and try to lead the city to a championship," Blake said. "This is just a starting point for me. It's going to help me be a better basketball player."

Dietric Slater, a former Mississippi State standout, also made the team. Slater played guard and forward for the Bulldogs 2003-2007 and averaged more than 10 points per game in his junior and senior seasons.

"(This) is the greatest opportunity that I've had, yet, other than being a Bulldog," Slater said. "Since being on this team, it's kind of made me a better person, because basketball is back to my main focus."

Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. cut the ribbon at the introduction and presented Worsley with a plaque.

"Without our support, they will not be successful," Johnson said. "So let's get out and support this team. Let's make sure that they are successful."

Worsley said he chose to start a team in Jackson because it is a passionate sports town with plenty of untapped talent.

"We want to focus really on having high-level, competitive basketball that the city can get behind, the fans can stand behind and people can be excited about," Worsley said.

The Showboats will continue to look for more talent to join the team between now and the start of the season in November. Chris Hyche, a former Provine standout and JSU player, Irondequoit, N.Y.-native Dan Foley, who played college basketball at Roberts Wesleyan in Rochester, N.Y., and Meridian-native Chris Leggett, who played at Troy University, round out the current team roster along with Slater and Blake.

The ABA--not affiliated with the former ABA that merged with the NBA in 1976--includes more than 70 teams from nearly every region of the country, including teams from Chicago, San Francisco, New Jersey, Arizona, Richmond, Va., and Little Rock, Ark.

Previous Comments

ID

167778

Comment

As of May 9, 2012, Steven Parham, officially resigned as the Co-Owner of the Jackson Showboats. Grant L. Worsley's quote about Steven Parham was unauthorized. Steven Parham is not to be held accountable for any comments stated by Worsley about him, as expressed in this article.

Author

JXNShowboats

Date

2012-05-19T16:27:05-06:00

ID

167784

Comment

Correction: This story will be edited to remove mentions of Steven Parham, who resigned as co-owner of the Jackson Showboats May 9. He is still listed as a co-owner on the Showboats' page of the ABA website, ABAlive.com, as of May 21.

Author

Jacob Fuller

Date

2012-05-21T13:38:33-06:00

ID

167785

Comment

Funny. I just went to the cribbed version of this story, which The Clarion-Ledger barely rewrote, and clarified it for them, too. Because, you know, someone's got to care about facts and clarity over there.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2012-05-21T14:01:27-06:00