Albany Patroons
From Hoopedia
The Albany Patroons are a team in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). They also played in the United States Basketball League (USBL), 2006-07).
The Patroons' home arena is the 3,500-seat Washington Avenue Armory, a former New York National Guard armory with a castle-like exterior. In 1990, the Patroons moved from this location and into the newly constructed Times Union Center, then called the Knickerbocker Arena. When the team was re-established in 2005, it moved back into the Armory. Former Patroon Jamario Moon signed with the Toronto Raptors for two years.
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History
Originally entering the CBA as an expansion franchise in the 1982-83 season, the Patroons won league championships in 1984 and 1988, defeating the Wyoming Wildcatters in both instances.
NBA head coach Phil Jackson won his first championship ring when he guided the Albany Patroons to the 1984 CBA championship. Jackson would later win NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers.
In 1988, the Patroons won a second championship, this time under head coach Bill Musselman. Musselman would later coach the Minnesota Timberwolves, and several Patroons from the 1987-88 championship year - including Scott Brooks, Tod Murphy, Tony Campbell and Sidney Lowe - played on those early Timberwolves squads.
Three years later, the Patroons completed a 50-6 regular season, including winning all 28 of their home games; at that time, George Karl was the Patroons' head coach. Future NBA stars Mario Elie and Vincent Askew were part of that 50-6 squad.
During the Patroons' time in the CBA, they won two CBA championships and five Eastern Division regular season titles. For the 1992-93 season, the Patroons were renamed the Capital Region Pontiacs, as the team received sponsorship from the local car dealerships. After that season, the franchise was relocated to Connecticut, where it played for 1-1/2 years as the Hartford Hellcats.
Rebirth
After a decade-long absence, the Patroons rejoined the CBA as an expansion team for the 2005-06 season, with their original name, original colors (gold and kelly green), and a return to the old Washington Avenue Armory. Former NBA star Micheal Ray Richardson, who played for the Patroons in the 1987-88 season, became the team's head coach, while the Patroons' career scoring leader, Derrick Rowland, was named his assistant coach. In the Patroons' first year back, they finished with a 20-28 record, good for third place in the CBA Eastern Conference. Albany qualified for the playoffs, but lost in the first round of the CBA round-robin style playoffs. The Patroons were led by T.J. Thompson, who averaged a league-high 25.4 points per game, and local product James Thomas, who in two stints with the Patroons led the team in rebounds per game. On April 25, 2006, the CBA moved its league offices into the Patroon's home, the Washington Avenue Armory (News Brief).
In the 2006-07 season, the Patroons won the CBA American Conference championship and advanced to the best-of-five CBA Finals against the Yakama Sun Kings. The Patroons lost game one at the Armory, to the Sun Kings. However, this was overshadowed when the next day, coach Micheal Ray Richardson was suspended for the rest of the season for firing expletives at hecklers during games and his comments in an interview with the Albany Times Union newspaper, stating that Jews were "crafty (because) they are hated worldwide." Without Richardson, the Patroons dropped the next two games of the finals, as the Sun Kings won their second consecutive championship. Three days after the conclusion of the series, it was announced that Richardson would not be back to the coach the Patroons. Richardson, now the coach of the Oklahoma Cavalry, was replaced by Vincent Askew.
USBL
On June 14, 2006, the Patroons purchased the rights to a United States Basketball League team, which would also be called the Patroons, and would also play in the Washington Avenue Armory. The team replaced the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs. However, after only two years and very low attendance at their home games, the Patroons ended their USBL affiliation on June 19, 2007.
Record
| Year | League | Reg. Season | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982/83 | CBA | 4th, Eastern | Did not qualify |
| 1983/84 | CBA | 2nd, Eastern | Champions |
| 1984/85 | CBA | 1st, Eastern | Eastern Division Finals |
| 1985/86 | CBA | 4th, Eastern | Eastern Division Semifinals |
| 1986/87 | CBA | 2nd, Eastern | Eastern Division Finals |
| 1987/88 | CBA | 1st, Eastern | Champions |
| 1988/89 | CBA | 1st, Eastern | Eastern Division Semifinals |
| 1989/90 | CBA | 1st, American Eastern | American Conference Finals |
| 1990/91 | CBA | 1st, National Eastern | National Conference Finals |
| 1991/92 | CBA | 3rd, American Eastern | American Conference 1st Round Shootout |
| 1992/93 | CBA | 2nd, American Eastern | Did not qualify |
| 2005/06 | CBA | 3rd, Eastern | 2nd in Eastern Round Robin |
| 2006 | USBL | 4th, Eastern | Lost First Round |
| 2006/07 | CBA | 1st, American Eastern | Lost CBA Finals |
| 2007 | USBL | 2nd | Withdrew from league |
| 2007/08 | CBA | 4th, American | Did not qualify |
Team Name
In the 17th century, "patroons" were Dutch landowners who held vast tracts of land in the Hudson River area, which was originally the Dutch colony of "New Netherland." Rensselaerwyck was the most successful of the "patroonships," or "deeded tracts, and encompassed what is today Albany, Rensselaer, and parts of Columbia and Greene Counties. When the CBA basketball team needed a name, the name "Patroons" was chosen over other team names like "Shamrocks" or "Leprechauns."
