Today begins the 2nd season for the Arizona Desert Storm in the NBBA. Their first season was considered very successful, holding on to first place in the conference despite some some salary saving moves with 2 weeks left in the season.

Last seasons team led by NT great Lorenzo Bland was very solid, but seemed to be lacking in a few key areas which stood in the way of picking up some important road wins. That team seemed to look like two very different teams at home and away. At home, they were near dominant, but on the road they lost several close games in the closing minutes.

Although nobody blamed Bland for the teams problems, he was the first to go because of his hefty salary. He was replaced by fellow NT player Ron Foote. Ron Foote is actually a better fit for the team, and expectations for this season ramped up the second the team landed him!

James Shoemaker who has played more games for the Storm than any player had a tearful goodbye with the team. Nobody wanted to see him go, but the moves the team was making slotted him to be a backup going forward, plus he had the highest value on the open market to allow the team to make the moves they have made.

Martin Ryska and Halbig were two fan favorites on this team as they more than did their job in the paint, but their age and a desire to be an even better inside scoring team they were moved to create additional room.

Joining Foote as his front court Partner is Panama Nationall Team player Federico Moyeton. This guy is a dominant scorer and is a tremendous compliment to Foote. "Camel-Toe" who started at Small Forward last season will be the backup big in a 3 man rotation.

One of the keys to this rebuilding project was to find a quality Small Forward that can be the "glue" on the court. Kamoltip put up a valiant effort there last season, but he was really playing out of position....additionally, the areas where Kamoltip falls short in skills, are the areas that were vitally needed to play this position for the style the Desert Storm play.

So when the team landed Carl Halliday the team was ecstatic! He is a very versatile player that will give the team a boost in passing, inside scoring and defense from the Small Forward position.

In a surprising move the team landed Isidro Borges. Borges is a sharp shooting combo guard (typically not an Arizona type of player) who will backup the 1,2 & 3 man positions. Especially facing other teams backups Borges is expected to have a very important role off the bench spreading the floor, scoring the ball, and giving the team quality minutes while starters are resting.

Moving Camel-Toe to the backup big man position, and adding these new faces along with the core group of guards, Danila, Zvonc, and Bis; this team is expected to be even better defensively than it was last season! Additionally, this team has set a goal to be the best inside scoring team in the country, and every player on the court can flat out move the ball!

Expect a lot of ball movement, dunks, and points from this team! The only area the team seems to have taken a step back in is Free Throw Shooting. The coaching staff is expecting to go the Free Throw Line a lot this season with as effective as their inside scoring attack will be...but this group doesn't have the same level of Free Throw Shooting ability as last seasons team.

They team is hoping that improving flow, will lead to more dunks, less Free Throws, and more points which will translate to more wins, especially on the road!

Last edited by GM-Jason at 6/15/2013 10:28:12 AM

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By: tough
To: Jason

355545.2 as reply to 355545.1
7/25/2013 6:13:45 AM

Another great press post! Haven't kept up with the team for a little bit but it looks like it's doing just fine! Keep it up jason! :D

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