Calvin Murphy to Coach in the American Basketball League

Basketball Hall of Fame icon has been hired by the Sugar Land Legends to coach in the American Basketball League. Murphy is the latest high profile news event associated with the ABL, which is set to challenge the existence of the NBA's D League

Sugar Land (I-Newswire) November 6, 2012 - Calvin Murphy to Coach in the American Basketball League

The American Basketball League Office announced today that the Sugar Land Legends franchise has hired Hall of Fame basketball icon Calvin Murphy as their Head Basketball coach. Murphy, who was inducted in to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993, played 13 years in the NBA, scoring 17,949 points in a career that included time with both the San Diego and Houston Rockets. Murphy is largely regarded as one of the greatest guards ever to play professional basketball.

“We are thrilled to have Houston’s own, basketball Hall of Famer Calvin Murphy as our head coach.” Said Sugar Land Legend CEO Katrina Chambers “this is a very clear indication of the quality of professional basketball we intend on delivering to the Sugar Land community”. For the ABL, the signing of Murphy is just the latest in bombshell developments that has propelled the new league to the forefront of the national news “Undeniably the inclusion of Calvin Murphy as the Head Coach of the Sugar Land Legends will further distinguish the ABL as one of the top professional basketball leagues in the World” commented ABL founder and CEO Steve Haney.

The Sugar Land Legends is owned by 1994 Investment Group, LLC. 1994 Investment Group, LLC is comprised of three incredibly dynamic women with a love and passion for sports, business, family and community. This 100 percent women owned team have a clear vision to deliver an affordable sports entertainment experience to the families in the Sugar Land/Houston surrounding community and be a model franchise team for the American Basketball League as a whole. Katrina Chambers (CEO), Tamara Johnson-George (COO), and Arnetta Yardbourgh (President) collectively bring over 40 years of experience in the sports & entertainment industries. Katrina as CEO of PRO-TENTIAL Management, Tamara as 1/3 of the multi-platinum singing group SWV & finalist contestant on the hit CBS television show “Survivor” and Arnetta, a 16-year Sugar Land resident, a Professional Life Coach and CEO of AY & Associates.

The American Basketball League will commence its inaugural 24 game season in January 2013 and will field a 12 team league set to challenge the recent economic and rather public failings of current minor league basketball organizations. Initial ABL markets include; San Antonio, San Marcos, Sugarland, College Station, Fort Lauderdale, Davie, West Palm Beach, Fort Walton Beach, Sebring, and Corpus Christi. Future expansion is scheduled for California, New York and Puerto Rico. Never before in American sports history has a professional league been developed for the purpose of operating as an international farm club, or feeder league, for global basketball.

Haney, characterized by the Boston Globe as a Sports Business Mogul, previously represented NBA Hall of Famers “Magic” Johnson and Dominique Wilkins and most recently founded the ABL with the assistance of music and entertainment titan Steve Rifkind.

Rifkind, the founder of Loud Records, which he sold to Sony in 1999, is currently the president of SRC. In his distinguished 25 years in the business, Rifkind has long been associated with such artists as; New Edition, Akon, Wu Tang Clan, Three Six Mafia, Big Pun, Xzibit, David Banner, Melanie Fiona and others. In addition to managing the careers of many of the biggest names in music, Rifkind has also launched numerous high profile national marketing campaigns for such companies as; Nike, T-Mobile and HBO.

Haney and Rifkind’s latest joint venture has made national headline news with the American Basketball League being anointed by the mainstream U.S. basketball media as a league set to challenge the very existence of the NBA’s Development League.