Philadelphia Power brings local talent to pro level

The third USBL team to test the Philadelphia waters, the Power play its games at Drexel. For the third time in United States Basketball League history, Philadelphia had a team this summer -- the Philadelphia Power. For city residents and fans of the Big Five and Drexel Dragons, it meant another chance to see local products competing at the professional level -- at a reasonable price, too. And for the players, it was a chance to hone their skills and gain some exposure in an effort to ascend to the next level -- whether that be the NBA, the CBA or one of the numerous European leagues. "Everybody is trying to get to the next level. This [league] is my stepping stone, my springboard to the next level," Power guard and recent Drexel graduate Jeff Myers said. USBL Commissioner Daniel Meisenheimer counted 10 current NBA players among USBL alumni. Some of the best known NBA players who have passed through the USBL are Michael Adams, Muggsy Bogues, Manute Bol, Anthony Mason and John "Hot Rod" Williams. At the ceremony held in February to welcome the Power, Meisenheimer said, "This is the league of opportunity. Our goal is to help our players get to the next level, which is the NBA." The success of such USBL alumni -- certainly not the $300 to $500 a week USBL paycheck -- the dream that every one of today's USBL players shares. "It not about money -- it's about opportunity," Power coach Jerry Powell added, and he knows just what it takes to get to the next level. He is an advance scout for the Atlanta Hawks, for whom he served as an assistant coach in 1995. He accepted the job with the Power not for the chance to scout new talent, but for the coaching challenge. "We're struggling right now? We have young players and they make mistakes," Powell said. "Obviously, it's a challenge to have a new ball club in a city you have to win." The USBL garners support for their teams by linking a competitive product to a hometown flavoring. The local players on each team are supposed to provide this sort of attachment between the team and its neighborhood. "We wanted to get as many local guys out as possible for the fans," Powell said. The Power's roster includes two other men besides Myers who played collegiate basketball in the area and several others who played high school basketball here. Bernard Blunt and Ron Wilson each played in the Big Five -- Blunt starred at St. Joseph's and Wilson at Villanova and both also have been to another level, professional basketball in Europe. Blunt has the brightest credentials of the three players. He was cut last year by the Washington Bullets after a promising tryout. He played instead for the Estrelas, a Portuguese team for which he averaged 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists per game. The year before, he scored 35 points per game for BK Kloster Neuburg, an Austrian team. But scoring is nothing new for Blunt -- he finished his career at St. Joseph's as the Hawks leading career scorer with 1,985 points. "Playing oversees is a trade-off. Overseas you get a lot of money, but it's hard because you're away from your family. Most of that money goes to your phone blil," Blunt said. At 6'10", Wilson is a strong rebounder and shot blocker who is working on developing a more complete offensive repertoire. Last year, he played for Cossnay in Switzerland where he posted strong numbers -- 21 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocked shots per game. At Villanova, Wilson served as one of the team's co-captains in 1994-95. Following graduation, he played in Finland for the Uusikaupunki Sharks. There, he averaged 15 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocks per game. Myers, who hails from South Philadelphia, graduated with an accounting degree from Drexel this year after leading the Dragons with a 16.3 points per game average. Although he played off guard, he also led the team in rebounding a team-high 15 times this year. He scored more than a 1,400 points in his career. His goal of playing in a more prestigious league is a common one among the USBL's players. "My number one goal is to get a tryout with an NBA team, maybe even the CBA," Myers said. The man primarily responsible for bringing the Power to the people is Gerald "Chip" Mitchell. He is president, CEO and co-owner of the team. Mitchell is currently also the president of Hoop City, Inc., a basketball entertainment company that he began operating in 1993. His co-owners are two of his former Pennsauken (N.J.) High School classmates -- Keith Taylor, a nine-year NFL veteran and Fred Colon, a computer technologist and investor, who has made the Power his first investment in the sports industry. Finally, Michael Altman, the Vice President of New Business Development for Hoop City, Inc., is in charge of the day-to-day operations of the Power. Philadelphia's past USBL franchises -- the Aces from 1987-90 and the Spirit from 1991-92 -- both folded, mostly because of financial troubles. Together, Mitchell and his colleagues payed $300,000 in franchise fees to bring the expansion team to Philadelphia, and they have taken steps to ensure that the Power will remain here. Their shot to land a big name swished when they signed Simeon Rice, the defensive end for the Arizona Cardinals who led all NFL rookies with 12 sacks last year. Rice is serious about his basketball prospects, too. Despite being just 6'5", he thinks that he has the ability to play in the NBA because of his power and his Power experience. Last spring, Rice showed that dimension of his game in a pick-up contest at Penn's Weightman Hall when he damaged a rim beyond repair with a thunderous dunk.

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