by Michael Strickland
UPDATE: 1/7/15
The Idaho Stampede notched a 102-96 win over the Oklahoma City Blue at CenturyLink Arena Tuesday night.
According to The Idaho Statesman:
The Stampede on Tuesday had a lead after the first quarter. Idaho made 13 of its first 20 field goals, including 6-of-10 3-pointers for a 33-22 edge after 12 minutes.
Oklahoma City (8-10) tied it twice after halftime, the last of which coming on a Reggie Williams 3-pointer with 3:27 left that made it 93-93, but Idaho responded with a Tre' Bussey layup and a Shane Gibson 3-pointer. The Stampede forced the Blue into five turnovers in the last 2:22, including four of their last five possessions.
"If you want to win, you have to make those stops, and we did," said forward Jerrelle Benimon (18 points, 10 rebounds).
UPDATE: 12/29/14
Come check out the Stampede this weekend as they host the Bakersfield Jam for a back-to-back on Friday, January 2 and Saturday, January 3. Both games will tip off at 7 pm at CenturyLink Arena in downtown Boise.
UPDATE: 12/17/14
The Idaho Stampede Community Foundation donated a check in the amount of $11,650 to the Hope House, located in Marsing, Idaho. Hope House is a home provided for children who are emotionally impaired, developmentally disabled, and/or come from dysfunctional families.
The check was presented by Stampede President and General Manager Steve Brandes and Stampede head coach Dean Cooper. “We’re extremely happy to help the deserving youth at the Hope House for the fifth consecutive year,” said Brandes. “This donation wouldn’t be possible without the generous citizens of our community. They need to be acknowledged”.
A group of community members, spearheaded by Bill Ilett and the members of the Boise Sunrise Rotary Club, helped make this donation possible. Other contributors of the donation include Mike Musgrave and Don Schow from Western Idaho Freightliner, Jim Tulloch and Greg Kitteridge of Cummins Rocky Mountain, and Gary Multanen of Best Bath Systems.
The team has a history of helping the Hope House with basketball camps, donations and other services. In conjunction with this year’s donation, the Stampede will host the Hope House kids at a game later this season. “This donation is one of the most heart-felt things that the Idaho Stampede Community Foundation does each year,” said Bill Ilett, the Idaho Stampede’s Managing Investor and member of Sunrise Rotary. “This, along with our Hope House basketball game sponsored by Boise restaurateur David Krick, provides financial and developmental opportunities for the Hope House youth.”
UPDATE: 12/9/14
BOISE - The Idaho Stampede has acquired Lewis Jackson from the Westchester Knicks in exchange for a future draft pick, the team announced today. Jackson is expected join the Stampede in Texas this weekend as Idaho plays at Austin on December 5 and at Rio Grande Valley on December 6.
Jackson (5-10, 165, Purdue) played with the Erie BayHawks during the 2013-14 NBA D-League season. Over 36 games, he averaged 11.8 points, 8.9 assists and 4.5 rebounds in 33.2 minutes per game. Jackson played four years at Purdue University (2008-2012) averaging 10.4 points and 4.2 assists during his senior season.
UPDATE: 12/1/14
The Utah Jazz bench isn't producing much, NBA-DL affiliate Idaho may have an answer
Tonight the Utah Jazz may have rookie forward Rodney Hood back in the lineup. It couldn't come at a more necessary juncture as the team's bench hasn't been putting up a lot of points lately. Getting healthy will go a long way for Hood, as his talents can really help the team get over those bad lulls. With 14 players on the roster, and one of those 14 being assigned to the NBA-DL affiliate right now, there is space for one more player. And that player could come from the NBA-DL.
Read the full story from SB Nation
My original blog entry is below:
"The game of basketball has been everything to me," wrote Michael Jordan. "My place of refuge, place I've always gone where I needed comfort and peace. It's been the site of intense pain and the most intense feelings of joy and satisfaction."
My feelings are very similar.
I love the community feel surrounding Boise's NBA D- League Team. It brings me back to my days growing up in the east, watching legends from the New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets. I first learned the term "Thread the needle pass" after my father identified an amazing throw that Eric "Sleepy" Floyd had just completed.
I remember sitting at courtside and marvelling at the sheer size of Darryl Dawkins, and how he effectively began the "Gorilla Dunk," a now common occurrence in the sport.
On the playgrounds of New York and New Jersey, shooting hoops was a social gathering that connected people at all levels. Stepping out one afternoon and seeing aspiring, future, and past NBA stars was a common occurrence.
I'll never forget those days.
After moving to Idaho eleven years ago, I sometimes wondered if, and how I would be able to share these precious slices of positive inner-city energy and culture, with my children.
So imagine my joy when I realized that, along with the staff and players of the Idaho Stampede; my experience can be re-created right here in Boise.
That is why this team has meaning for me.
Since 2005, the Stampede has played at the CenturyLink Arena in Boise. The team was founded as a member of the Continental Basketball Association in 1997 and was league runner-up in the 2003–04 season, losing to the Dakota Wizards. After the 2005–06 season, the Stampede announced that the team would be joining the NBA Development League.
The Stampede's sole NBA affiliate is the Utah Jazz, with whom they have a hybrid partnership. They also had past affiliations with the Denver Nuggets, Seattle SuperSonics, Toronto Raptors and most recently the Portland Trail Blazers with the Jazz taking sole affiliation after the 2013-2014 season. In the Stampede's first D-League season, the team won the Western Division title, tying for the best record in the league.
The inner-city playground courts that gave me so many defining and formative experiences of of my youth are 2,000 miles away. But I can thank the Idaho Stampede for helping me re-experience many slices of my wonderful, urban upbringing.