The Fan's Corner

with Greg Duff: 11/08/01

Altitude will be team for all of WNC

The Altitude is a member of the new National Basketball Development League created by the NBA to act as a farm system that identifies and develops future players for the league. I sat down with Altitude President and former Southern Conference Commissioner Alfred White to talk about the team, its purpose and what area basketball fans can expect from Asheville's newest professional team.

Tell us about the NBDL. Why was it created?

The NBDL is the development league for the NBA. It's an opportunity for players who are just below the skill level of the NBA to develop their skills - both basketball and human skills - to prepare them for life during basketball and after basketball. It's a place where a human resource pool will be developed as well. It's an opportunity for the players, coaches, referees and front office personnel to hone their skills to get to the NBA. That's the goal of everybody working in the NBDL.

Asheville has never been known as a great sports town. Why was it selected as the home of the inaugural franchises?

I can't really address what Asheville has been in the past, but we can address making people aware that the Altitude is an affordable entertainment opportunity. When you think about the product the NBA makes available to people all in the 29 markets where the NBA and WNBA play, the reality is not that many people in these cities have access to the product. By virtue of starting the NBDL, we are broadening the reach of the league and displaying NBA quality basketball, marketing and entertainment that people in this area would not normally be able to take advantage of. When the decision was made to bring the team here, there was a realization that Asheville was a very diverse place that has an appreciation for the finer things. We consider ourselves one of the finer things.

Is this franchise being marketed as Asheville's team or are you going to aggressively market to all of Western North Carolina?

Unquestionably, it is a team for all of Western North Carolina. We have met with all of the school superintendents in the 17 western counties and talked with them about our community relations initiatives, which is a big part of our business plan. We wanted them to know what we are doing, and hopefully they will allow our coaches and players the opportunity to come to their schools and encourage their students and employees to come to our games.

Is your organization involved with the campaign to renovate the Asheville Civic Center?

We realize the Civic Center is an older facility, but it is our home and we're going to make the most out of it. It is probably the smallest facility in the league, and hopefully by virtue of Coach Myer's team (former DePaul Coach Joey Myer), make it a tough place to play. We are going to market the team the best we can so when we fill it up, it will rock and visiting teams will dread coming here.

The facility is what it is. We are conceptualizing some opportunities to spruce it up. We are looking to partner with the Asheville Smoke (hockey team) to fix it up.

The first four players you had on the roster all had a connection to Western North Carolina. Was that intentional?

Yes. That is part of the leaguewide plan. The strategy is to have players with regional ties to all of the markets. We felt it would make good business sense to have an allocation process where each team got a few players who had a regional relevance. And so far it has worked. There were significant spikes (in ticket sales) after each of those announcements.

[The four players he spoke of are former Appalachian State star Tyson Patterson, former Duke All-American Chris Carrawell, ex-UNC-A and Western Carolina player Brett Carey and Franklin native Lee Scruggs. Under league rules, at least one of these players must be on the regular season roster.]

Will there be an emphasis on bringing in more players with a local connection when you draft at the Central Training Camp?

The NBA Development Office is bringing in players from all over the world, and Coach Myer went to Atlanta with the idea of putting together the best basketball team he could, regardless of where the players were from.

Why would the residents of Jackson County want to drive an hour to watch the Altitude?

We think it going to be the best, most affordable entertainment they have ever had the chance to see. To the extent we can have our players, coaches and prominent staff members come out and interact with the people of Jackson County, it will be added incentive for the people to come watch us play. We are going to have an outreach program in the Jackson County schools and community service programs in the county. We think this will help us build relationships so the people will want to come to our basketball games.

You mentioned "affordable." How much will it cost for a family four to watch a game?

It could happen for less than $30 dollars.

Any final comments?

We're going to put on a good show. Coach Myer will put a good product on the floor. We hope everybody who comes to the Civic Center for a game, from the time they walk in to the time they walk out, will say, 'Wow, I just got entertained.'

Back to Sports: 11/08/01.