1971–72 The Floridians season

1971–72 The Floridians season
Head coach	Bob Bass
Owner(s)	James Edwin Doyle
Arena	Miami Beach Convention Center Curtis Hixon Hall Bayfront Arena Jacksonville Coliseum West Palm Beach Auditorium
Results
Record	36–48 (.429)
Place	Division: 4th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Lost in Division Semifinals

The 1971–72 The Floridians season was the fourth and final season of American Basketball Association in Florida. For this season, 34 games were played in Miami, with the other home games being played in either Tampa or St. Petersberg. The Floridians edged out the Carolina Cougars for the final playoff spot by one game, with their 116–115 overtime victory proving key to clinching the spot, as their record was 35–45 and the Cougars record was at 33–49, with the Floridians not only having two more games to play than the Cougars but only needing to win once more to officially clinch, which they did four days later versus the Memphis Pros, 118–107. The team's biggest winning streak all season was 4, with their first half record being 19–23. They went 17–25 in the second half of the season, with a season high six game losing streak in that half. They finished 8th in points scored, at 112.8 per game and 8th in points allowed at 114.3 per game. In the Semifinals, they were swept by the Virginia Squires. After the season, the team was disbanded, due to attendance not improving despite trying to appeal to the region. Pro basketball would not return to the area until 1988 with the Miami Heat, who have worn throwback jerseys of the team on occasion as part of "Hardwood Classics Nights", doing so for the first time during the 2005–06 season.

Roster

1970–71 The Floridians roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From PF Will Allen 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) February 8, 1949 Miami (FL) PG 21 Mack Calvin 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) July 27, 1947 USC PF Rick Fisher 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) October 27, 1948 Colorado State SF 15 Ron Franz 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) October 20, 1945 Kansas C 51 Carl Fuller 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) January 10, 1946 Bethune–Cookman C 41 Ira Harge 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) March 14, 1941 New Mexico SG 15 Warren Jabali 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) August 29, 1946 Wichita State SG 32 Larry Jones 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) September 22, 1942 Toledo C 43 Manny Leaks 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) November 27, 1945 Niagara PF 30 Willie Long 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) March 1, 1950 New Mexico PF 43 Walt Piatkowski 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) June 11, 1945 Bowling Green C 51 Craig Raymond 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) April 5, 1945 BYU SF 31 Sam Robinson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) January 1, 1948 Long Beach State SF 44 George Tinsley 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) September 19, 1946 Kentucky Wesleyan PF 12 Al Tucker 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) February 24, 1943 Oklahoma Baptist SG 20 Lonnie Wright 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) January 23, 1945 Colorado State

Head coach Bob Bass Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Final standings

Eastern Division

Team	W	L	%	GB
Kentucky Colonels	68	16	.810	-
Virginia Squires	45	39	.536	23
New York Nets	44	40	.524	24
The Floridians	36	48	.429	32
Carolina Cougars	35	49	.417	33
Pittsburgh Condors	25	59	.298	43

Playoffs

1972 playoff game log
Eastern Division Semifinals: 0–4 (home: 0–2; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 March 31 @ Virginia L 107–114 Long, Jabali (22) Long, Jabali (17) Warren Jabali (7) Norfolk Scope 3,770 0–1 2 April 1 @ Virginia L 100–125 Willie Long (22) Warren Jabali (13) Long, Tucker, Calvin (3) Hampton Coliseum 2,921 0–2 3 April 4 Virginia L 113–118 Mack Calvin (27) Jabali, Raymond (12) Jabali, Calvin (8) Miami-Dade Junior College North 2,965 0–3 4 April 6 Virginia L 106–115 Mack Calvin (23) Ron Franz (11) Mack Calvin (10) Miami-Dade Junior College North 3,117 0–4
1972 schedule

Awards and honors

1972 ABA All-Star Game selections (game played on January 29, 1972)

• Mack Calvin
• Warren Jabali

References

• Floridians on Basketball Reference

External links

• RememberTheABA.com 1971-72 regular season and playoff results
• The Floridians page