Jacksonville 95ers principal Kevin Waters gives a team jersey to Alex Alston, the city's chief of sports and entertainment. The jersey bears Mayor Donna Deegan's name. | Dan Scanlan, WJCT News 89.9
Published on December 12, 2023 at 3:15 pm
The Jacksonville 95ers basketball team, a new professional franchise, will hit the boards for the first time in just over three months.
Their home court will be Jacksonville University’s Swisher Gymnasium, where Jacksonville 95ers team principal Kevin Waters announced the new team Tuesday, as well as its partnership with the private school at 2800 University Blvd. N.
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Waters said he has “a spiritual connection” with Jacksonville, which is one reason he is starting a new pro basketball team in the city.
“I want to bring professional basketball, and it’s really been my dream since 2008,” he said. “I look forward to bringing top quality basketball to Jacksonville. This is not a hobby. This is my livelihood, my dream and my legacy. I want to be here like the Jumbo Shrimp, like the Jaguars. I am here — I am not going anywhere.”
The new sports franchise could lead to something bigger, predicted City Councilman Rahman Johnson, saying that Jacksonville is “big enough for more than just one.”
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“We have the opportunity to do it again, and something that would be legacy — and tradition –building for our city are the 95ers,” he said. “I believe that this opportunity that we have with the 95ers will lead us to bring professional basketball to the city. I am committed to sports. It is something that brings people together.”
The Jacksonville 95ers will play in the Eastern Conference of the TBL — The Basketball League. The league will have 49 teams in four divisions, including five in Canada.
The 95ers’ owners and management also have aspirations to become part of the G League, the NBA’s official minor league that prepares players, coaches, officials, trainers and front office staff for the association. The G League has 31 teams, 29 with one-to-one affiliations with NBA franchises.
Jerrod Tucker is the 95ers new head coach. He is a five-time national champion with the Jacksonville Giants and was the varsity boys basketball coach at the Global Outreach Charter School. The new assistant coach is Willie Ponds Jr., currently head coach for the Seven Cities Vets, Trinity Christian Academy and Portsmouth Alliance Christian Academy, and former assistant coach for the Giants.
Having the 95ers here could be a “win on and off the court,” said attorney John Phillips, one of the team’s co-owners and its legal counsel.
“Everybody who has walked on the Eastside or the Northside knows that some of those people need hope; they need opportunity; they need goals and vision outside of the systemic problems and systemic perpetual nature of the option that they have,” he said. “It is my goal and mission to give opportunity through basketball.”
The 95ers also could fill the hole left when the Jacksonville Giants ended their 12-year run in 2022. Part of the American Basketball Association, the Giants were seven-time ABA national champions. In their last season, they played at the University of North Florida and the gymnasium at Arlington’s Christ the King Catholic Church.
Playing at JU’s historic 70-year-old basketball court, where NBA legend Artis Gilmore played in the 1969-70 season, Waters predicts his new team has the backing it needs to succeed. The goal is to become part of the NBA’s G League in three years, he said.
“We are being very strategic about who we are partnering with and also the opportunities that are presented to us,” Waters said. “Coming here to JU now, it was a natural fit because of the basketball history that the city has. So moving forward, we feel like this is a great way to set the foundation. … Right now, we are very blessed to have this opportunity.”
Alex Alston, the city’s chief of sports and entertainment, was presented a team jersey with Mayor Donna Deegan’s name on it. He said the city is thrilled that the team is here and is ready to help it succeed.
“We can’t wait for the season to kick off. You have the city’s full support for anything you need,” he said. “Whether it’s help that drives some ticket sales (or) getting kids to the game, we are here to help.”
The 95ers will play their first home game March 15 against the Raleigh Firebirds, with nine more games held through May 24. The team will share the court with the Jacksonville University Dolphins, who also play home games at Swisher.
Lead image: Jacksonville 95ers principal Kevin Waters gives a team jersey to Alex Alston, the city’s chief of sports and entertainment. The jersey bears Mayor Donna Deegan’s name. | Dan Scanlan, WJCT News 89.9
