Tuesday, Jul. 22, 2008

Local star now leads ABA team

Former Modesto High standout

T.J. Walker Jr. was a player/assistant coach and a player/head coach the past few years in the British Basketball League.

He sat at a downtown eatery Monday morning over a glass of ice water with a new title in front of his name: owner/head coach.

The former Modesto High star basketball player and his dad, T.J. Walker Sr., assumed ownership over the weekend of Modesto's new team in the American Basketball Association.

"I had to take the next step," said Walker Jr., whose first order of business was to change the name from Sabers to Bearcats. "I did not want this to flop. I want to do this for the city."

Saber Knott, a native of Meridian, Miss., who moved to Modesto, was the owner when Modesto was awarded an ABA franchise and held its first tryout June 13 at Modesto Christian High.

Joe Newman, the CEO of the ABA, said Monday he didn't want to perform a "character assassination" of Knott, but he did say the change in ownership was the result of "a plethora of things he (Knott) said he would do that he didn't do.

"Promises made and promises not kept," Newman said. "There were a host of them. When you get e-mails, faxes and letters that things are going to happen and they don't, that concerns you. We have to know whoever is going to do it has 15 home games, 15 away games and do it professionally and with dignity. That's what we're talking about. When we don't have confidence that can happen, we're not going to start. Modesto doesn't deserve it, sponsors don't deserve it, fans don't deserve it."

Knott said he did everything in his power to build the team while juggling the task of handling issues with his father's estate. Knott's dad passed away on the day of the team's first tryout, six months after his mom died.

"The whole issue with my father caused a lot of distractions, which kind of put me inadvertently out of the loop with everything -- trying to bury my father and get local help (for the team) within the area," he said. "I still understand it's a business. I know T.J. can maintain and handle anything to keep it going. I was handling issues with both estates. Joe Newman doesn't understand I have spent countless hours doing everything I could for the team in between doing things for my mother's and father's estates."

Walker Sr. and Jr. talked of coaching a team together since Jr. was a teenager making a name for himself in the early 1990s as a three-time All-District selection by The Bee.

Dad thought he might have to travel across the Atlantic to make it happen. They'll do it here instead, but Walker Jr. will apply the knowledge with Modesto that he gained last year as player/head coach of the Cheshire Jets in the BBL. Walker said Cheshire's owner stepped away because of health problems, so he and a group of people sought sponsorship to keep the team going. They found a big sponsor in Big Storage.

Now, he's trying to do the same in Modesto. Walker said he's going to be meeting with contacts regarding potential sponsorships. The Bearcats spent the last month practicing at the Sportsmen of Stanislaus Club, and Walker is working with SOS GM Phil Madriaga to keep that relationship going. Once slated to play games at Salida Middle School, Walker would like to find a home at a high school gym in Modesto. He still has plans to implement Hoops4Health, a program that teaches living a healthy lifestyle, with local fourth- and fifth-graders.

"The ABA is a lot like Europe. The only difference is money," Walker said, meaning there's more of it in Europe.

He figures it takes about $200,000 to fund an ABA team for one season. He has until the end of September to make it happen, and the season starts in December. Coupled with the fact the ABA is trying to make a go of it in Modesto 17 months after another team, the Shockwave, was suspended 19 games into its first season because of what Newman said were "bad business practices," can the Walkers make it happen during a tough economic time?

"I feel we can," Walker Jr. said. "This is doable. I think it will speak a lot what we've done. The people of Modesto need to realize we're honest people."

Walker has Newman in his corner as he and dad begin knocking on local doors. Newman said the ownership change was made over the weekend, and the Bearcats were "off and running without missing a heartbeat.

"T.J. is very credible," Newman said. "He seems to be very honest and straightforward and candid."

Bee sports editor Bill Poindexter can be reached at bpoindexter@modbee.com or 238-4588.