The Bowling Green Hornets are a semi-professional basketball team in the Central Basketball Association (CBA), and will be commencing their second season as an organization this March. Similar to the mission statement of the CBA, the Bowling Green Hornets have built themselves to serve as a stepping stone for individuals.
Whether it is a player seeking to take their professional career to the next level overseas, or a rising coach who wants to build a resume to project himself into the collegiate ranks, or a student staff member who wants to establish critical experience to place on his or her college application; the goal of the Hornets is to provide opportunities for ambitious individuals to achieve their personal dreams and aspirations.
After the completion of the Hornets first season last year, former Head Coach and Harlem Globetrotter, Otis Key, was able to obtain a head coaching position at South Warren High School; former Hornets guard and Hilltopper, Jamal Crook, landed a lucrative contract in Ottawa, Canada; and former Hornets forward and 2013 NAIA Player of the Year out of Georgetown College, Victor Moses, successfully obtained a deal in the British Basketball League, where he has been named Most Valuable Player two out of the last four months.
The Hornets hope that these examples of success will be a continuous trend for those that become part of the organization, as the team enters the 2014 season with nine new players on the roster, a new coaching staff, and new game day assistants made up of local high school and college students.
In addition to helping players, coaches, and staff members build their personal resumes, the Hornets have also been proactive in getting the local community involved. Although the Hornets ownership group is from the Washington, D.C. area, they are doing their best to increase community pride, educational advancement, and business promotion. Last season, the Hornets helped renovate the concession stand at Russellville High School, as well as donating two brand new portable shot clocks to the athletic department.
This season, the Hornets are helping the Russellville High School student population take advantage of the rapid evolution of technology, by providing each student with their own stylus pens to complement their smart phones or tablet devices. Furthermore, the team has reached out to all corners of Logan County, by not only sponsoring individual trophies for each of the winners and runners-up from the 2013-2014 Logan County Middle School Basketball Tournament, but by also distributing over 2,000 free Hornets t-shirts to all of the elementary schools in the area.
Finally, the Hornets have established relationships with local businesses and non-profit organizations in the surrounding areas. During the 2013 season, the Hornets donated hundreds of free tickets to community non-profit organizations, and provided them the platform to market their cause during halftime of each of their respective regular season games.
This season, the Hornets have extended themselves to local businesses, by allowing small businesses in the area to receive free exposure and marketing during the Hornets first game of the season. This outreach has been further enhanced by the Hornets partnership with Imagewest, a student-run advertising agency from Western Kentucky University, which has allowed college students to use this opportunity to promote the Hornets in the Bowling Green business community, as a valuable form of experience on their professional resume.
Transitioning to the current 2014 season, the Bowling Green Hornets are considered in the upper echelon of organizations this season, as they join six other member cities in the CBA: Chattanooga Rail Runners, Fort Wayne Flite, Memphis Soul Kings, Middle Tennessee Storm (Nashville, Tenn.), River City Panthers (Peoria, Ill.), and the St. Louis Hawks. Ownership groups in Lexington, South Bend (Ind.), Columbus (Ohio), and Chicago, have committed to joining the league for the 2015 season. The CBA, which has received much national recognition and attention of late from the Associated Press and National Public Radio, will have its regular season beginning on March 1st and concluding on May 3rd, with each team playing ten regular season games: five games at home and five games on the road.
The post-season semifinals are scheduled to occur the weekend of May 10th-11th, with the CBA Championship game scheduled for the weekend of May 17th-18th. The league does not have any games scheduled for both March Madness weekends, in order to avoid conflict with the NCAA Tournament, as well as no games being played on Easter Sunday. The Hornets five home games are scheduled for Saturday, March 1st versus the Middle Tennessee Storm; Saturday, March 15th versus the River City Panthers; Saturday, April 12th versus the Memphis Soul Kings; Friday, April 18th versus the Chattanooga Rail Runners; and Saturday, April 26th versus the Fort Wayne Flite. All five of the Hornets home games are currently scheduled to be played at Russellville High School, just like the 2013 season; however, there is a possibility that one to two home games, during the second half of the season, may be played in various other high schools in the area, including Logan County High School in Russellville.
The Bowling Green Hornets are led by first-year Head Coach and General Manager, Nathan Thompson. Thompson, who also is in his second year as Russellville High School’s Athletic Director, and played basketball collegiately at Kentucky Wesleyan University and Lindsey Wilson College, served as the Hornets Assistant Coach last season during the team’s inaugural season. The current roster, which currently consists of thirteen players, were all hand- picked by Thompson, after careful evaluation of each individual during multiple tryouts, as well as game-film from their collegiate games. Furthermore, the roster includes five former Division-I athletes, seven former Division-II and NAIA athletes, and four players that have played internationally in the past. After falling in the Championship game last season versus St. Louis, Thompson and the Hornets look to rebound from that experience and bring a title to the Bowling Green community; a feat that undoubtedly would bring valuable and positive attention to a region that has traditionally been in the shadows of the prominent regional cities of Louisville, Lexington, and Nashville.
Regardless of whether the team ultimately hoists a trophy at the end of the season, or misses the post-season altogether, the goal of the Bowling Green Hornets organization is much bigger than their team’s overall record at the conclusion of the 2014 season. The end game for the Hornets is to entrench themselves in the Bowling Green area for the long-term, such that not only is the local community and local businesses actively involved and working with the organization, but also that the organization continues to build upon its mission objective of successful serving as a stepping stone for individuals to reach a bigger and better opportunity in their respective lives.
Allowing a player’s young career to prosper and bloom, advancing a coach’s desire to rise to fame, enabling a student to get admitted into the college of their choice, aiding a small business anxious and eager for financial growth, and expanding the influence and notoriety of the Bowling Green community – these are the primary points and goals of the Bowling Green Hornets organization, and through the support of the community, they hope to reach their objectives in the near future.
For more information about the Bowling Green Hornets, including their 2014 schedule and roster, please visit the Central Basketball Association website at www.playcba.com, email the team at hornets@playcba.com, or download the free mobile application for iOS and Android devices by searching for “Central Basketball Association” in the Apple or Google Play Store on your smartphone or tablet.
