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ThunderDawgs small but fast

By MIKE READLING

© St. Petersburg Times, published December 13, 2000

The Tampa Bay ThunderDawgs are an unconventional basketball team.

Coach Darryl Dawkins is known for his flamboyance and free spirit. And the start-up American Basketball Association 2000 lends itself to a different outlook.

That was why, when the ThunderDawgs released their roster Tuesday, it didn't look anything like your typical list.

Tampa Bay's tallest player is 6-foot-9 center Innocent Kere. Of the 10 players, six are guards. Three players are from Florida: Kere, who went to Florida Southern; Kerry Thompson, who played at Florida State; and Dametri Hill of Dixie Hollins High and Florida.

The team's composition is a reflection of Dawkins' desire to run. A lot.

Dawkins has repeated time and again his belief in a system that requires excellent conditioning and forces the defense to keep up with his squad.

"There's not a lot of height but there's still a couple of 7-footers out there that we're looking at," said the 7-foot Dawkins. "The good thing about this league is if you need to cut somebody and bring in somebody you can do that. At least that's good for me, I don't know about all the players.

"I think we're going to be one of the fastest teams in the league, if not the fastest."

While some of the names -- John Strickland, Lonnie Harrell, Ace Custis -- may not be familiar to most non-college fans, Dawkins said you can't judge a team simply because it has few recognizable faces.

Dawkins has coached five of the players in other leagues.

"A lot of these guys didn't go to big colleges so you don't know what to expect," Dawkins said.

Leading the way will be Strickland, a 6-8, 260-pound forward from Hawaii-Pacific.

"Strickland has the ability to score on any human being alive," Dawkins said. "Kere will be our starting center and he can outrun any center in the league. ... Dominick Young and Harrell are two of the best three-point shooters in the league and Ace Custis is the best all-around player. I'm not talking about on the team, I'm talking about the whole league."

ThunderDawgs roster

Player, Pos., Ht., Wt., College

Ace Custis F 6-8 212 Virginia Tech

Kwame Evans G/F 6-6 195 George Washington

Lonnie Harrell G/F 6-7 205 Northeastern

Nate Higgs G/F 6-7 215 Elizabeth City State

Dametri Hill F 6-7 270 Florida

Kwan Johnson G 6-5 205 New Orleans

Innocent Kere F/C 6-9 240 Florida Southern

John Strickland F 6-8 260 Hawaii-Pacific

Kerry Thompson G 6-1 195 Florida State

Dominick Young G 5-9 165 Fresno State

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