HISTORY OF THE WESTERN BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

Contributed by Robert Bradley, Steven Brainerd and Chris Anderson

Organized by former NBA and ABA assistant coach Larry Cregar and
real estate developer Neil Christianson, the WBA attempted to lure
the Anchorage Northern Knights away form the CBA but failed.

The league signed a few coaches who had been (or would become)
players or coaches in the NBA or ABA, including Bucky Buckwalter
(Fresno), John Wetzel (Washington), Bill Musselman (Reno), Cazzie
Russell (Montana) and Larry Jones (Las Vegas).  Among the better-known
players were Jeff Cook, Major Jones, Mel Bennett, Brad Davis, Bill
Willoughby and Mike Evans.  Team rosters were limited to 11 players
with a nine-man travel squad and a $10,000 minimum salary.

The league's January 18 All-Star Game in Salt Lake City was canceled,
and operation of the Las Vegas franchise was taken by the league four
months into the season.  Financial problems continued into the playoffs
as Reno's players nearly boycotted game 6 of the WBA Championship
Series over playoff pay.  The league held talks with the CBA over the
two league merging as the United Basketball League, but the WBA folded
before a merger could be agreed upon.

WBA MEMBERSHIP CHRONOLOGY 1978-79

1978-79
In-  Fresno Stars                  1978-79 [charter franchise]
     Great Falls Sky               1978-79 [charter franchise]
     Las Vegas Dealers             1978-79 [charter franchise]
     Reno Bighorns                 1978-79 [charter franchise]
     Salt Lake City Prospectors    1978-79 [charter franchise]
     Tucson Gunners                1978-79 [charter franchise]
     Washington Lumberjacks        1978-79 [charter franchise]

WBA FRANCHISES BY SEASON 1978-79

FRE - Fresno Stars [Fresno, CA]                       1978-79
GFS - Great Falls Sky [Great Falls, MT]               1978-79
LVD - Las Vegas Dealers [Las Vegas, NV]               1978-79
REN - Reno Bighorns [Reno, NV]                        1978-79
SLC - Salt Lake City Prospectors [Salt Lake City, UT] 1978-79
TUC - Tucson Gunners [Tucson, AZ]                     1978-79
WAS - Washington Lumberjacks [Kennewick, WA]          1978-79

1978-79 - FRE  GFS  LVD  REN  SLC  TUC  WAS

WBA YEARLY STANDINGS 1978-79

1978-79 WBA                  W   L  Pct.  GB
Tucson Gunners              32  16  .667  ..
Washington Lumberjacks      29  19  .604   3
Reno Bighorns               28  20  .583   4
Fresno Stars                25  23  .521   7
Las Vegas Dealers           24  24  .500   8
Salt Lake City Prospectors  19  29  .396  13
Great Falls Sky             11  37  .229  21

WBA CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Tucson defeated Reno 4 games to 3

WBA YEARLY AWARD WINNERS 1978-79

WBA MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
1978-79 - Jeff Cook, WAS

WBA COACH OF THE YEAR
1978-79 - Herb Brown, TUC

WBA ALL-STAR TEAM

1978-79

First Team 
Al Smith, TUC
Walt Jordon, WAS
Jeff Cook, WAS
Del Beshore, FRE
Willie Smith, LVD

Second Team
Randy Ayers, REN
Jackie Robinson, LVD
Major Jones, FRE
Brad Davis, GFS
Jim Boylan, TUC 

Third Team
Greg Bunch, LVD
Bob Carrington, TUC
Roger Brown, TUC
Louie Nelson, WAS
Gus Bailey, REN
Sam Smith, SLC