The USBA Championships

 
The 2010 United States Basketball Association Championship  basketball  tournament will commence on Monday, July 5, 2010. The top four teams in each Division will participate in the seasoning ending championship series to play for the league title and the Willie Joe Hunter Memorial Championship Trophy.  The first championship game will be played in Atlanta, Georgia.
 
The teams will be seeded in accordance to the regular season won-lost records. The top seeded teams will play host to the bottom seeded teams. The play-offs quarter-finals and the semi-finals will begin  July 5, 2010 and end on July 9, 2010. The Championship game will be held on July 11, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. 
 
The USBA Championship tournament is designed to be the final showing of the players and coaches of the USBA to the scouts of the  NBA, the NBADL, other American minor basketball leagues  and the large variety of International leagues and teams from around the world.
 
The USBA will host an award ceremony and reception on July 10, 2010  at the Marriott Hotel Ballroom in downtown Atlanta. All teams, league personnel, invited guest, media representative and selected honorees will be given guest invitations to the festivities at the USBA season championship extravaganza. The USBA will distribute  awards in the following categories:
 
                  The USBA will award trophies to all players and coaches in the championship game. The championship team will receive the coveted Willie Joe Hunter Memorial Championship Trophy.
 
      The Willie Joe Hunter Memorial Championship Trophy
 
The Willie Joe Hunter Memorial Championship Trophy is named in honor of a man who is a true American. There are times in our lives when we are privileged to have extraordinary people walk among us. They exact an impact of immeasurable influence and force, often changing the environs they encounter. They are considered the light of hope to mankind.
 
Willie Joe Hunter was born on May 17, 1937, in Meadville, Pa. He was an outstanding basketball player for his team, the Meadville High School Bulldogs . Mr. Hunter was one of Pennsylvania's premier basketball players. He received a full basketball scholarship to Duquesne University, where he played for the Legendary Coach Red Manning. Before going to Duquesne, Mr Hunter served in the United States Air Force for four years during the Korean War, where he served his country with honorable distinction. Mr. Hunter taught school in the Washington, D.C., public school system for many years. Mr Hunter work in administration with The Boys and Girls Club of America, where for over a decade he stepped in the lives of many inner city youth at risk, who were caught in the struggle of the turbulent time in the 1960's and 1970's, at his own expense, Mr Hunter funded a program to allow inner city troubled youth to go the peace and quiet of the rolling  hills of northwestern Pennsylvania to help children explore a part of farm life, in an effort to expose these kids to another side of themselves.  Mr. Hunter published hundreds of short stories and poems, some were published in Ebony magazine.  Mr. Hunter's success in life showed prominently at his death, where hundreds of friends and family came to send this super athlete, this child advocate, this honored warrior, this patriot, this accomplished author and poet, this teacher, this teammate to his well deserved eternal rest on Sunday, March 8,  1987.  The measure of a great man is counted in how many people who lives he touched.  Willie Joe Hunter was blessed with many special gifts. His life, characterized by giving and determination to make a difference in the lives of those he touched, is echoed up the highest mountains, down the currents of the longest river, accross deep blue lakes, down the deepest valleys and from sea to shining sea. His works and good will still can be heard throughout this great country, the land that he loved and served.