Published: March 26, 2009 10:31 pm      

BASKETBALL: Former Syracuse star leads the Stampede in Buffalo

The Big East is as big as it gets in college basketball these days, with three No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, and two more teams making it to the Sweet Sixteen.

When the league was formed two decades ago, Roosevelt Bouie was the biggest force in the Big East. The 7-footer from Kendall, a rural town on Lake Ontario, about an hour east of Niagara Falls, was selected as the starting center on the first all-Big East team.

When Bouie graduated from Syracuse University in 1980, he was the program’s career leader in blocked shots and field goal percentage, and ranked second and third all-time in scoring and rebounding.

After winning four Section V championships at Kendall Junior-Senior High School, and losing just one game, he teamed with Syracuse classmate Louis Orr to form the “Louie ’n Bouie Show,” leading the Orange to a 100-18 record over their four years.

As part of the latest effort to market professional basketball in Buffalo, Bouie is about to likely lose that many games in one season.

The Buffalo Stampede, for which Bouie is the general manager, and, as of Saturday, interim head coach, are 1-17 in their expansion season in the Premier Basketball League.

The Stampede host the defending champion Rochester RazorSharks, a 14-3 team that includes former Niagara University players Demond Stewart and James “Mook” Reaves, tonight, then conclude the season Saturday with a home game against the Battle Creek (Mich.) Knights.

Both games are at Canisius College’s Koessler Center, and will tip-off at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $1.

The losing — which can be directly tied to the Stampede’s limited payroll — has been trying for Bouie, but he’s very optimistic about the future of Buffalo basketball.

“Going through an experience like this, the guys we have that come back will be bulletproof next year,” Bouie said. “They won’t want to go through this again.”

Bouie also expects the operating budget to be “six to eight” times greater next season, thanks to the second-year PBL’s revenue-sharing plan.

“All we had to do was finish the season, and we’d be considered one of the original 14 teams,” Bouie said. “From now on, there will be profit sharing for those 14 teams.”

More money should allow for some better players, from which Bouie can tap into his extensive experience overseas. Since 2004, Bouie has owned and operated Lega Basket USA, a firm that helps U.S. college players find teams in Europe.

Bouie’s relationship with the Stampede began over the summer, when he brought the Italian National Team here to play an exhibition game against a team formed by then-Stampede general manager Rich Jacob, a Niagara Falls native.

The Stampede are a more financially-secure stepchild of Buffalo’s previous failed attempts at minor league basketball — the Rapids and the Silverbacks.

Owner Vinny Lesh purchased Buffalo’s American Basketball Association franchise from Todd Wier, then, after sitting out last season, made another deal with Wier to put the Stampede in the PBL, which Lesh said had a better business model than the ABA.

The ABA was marred by teams folding mid-season, and lack of financial support for its members. According to Bouie, the ABA was told in January that NBA scouts will no longer attend games, after showing up for too many forfeits.

The PBL, which covers teams travel, uniform and referee costs, now trails only the NBA Development League in the minor league pecking order, after the Continental Basketball Association halted operations in February.

Bouie said the Stampede sold more than 300 season tickets before beginning play, and he expects to draw crowds of more than 1,000 next season.

“I don’t know if people realize it,” he said, “but Buffalo basketball is here to stay.”

Contact reporter Jonah Bronstein at jonah.bronstein@niagara-gazette.com