ABA Champs 2022 Steel City Yellow Jackets
by Thomas Leturgey
Throughout the Steel City Yellow Jackets’ 2021-2022 season, if you’d talk with Owner/CEO and Head Coach Averill “Ace” Pippens, or Co-Captains Antonio Reddic, Sr. or Gilmore Cummings and they would all individually elicit the same exact mantra, “This is our year.”
The Yellow Jackets have been perilously close to an American Basketball Association championship for many of the past few years. Last year the club lost in the semi-finals and vowed to be back this season.
Throughout most of the ABA’s calendar, the Yellow Jackets were near the top of the rankings. For some of the season, they only had the team from Chula Vista, California above them because that organization was also undefeated, but won two more games.
It was through Reddic and Cummings’ on-court leadership, and Pippens’ grounded advice from the sidelines, that guided the Yellow Jackets. Pippens, who was paralyzed in a shooting 28 years ago, continues to have health issues. There were several weekends this year in which Pippens had been hospitalized earlier in the week. Sometimes he said he shouldn’t be at some games; however, his perseverance kept him moving forward.
The Yellow Jackets’ formula for success was generally formulaic. They would win the tip off, run up the score–frequently by 20 or more in the opening moments–and then play defense when scoring wasn’t automatic. When Cummings hit three three-pointers in the opening moments of one contest, the team was able to cruise the rest of the way.
We Say Congrats Guys Awesome Effort!!!