The 1970–71

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...

season was the first season of the

in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

. After one season each in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, owner

Earl Foreman Earl Marin Foreman (March 29, 1924 – January 23, 2017) was an American lawyer and sports executive. Foreman practiced law in the District of Columbia. He was the owner of the short-lived Washington Whips professional soccer club of the NASL an ...

was convinced by the league to move his team to Virginia. Like the

Carolina Cougars The Carolina Cougars were a basketball franchise in the American Basketball Association that existed from 1969 through 1974. The Cougars were originally a charter member of the ABA as the Houston Mavericks in 1967. The Mavericks moved to North Ca ...

and

The Floridians ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, the Squires played as a regional franchise, primarily playing games in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria Canada * Hampton, New Brunswick *Ha ...

and

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, with Salem and Roanoke having occasional games. The Squires started play on October 17, 1970, in Norfolk, winning 133–116 over the

Pittsburgh Condors The Pittsburgh Condors were a professional basketball team in the original American Basketball Association (ABA). Originally called the Pittsburgh Pipers, they were a charter franchise of the ABA and captured the first league title. The team pla ...

. They proceeded to win their next five games, while having a 30–12 first half of the season, highlighted by a seven-game winning streak. They went 25–17 in the second half, though they never lost more than two games in a row. They finished 1st in points scored at 123.3 per game, but 7th in points allowed at 119.7 per game. In the playoffs, they beat the

Kentucky Colonels The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of ...

in six games to advance to the Division Finals, but they were beaten in six games themselves by the

New York Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. Prior to the season on September 1, the Squires traded an unhappy

Rick Barry Richard Francis Dennis Barry III (born March 28, 1944) is an American retired professional basketball player who starred at the NCAA, American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) levels. Barry ranks among the ...

to the

for $200,000 cash. Offsetting this loss was rookie

Charlie Scott Charles or Charlie Scott may refer to: Politicians * Charles Scott (governor) (1739–1813), American Revolutionary War soldier and fourth governor of Kentucky * Charles L. Scott (1827–1899), U.S. Representative from California * Charles Freder ...

from the University of North Carolina. Scott averaged 27.1 points per game and was named ABA Rookie of the Year.

Roster

*20 Mike Barrett – Point guard *11 Larry Brown – Point guard *16 Bill Bunting – Small forward *34 Frank Card – Forward *40 George Carter – Small forward *42

Jim Eakins James Scott Eakins (born May 24, 1946) is a retired American professional basketball player and two-time American Basketball Association champion. A 6'11" center from Brigham Young University, Eakins was selected in the fifth round of the 1968 N ...

– Center *31

George Irvine George Irvine may refer to: *George Irvine (politician) (1826–1897), Canadian politician *George Irvine (basketball) (1948–2017), American basketball player and coach *George Irvine (diver), see William Hogarth Main See also

*George Irving ...

– Small forward *24 Neil Johnson – Power forward *34

Mike Maloy Michael Alvin Maloy (May 10, 1949 – February 3, 2009) was an American-Austrian professional basketball player who played in the United States (in the ABA) and in Austria (in the OBB). College career Maloy attended Davidson College &ndash ...

– Power forward *15

Doug Moe Douglas Edwin Moe (born September 21, 1938) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. As a head coach with the Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he was named the NBA Coach of the Year in 1988. Ea ...

– Small forward *33

– Shooting guard *22 Ray Scott- Center *14/54

Roland Taylor Roland Morris "Fatty" Taylor (March 13, 1946 – December 7, 2017) was an American professional basketball player. A 6’0" guard born in Washington, D.C. and an alum of La Salle University, Taylor joined the American Basketball Association in 1 ...

– Point guard *54 Ron Taylor – Center

Final standings

Eastern Division

Playoffs

Eastern Division Semifinals vs.

''Squires win series, 4–2'' Eastern Division Finals vs.

''Squires lose series, 4–2''

Awards and honors

1971 ABA All-Star Game The fourth American Basketball Association All-Star Game was played January 23, 1971 at Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina before an audience at 14,407. Al Bianchi of the Virginia Squires coached the East, with Bill Sharman of th ...

selections (game played on January 23, 1971) *

* George Carter * Neil Johnson Bianchi was selected to coach the Eastern Division. * ABA Coach of the Year: Al Bianchi *

ABA Rookie of the Year The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a professional basketball league that operated from the until it ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger in 1976. The ABA presented a variety of annual awards and honors to recognize its players and ...

: Charlie Scott *ABA First Team selection: Charlie Scott

References

Squires on Basketball Reference

External links

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070927223331/http://www.remembertheaba.com/Virginia-Squires.html Virginia Squires page {{DEFAULTSORT:1970-71 Virginia Squires season Virginia Squires

Virginia Squires, 1970-71 Virginia Squires, 1970-71