The Augusta Groove was a team in the

Premier Basketball League The Premier Basketball League, often abbreviated to the PBL, is an American professional men's basketball minor league that began play in January 2008. The league folded after the 2017 season. It was announced that the league would be revived un ...

that previously played in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

and the modern

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, ...

. Formerly, the team was known as the Charlotte Krunk in the ABA, where they played at

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

Cricket Arena Bojangles Coliseum (originally Charlotte Coliseum and formerly Independence Arena and Cricket Arena) is an 8,600-seat multi-purpose arena located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is operated by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, which als ...

, and the Atlanta Krunk of the CBA.

History

Charlotte, North Carolina (2006–07)

The franchise began operations in 2005 as the Charlotte Krunk. It never actually played a game in Charlotte, however. Just before the 2005-06 season, nearly all of the teams in their division shut down, forcing the team to suspend operations between December 2005 and January 2006. Team owner Duane " Spyder-D" Hughes announced the suspension of operations in an emotional letter on the team's website, thanking the city of Charlotte and the businesses that helped his team. In the letter he announced plans for a celebrity basketball game, and youth concert to be held at Cricket Arena.

Atlanta, Georgia (2007–08)

On August 7, 2006, the team announced they would be moving to the

as the

Atlanta Krunk The Augusta Groove was a team in the Premier Basketball League that previously played in the Continental Basketball Association and the modern American Basketball Association. Formerly, the team was known as the Charlotte Krunk in the ABA, wher ...

. On the 21st, they announced that they would by playing at the

John H. Lewis Gymnasium The John H. Lewis Gymnasium is a 7,000 seat venue on the campus of Morris Brown College. It was home to the Atlanta Thoroughbreds National Indoor Football League team, and in the fall of 2007 will be home to the Atlanta Krunk Wolverines Continental ...

Morris Brown College Morris Brown College (MBC) is a private Methodist historically black liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded January 5, 1881, Morris Brown is the first educational institution in Georgia to be owned and operated entirely by African Ame ...

. Finally, on the 24th, they announced they would be called the Atlanta Krunk Wolverines in honor of Morris Brown's athletics program, now discontinued. Kenny Anderson Montclair Film Festival

Prior to the 2007–2008 season, the team changed their name back to Atlanta Krunk. The Krunk also added a majority owner,

Freedom Williams Frederick B. Williams (born February 13, 1966), better known by his stage name Freedom Williams, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter, who gained fame as the lead vocalist on C+C Music Factory's biggest hits. Career Born in Brooklyn in 1 ...

. Next, the owners announced their new head coach, former

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

and

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

standout Kenny Anderson. As a general manager, the owners and coach selected Vincent Smith, a basketball trainer who is also the brother of

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

basketball analyst

Kenny Smith Kenneth Smith (born March 8, 1965), nicknamed "the Jet", is an American sports commentator and former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA from 1987 to 1997 as a member of the Sacrame ...

. The team then revealed that they had signed

Grayson Boucher Grayson "The Professor" Scott Boucher (born June 10, 1984) is an American streetball player, actor, and former semi-professional basketball player. He is most known for playing on the highly stylized, international AND1 Mixtape Tour; he has also ...

, known as "The Professor" during his days on the And 1 streetball tour. Further, the team added the brother of

Stephon Marbury Stephon Xavier Marbury (born February 20, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach in the Chinese Basketball Association. After his freshman year with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, he was selected as th ...

, known as "Zeck" Marbury according to the team's website and the CBA, or "Zech" or "Zach" Marbury from his NBA days. In another announcement prior to the 2006–2007 season, Starbury, Stephon Marbury's clothing company, was revealed as the designer of the Krunk uniforms. Midway through the season the team faces some very tough money issues which forces Kenny, Vincent and several players including Zach and Grayson to step away from the team. With only 6 players remaining and no Coach or GM the players took a vote and tabbed a 26 year old local by the name of James G. Williams IV to take over and assume both roles. Williams started off with the team as a operations assistant and before the season started was named Assistant General Manager by ownership, he had great relationships with all the players and they believed that he would be best to take over and lead. He actually finished one game with only 4 players and was forced to play a box zone set for the rest of the game and on a different occasion he had to lace up his sneakers and play with the team due to several injuries. Williams held the team together for roughly a dozen games with only 5 to 6 players a game until the league could find new ownership to take over the team. Some footage has also been shot for a reality show about the Atlanta Krunk, featuring owners Freedom Williams, Duane "Spyder D" Hughes, and other team personnel and players. Plans for the release of the show have not yet been announced. The Atlanta Krunk made it through the season with the assistance of new owners. After the John L. Lewis Gymnasium was deemed unsuitable for CBA games, the team finished its schedule on the road. The Krunk ended the year 9–41, including nine forfeit losses. The season was noted for several missed paychecks, and an ever-shifting roster after the first month due to financial woes. The Krunk appeared on the road without uniforms, and completed one road trip with just five players.

Augusta, Georgia (2008–09)

The team was purchased by

Gary Perry Gary Perry is an American civil engineer and politician from the state of Montana. Perry is from Manhattan, Montana, and owns his own business. He was elected to the Montana Senate in 2002 and reelected in 2006. He left the chamber after the 2010 ...

LaVon Mercer LaVon Mercer (לבן מרסר; born January 13, 1959) is an American-Israeli former basketball player. He played at the center position. As a high school senior, he averaged 37.6 points, 30.1 rebounds, and 12 blocked shots per game, and was named ...

, and Ricky Brown in the middle of the '07–'08 season, and looked to relocate elsewhere in Georgia. Leading candidates were

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

(where they would play at the

Columbus Civic Center Columbus Civic Center is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Columbus, Georgia, built in 1996. History The arena was built in 1996, along with a Softball Complex, to fully complete South Commons (an area consisting of a baseball and football s ...

) and Augusta (where the venue would be the

James Brown Arena James Brown Arena (formerly known as Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center) is a multi-purpose complex located in Augusta, Georgia. It is managed by Spectra Experiences. It features an 8,000-seat arena, renamed the James Brown Arena, in honor of ...

). Augusta was chosen and the team was renamed the Augusta Groove. However, the James Brown Arena was ruled out as a home. On June 5, 2008, the team announced its move to the Premier Basketball League. and on July 10, the Groove announced they would be playing at the

Christenberry Fieldhouse The George A. Christenberry Fieldhouse is a 3,026 seat facility on the campus of Augusta University in Augusta, Georgia, and is home to the athletics department as well as some classes. It is home to the Augusta Jaguars men's and women's basketbal ...

on the

Augusta State University Augusta State University was a public university in Augusta, Georgia. It merged with Georgia Health Sciences University in 2012 to form Georgia Regents University, later known as Augusta University. History Augusta State University was founded ...

campus. This did not hold, as on November 12, they announced they would play in the gym at Richmond Academy. The team finished the year with a .500 record amid controversy about player pay and remuneration for hotel stays. In an interview on 3 November 2009 that Perry conducted with the ''

Augusta Chronicle ''The Augusta Chronicle'' is the daily newspaper of Augusta, Georgia, and is one of the oldest newspapers in the United States still in publication. The paper is known for its coverage of the Masters Tournament, which is played in Augusta. The '' ...

'', he announced both his affiliation with the

Continental Basketball League The Continental Basketball League (CBL) was a men's basketball minor league in the United States that began play in April 2010. The league was headquartered in Florida. History In 2009, Dennis Truax, who was previously affiliated with the Co ...

and the official end of the Groove.

Season by season records

, - , colspan="6" style="text-align:center; background:#4a008c;", Charlotte Krunk , - , 2005–06 , , 0 , , 0 , , .000 , , , , , - , colspan="6" style="text-align:center; background:#4a008c;", Atlanta Krunk , - , 2007–08 , , 9 , , 41 , , .180 , , , , , - , colspan="6" style="text-align:center; background:#4a008c;", Augusta Groove , - , 2008–09 , , 10 , , 10 , , .500 , , , , , - !Totals , , 19 , , 51 , , .271 , , , -

References

External links

Augusta Groove
— official website {{Augusta, Georgia Former Premier Basketball League teams Sports in Augusta, Georgia Basketball teams in Georgia (U.S. state) Basketball teams established in 2005 2005 establishments in North Carolina Basketball teams disestablished in 2009 2009 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state)