Minor leagues are 2nd chance to NBA hopefuls

NASHVILLE — DeMarco Polk once had a bright basketball future.

He is a former Mr. Basketball in Tennessee, but poor grades kept him from qualifying for a Division 1 scholarship — limiting his chance to play in front of scouts for the NBA and overseas leagues.

Now the 29-year- old guard is one of many in minor leagues around the country, hoping for a second chance. Polk plays with the Middle Tennessee Storm, one of four teams in the newly formed Central Basketball League.

“It allows me to showcase my talent, to let people know that I still have it,” said the 6-foot Polk, who averaged 24 points a game this season and was named the league’s MVP.

Storm owner Carlin Alford said Polk is a “microcosm of what we want in this league,” which includes teams from Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri.

“Here’s a guy who was the best player in the state of Tennessee, who never went to a Division 1 college,” Alford said. “And now he’s making good on all of that talent. The CBL is a platform for him.”

While minor leagues provide opportunities, they’re far from the glamour of the NBA or even those overseas leagues where good paychecks make up for being far from home. Minor league players often use buses, vans, or even car pool to get to games in high school gyms, recreation centers or YMCAs.

Some players make as little as $100 a game, and nearly all have other jobs to pay the bills.

Even in the 93-team American Basketball Association, which plays in cities from Los Angeles to New York, league CEO and co-founder Joe Newman said teams “fly less than 5 percent” and try not to travel more than four hours to a game.

“Most of our players have jobs and family ... so we try to contain it into that four-hour bracket, so they can go to a game on a weekend and come home so they do not miss work,” Newman said.

Most of the teams in other leagues also try to accommodate their players, usually scheduling games on the weekends to avoid conflicts with work.

The CBL has even gone as far as to schedule Saturday games at night so some players can observe the Sabbath.

“I’m a big Sabbath keeper,” Polk said.

One perk in larger leagues such as the ABA and the 15-team Independent Basketball Association is that players can make as much as $500 a game in a season that may have as many as 30 games.