Darnell Lazare, the Mad Ants’ captain, stood waiting beneath the basket for a foul to be called on somebody wearing a black uniform after he attacked the rim in the second quarter.There’s no place like home for the holidays, and for the first time in what will be their fourth season, the Mad Ants will be playing on Christmas night.
On Monday, the team announced its NBA Development League schedule that will have the Ants playing 24 of their 50 games at Memorial Coliseum, including a 7:30 p.m. game against Springfield on Christmas.
“A bit of a gamble,” team president Jeff Potter said of playing on Christmas. “We had another team in our league have real success with it in Sioux Falls.
“NBA basketball and Christmas Day have become kind of synonymous. NBC always shows games, and we thought we’d give it a shot. It’s a gamble, but we hope that everybody gets their presents done and dinners in and come out and have a fun night with the Mad Ants.”
Potter said the team will see whether Fort Wayne responds to a Christmas night game before the Ants make it a holiday tradition.
“Obviously, if it falls flat on its face, we won’t do it anymore, but I think it’s worth it,” Potter said.
A week later, the Mad Ants will play on New Year’s night against Maine.
The holiday games are two of 15 weekend dates for the Ants, who open their season Nov. 21 against Sioux Falls. Two games will be played on Fridays, six on Saturdays and seven on Sundays.
The Ants, who won eight of their last 10 games last season and finished with a franchise-best 22-28 record, will also participate in the annual D-League Showcase on Jan. 10-12 at South Padre Island, Texas.
With Joey Meyer returning as coach and the improved home schedule, Potter is looking forward to the fourth season.
“It’s the best I’ve felt going into any season,” Potter said. “The way we finished, we got that monkey off our back of, gosh, when are we going to break out? When are we going to have some consistency? And Joey (Meyer) and the guys did that.
“I think we’re going to have a nice core coming back. I’m very encouraged, and I feel like we’ve got a lot of positive momentum. Joey’s back for another year, we’ve got guys who have bought into the Mad Ants, guys who have made Fort Wayne their home.”
Home for the holidays.
