Welcome to the Florida Basketball Newsletter.  The Florida Basketball Newsletter is released irregularly and email subscriptions are free and currently with over 12,000 active email contacts.  Any comments, suggestions, articles, columns and contributions are more than welcome and can be forwarded to Rob Hicks, hicksrob@comcast.net.

Marshalltown Community College is a Division ll Junior College located in central Iowa.   Marshalltown is currently looking for a point guard and positions 4/5 for next year.  Marshalltown is always interested in quality athletes that are overlooked or need to get academics in order.  Feel free to e-mail Larry.Roberts@iavalley.edu (Larry Roberts, Head Women's Basketball Coach), call cell #641-751-6163 or office #641-844-5766.  The team plays an up-tempo game and rely on 3-point shooters and there are a limited number of tuition scholarships available.  www.marshalltowncommunitycollege.com

YOUTH BASKETBALL OF AMERICA

YBOA SPRING BASKETBALL LEAGUE - February 12th through April 3rd, 2008, Orlando, Florida.  Open to club, league, travel and school teams.  8 games guaranteed, official League Shirt for Every Player and Coach, Playoff Tournament, 1^st-4^th Place Awards, Certified Officials, Prepare & Improve Travel Team, End of Season All-Star Event and Much More!  Games are played on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  REGISTER BEFORE FEBRUARY 5, 2008 AND RECEIVE A $20.00 DISCOUNT PER PLAYER.  $55.00 (YBOA Members) and $75.00 (Non-YBOA Members).  For more info, contact Jack Love (321) 228-7820.

YBOA's upcoming Grand Bahamas Summer Basketball Jam.  Dates are June 17 - 22, 2008 and for 15U boys and 17U girls only.  If your team would like to attend this incredible event, space is limited, so contact Natalie Shelton immediately at nshelton@yboa.org or by phone at 407-363-9262, Ext. 200.

WBCA tips off 2008 "Think Pink" Campaign with over 900 Participants

The Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced that over 900 participants have committed to the 2008 "Think Pink" initiative, which officially begins on February 8.

The "Think Pink" initiative is a global, unified effort for the WBCA's nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. The week set aside for this year's initiative is February 8 - 17, however many teams are participating outside of that window due to scheduling conflicts.

"The WBCA is very excited to promote an initiative that touches all levels of our membership and unifies them for such a great cause," said WBCA CEO Beth Bass. "It has been remarkable to watch the support of this initiative grow from 120 teams last year to over 900 teams from a variety for sports for 2008. With the help of each of our members, the women's basketball community and beyond can make a difference in the fight against breast cancer."

Schools have chosen to participate in a variety of different ways. Some ideas for involvement include ordering pink uniforms, inviting breast cancer survivors to the game, wearing pink shooting shirts, asking all fans to wear pink, and raffling off pink basketballs to raise money for a charity. The extent of involvement is up to the individual institution; the importance comes in the awareness that the event creates. The Association's original goal for this year's "Think Pink" was 750 participants, which was surpassed late January. The "Think Pink" initiative has also crossed over to other sports, including swimming and diving, gymnastics, tennis and men's basketball. For a complete list of participants, click here.

Thus far, several WBCA partners and sponsors have chosen to get involved in the WBCA's "Think Pink" initiative. ESPN has joined the initiative by dedicating their annual "February Frenzy" and "Big Monday" women's college basketball games on ESPN2 and ESPN360.com to promoting breast cancer awareness and supporting the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund in partnership with The V Foundation. The NCAA has also joined the "Think Pink" initiative by implementing the "Calling for a Cure" campaign where all NCAA women's basketball officials will be blowing a pink whistle February 8-17. Additionally, officials are encouraged to make a donation to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. WBCA sponsor Russell Athletic among several others have also jumped on board with the initiative, providing numerous schools with pink uniforms and apparel. They are donating a portion of any proceeds to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.

Many schools have partnered with local charities to make any donations raised through the "Think Pink" initiative at their individual school. Any school that has not already partnered with a charity has been encouraged to make donations to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.