The Holland Dream was a semi-professional basketball team in the
Independent Basketball Association
The Independent Basketball Association (IBA) was a semi-professional men's basketball league that began play in the fall of 2011. The six charter members were Battle Creek Knights, Chicago Redline, Gary Splash, Kankakee County Soldiers, Lake Count ...
based in
Holland, Michigan
Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River (formerly known locally as the Black Ri ...
. The team began as the Holland Blast, and changed its name when the team entered the IBA. The team was last owned by Tom Moore. The Dream played at the
Holland Civic Center, former home of
Hope College
Hope College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Holland, Michigan. It was originally opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled. The first freshman college class matricu ...
, who moved into the new
DeVos Fieldhouse
DeVos Fieldhouse is a 3,400-seat indoor arena in Holland, Michigan. It was built in 2005, at a cost of $22 million. It is home to Hope College's men's and women's basketball teams, the Hope Flying Dutchmen men's basketball, Hope Flying Dutchmen ...
. They were members of the
International Basketball League
The International Basketball League (IBL) was a semi-professional men's basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States to join. The I ...
from 2005 to 2011.
History
The Holland Blast produced two IBL Hall of Fame players:
*
Jared Bledsoe, a 6'2" guard originally from
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
, averaged a league-best, 43 points per game in the 2006 IBL playoffs and is the Holland Blast all-time leading scorer and assist man. He was twice an All-NSIC selection while playing at
Moorhead State University
Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) is a public university in Moorhead, Minnesota. The school has an enrollment of 7,534 students in 2019 and 266 full-time faculty members. MSUM is a part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities s ...
, Bledsoe accepted the women's assistant coach position at
Concordia College in 2012.
*
Dennis Springs from
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...
. Ranked 3rd in the IBL in scoring at 27.9 points per game and 1st in the IBL in Assists with 10.9 assist per game. The 5'6 guard scored a career IBL high 49 points vs the Grand Rapids flight.
Both have enjoyed successful careers playing basketball overseas.
Former assistant coach Terry Smith took over as head coach for the 2007 season after Mike Ahrens submitted his resignation.
Coach Smith was
Grand Valley State University’s Men's Basketball Coach from 1997-2004 where he won 110 games. Smith has received many professional honors including the 1996
NABC Coach of the Year The NABC Coach of the Year Award has been presented by the National Association of Basketball Coaches since . A longtime sponsor of the award was Kodak; it is currently sponsored by the UPS Store
The UPS Store (formerly Mail Boxes Etc.) is a s ...
.
Season by season
IBL All-Stars
2006
* Jared Bledsoe
* James Jackson
* Dennis Springs
2007
* Jared Bledsoe
* Dennis Springs
References
External links
Holland Dream on USbasket.com@HDream24
{{IBA teams
Independent Basketball Association teams
Basketball teams in Michigan
Holland, Michigan
Basketball teams established in 2005
2005 establishments in Michigan