The Augusta Groove was a team in the

Premier Basketball League The Premier Basketball League (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 under new management for t ...

(PBL) 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 ...

(CBA) and the modern

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

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

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

Cricket Arena Bojangles Coliseum, originally Charlotte Coliseum and formerly Independence Arena and Cricket Arena, is a 10,829-seat multi-purpose arena located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is operated by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, which al ...

, 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 Duane Hughes, better known by his stage name Spyder D, is an American old school hip-hop, old-school Rapping, rapper and producer from New York City. Career 1980s "Big Apple Rappin' was released on his own Newtroit Records in 1980, placing ...

" 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. On the 21st, they announced that they would by playing at the John H. Lewis Gymnasium at

Morris Brown College Morris Brown College (MBC) is a Private university, private African Methodist Episcopal Church, Methodist Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlan ...

. 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 Brandon "Freedom" Williams (born February 13, 1966) is an American rapper, singer and songwriter, who gained fame as the lead rapper on C+C Music Factory's biggest hits. Career Born in Brooklyn in 1966, Williams went to school to becom ...

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

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

and

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

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

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

basketball analyst

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

. The team then revealed that they had signed

Grayson Boucher Grayson Scott "The Professor" Boucher (born June 10, 1984) is an American professional streetball player. He is most known for playing on the highly stylized, international AND1 Mixtape Tour; he has also appeared in several movies including, ' ...

, 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 who was also the head coach for the Beijing Royal Fighters of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) from 2019–2023. After his freshman year ...

, 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 "Starbury" is the affectionate nickname for former NBA star Stephon Marbury. Known for his exceptional skills as a point guard, Marbury played for various NBA teams and earned two All-Star selections. Beyond the court, he made a lasting impact ...

, Stephon Marbury's clothing company, was revealed as the designer of the Krunk uniforms. 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. He was a Republican candidate who served Senate District 35 from 2003 to 2010. Perry is from Manhattan, Montana, and owns his own business. He was elected to the ...

, LaVon Mercer, and

Ricky Brown Richard Gerald Brown (born December 27, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Oakland Raiders. He is currently the Special Teams Coordinator and O ...

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, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

(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 ...

) and Augusta (where the venue would be the

James Brown Arena James Brown Arena (formerly known as Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center) was a multi-purpose complex located in Augusta, Georgia. It was managed by Spectra Experiences. The arena seated 8,000 and was 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 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. Histo ...

'', he announced both his affiliation with the Continental Basketball League 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 Defunct American Basketball Association (2000–present) teams 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)