Hawaii Volcanos

Continental Basketball Association (1979-1980)

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Before the NBA had the G-League, it had the CBA with teams stretched from Puerto Rico to Honolulu. During the CBA’s 1980’s and 90’s heyday, the league provided a launching pad for future NBA All-Stars such as John Starks and  Michael Adams as well as coaching legends Phil Jackson and George Karl. 

 

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Background

The Hawaii Volcanos minor league basketball team formed in 1979 as part of the slow motion expansion of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) into the western United States. The league, which traced its history back to the formation of the Eastern Professional Basketball League in 1946, was traditionally based in Pennsylvania and surrounding states. In 1977 the league, by then known as the Eastern Basketball Association (EBA), added a team in Anchorage, Alaska of all places. In 1978, the EBA became the CBA in a nod to the league’s geographic ambitions. But Anchorage remained the league’s only franchise west of Pennsylvania for a second straight winter in 1978-79.

Hawaii joined in 1979 as part of the CBA’s Northern Division, which included Anchorage plus teams in Bangor, Maine and Rochester, New York.

Wilt He of Won’t He?

The Volcanos were a mess from the get go. The team’s original head coach and general manager was former University of Hawaii head coach Bruce O’Neil. O’Neil was an associate of retired NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain. In September 1979, the Volcanos announced that the 42-year old Chamberlain would come out of retirement to play occasional games for the team, including Hawaii’s home opener on November 19th. Chamberlain would reportedly own a minority share in the Volcanos as well.

Throughout October and early November the Volcanos announced the Chamberlain’s arrival in the islands was imminent. Then on November 15th the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA reportedly offered Chamberlain a two-year contract to come out of retirement. Although Chamberlain never accepted the Cleveland deal, the Volcanos were forced to acknowledge he wasn’t coming to Hawaii either. The team’s credibility was dealt a fatal blow.

Move To Montana

The Volcanos had a multitude of other problems besides Chamberlain. A United Public Workers strike that sidelined the union crew at the Neal Blaisdell Center nearly scotched the team’s home opener.  Crowds in Honolulu and Hilo typically numbered less than a thousand per game. Head Coach/GM Bruce O’Neil departed a month into the season. Two of the Volcanos original three owners dropped out of the picture early, leaving the team’s out-of-state backer, Jim West of Nome, Alaska, holding the bag.

The team finished in last place in the CBA’s Northern Division with a 20-25 record. But because that was a stronger mark than all but on of the league’s Southern Division teams, the Volcanos not only earned a trip to the playoffs, they got a bye to the semi-finals. The Volcanos played the entire five games series in Anchorage to save on expenses and lost in the fifth and deciding contest.

In July 1980 owner Jim West moved the Volcanos to Billings, Montana. The Billings Volcanos lasted three more seasons before going out of business during the summer of 1983.

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