On Saturday the Rochester Fire of the American Basketball Association will hold their first round of player tryouts from noon to 5 p.m. at the Rochester Athletic Club. The Fire will begin play in their first season in November.
"We are very encouraged by the level of play and interest that we've seen in players that have contacted us," said Bryan Weiss, Director of Basketball Operations.
The first round of tryouts is expected to draw more than 20 individuals from across the country with a heavy emphasis on regional and local players. A few area players of note expected to try out include: Rochester's Mike Kinsella (7-foot, center), who played this year at Marquette University; former Winona State player Travis Leech (6-8, forward); North Dakota State's and the NCAA D-1 Independent Player of the Year Andre Smith (6-8, forward); Wanamingo's Joe Evert (6-8, forward) of St. Cloud State; Minnesota State, Mankato's Luke Anderson (6-6, guard/forward) of Bloomington; and Chris Ask (6-3, guard) of St. Charles.
If you need a 3 point bomber, Kinsella's your man!
I don't want to bring back any bad memories, but Andre Smith (the guy who really killed us against NDSU) is also trying out.