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The Kokomo Bobkats are back for a fourth season of TBL basketball. The games start today, March 3, and new head coach Chandler Levingston-Simon is excited for what he believes the team can accomplish this year.
"We're gonna make some noise this year," said Levingston-Simon. "And we're gonna win a lot of games. The goal every year is to win championships, and I honestly think this is a team that can win a conference championship."
Levingston-Simon takes the reins of the Bobkats as a former player on the team, and he is succeeding his father, former NBA stalwart Cliff Levingston, who was head coach in Kokomo for its first three seasons.
The new head coach jokingly said one of his goals is to keep his father from calling him to criticize his performance. But the return of a hometown hero should keep the spotlight from shining too brightly on Levingston-Simon. Former Kokomo High School and Michigan State stand-out Brandon Wood has joined the Bobkats this year.
"Man, it is great to be here and to play on a team in my hometown," said Wood "To have that opportunity is rare. At this point in the middle of my career -- at the top of my career -- to be able to come play with a team and organization that is led by great people ... it's something I really look forward to."
Wood began his professional career in 2012, playing overseas for nine different teams over six years in multiple leagues. He last played for a U.S. team in 2017-18 as a member of the Windy City Bulls of the NBA G League -- his closest taste of top-flight professional basketball. He averaged 11 points per game and three assists as a point guard that season.
Wood, however, is not joining some unseasoned team in Kokomo. There are players here who also played in the G League and overseas and share a similar path.
Bobkats center Darius Paul is one of those near-elite players on the Kokomo roster this season. He believes that the team will come together under a new system from Levingston-Simon.
"I feel like the coaching staff did a good job of filling in the pieces that we need in order to make this thing work and get to where we need to be," siad Paul. "It's gonna be a work in progress. Everybody's got to learn the system, and we just got to trust each other. We're gonna get better as time goes on."
The Bobkats' season kicks off at 3:05 p.m. today at Memorial Gymnasium as Kokomo hosts the St. Louis Griffins. They also play at home on March 10 against the Medora Timberjacks and on March 24 against the Cincinnati Warriors. Kokomo plays at home 12 times this season. Their schedule can be found on the Kokomo Bobkats Facebook page.
Doors open at 2 p.m. for today's game. Tickets are $20 for lower bowl seating and $10 for upper bowl seating.
Season tickets are $200 for lower bowl and $100 for upper bowl. Buy tickets at the door or by visiting www.kokomobobkats.com.