Riverhawks grounded after two seasons

Steve Tappa, stappa@qconline.com

More photos from this shoot

Photo: Robert Leistra Quad City Riverhawks' Bobby Anderson shows off some acrobatic moves as he slices through the Arkansas Impact defense to make the layup during the 2008 PBL West Division championship game at Black Hawk College on Thursday, March 20.

Eric Hutchins’ last day as general manager of the Quad City Riverhawks was two weeks ago.

However, his resignation had nothing to do with the bombshell dropped last week by Tom McGinn, owner of the local professional basketball team.

``I didn't see any handwriting on the wall. This completely blind-sided me,'' Hutchins said after McGinn decided to fold the 'Hawks after two seasons.

``It's not like he came to me and told me to start looking elsewhere. I got out because of differences between Tom and I over ideas on how a sports franchise should be run. We just didn't see eye-to-eye on things such as staffing, advertising and promotions. Other than the coaches, I was the only other person on staff, and I had to work out of my house.''

Efforts to reach McGinn for comment were unsuccessful, and no formal media announcement was released by the club. Hutchins also failed to hear from McGinn directly.

However, 'Hawks coach LaTroy Farrow confirmed the move after speaking with McGinn. Farrow added the McGinn-owned sister franchise in Rockford had been ``out of commission for a while,'' although McGinn failed to return phone calls also seeking that confirmation. The league just had passed bylaws that did not allow ownership groups control of multiple teams.

``When Tom called, we honestly didn't get into the particulars of why he did this,'' Farrow said. ``He just said we were done, and I was shocked to hear that.''

Indeed, the timing of the team's demise was peculiar to both Hutchins and Farrow.

``If he was going to pull the plug, why did he wait until September?'' wondered Hutchins, who resigned to take an advertising and sales position at The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus. ``He just signed an eight-month lease for office space, for merchandise and ticket sales at SouthPark Mall. It just doesn't make sense.''

The Professional Basketball League's West Division champs completed their season in March. Farrow was assured then that he and the team would be back in 2009.

Farrow and assistant coaches, Rufus Greer and Mike Kelley, had hosted tryout camps and worked all summer putting together a roster for training camp in mid-December.

``It's baffling to me,'' Farrow said. ``I thought we had momentum and were heading in the right direction.

``We'd taken a program with little fan base, with 40 or 50 people at games, and drew almost 1,000 to our division title game in March. That's a big turnaround in a short season.

``A lot of people still had a hangover from the (CBA) Thunder's demise. But I felt we just had turned the corner, as far as people trusting us, and wanting to root for us. But now this. It's an unfortunate situation for a lot of people.''

Players such as PBL MVP Bobby Anderson and former Michigan standout Willie Mitchell already were under contract for next season, Farrow said.

``For me, it's too late to find a college job and really late to find something else in pro ball,'' Farrow said. ``If something opens up at the last minute, I won't be the only one standing in that line.

``For the players, they picked us over other teams to go to, but now they have to scramble and find someplace else to play. I feel bad for them and the assistant coaches, because there was no warning this might happen.''