By Kevin Scott
GREAT FALLS, Mont., February 6, 2024 — The Great Falls Electric professional basketball team, who is about to begin their inaugural season in The Basketball League (TBL) in March 2024, participated in the 2024 TBL Draft in Indianapolis, Indiana recently.
Great Falls previously signed a few local Montana players to the roster, including former Montana Grizzly Kareem Jamar, and local Great Falls athletes, Brendan Howard, and Isaac Howard.
The newest members of the Electric are 2024 TBL draft picks include Jacob Bates, a Kentucky native who played college hoops at Centre College, Lamine Komara, who most recently played with the Texas Wesleyan men’s hoop team and Antwaan Cushingberry, a former standout for the University of St. Francis (IN) Cougars men’s basketball team.
Lamine Komara is the first draftee for coach Johnny Clark.
Komara, a native of Columbus, Ohio, also played basketball at the NAIA level as a member of the Texas Wesleyan (Fort Worth, TX) Rams. The 23-year-old received his Business Marketing degree in the Spring of 2023. The 6’7” guard/forward averaged 10.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block per game under Ram Head Coach Brennan Shingleton. The Electric drafted him as the eighth pick in the first round of the TBL Draft this season.
He lists Kobe Bryant as his all-time favorite player and enjoys watching current player Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns.
“Lamine is a player I’ve watched and been intrigued with since watching him in the prestigious Kingdom Summer League in Columbus, Ohio,” said Great Falls Electric mentor Johnny Clark. “He’s a teammate in that league with NBA veteran Trey Burke, and I saw how versatile he was in being able to guard several positions defensively, while also being able to impact the game several ways offensively – with and without the ball, attacking off the dribble, as a screener and roller, going to the offensive glass as a rebounder, and being a scorer at different levels.”
Jacob Bates joins the Electric for the upcoming 2024 TBL season as another first-round (Pick 25th) in this year’s TBL Draft. Bates is originally from La Grange, Kentucky (near Louisville) and played Division III basketball at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. The 6’5” small forward was an All-American and graduated from the Kentucky school in 2020.
Jacob played the past two seasons overseas for the Malta (small island south of Italy) Starlites Basketball Club where he helped the team to back-to-back league championships. He averaged 15.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game over two seasons.
This past summer (2023), he played for the We Are D3 TBT team in Wichita, Kansas.
“Jacob Bates is a savvy floor spacer who plays with great pace and basketball IQ. He has played overseas the last couple of seasons and competed in the annual TBT Million Dollar Tournament last summer with the ‘We Are D3’ team. The style of play in that tournament is very similar to the TBL style, so he will have a smooth and expedited transition to the style of play of our team and league,” said Johnny Clark. “At 6’5”, he also has a knack for finding creases in the defense to get his shot, and his offensive game will certainly complement the other players we are bringing in for our inaugural season.”
Cushingberry, who played for Warren Central High School and University of St. Francis (Fort Wayne, Indiana), is a 5’8” guard who broke the St. Francis All-Time scoring record recently originally held by Brett Norris with 2,280 points. He was drafted by Great Falls in the first round with pick 33. During the 2022-23 season, he averaged 20.1 points, 4.3 assists, 2.1 steals, and 4.3 rebounds per contest and finished up his collegiate career at the NAIA school with 2,400 points. Antwaan is a three-time All-American who is second in program history at St. Francis with 650 assists.
He helped lead the Cougars to three National Tournament Appearances including a Final Four appearance and was named to the 2021 All-Tournament team under head coach Chad LaCross.
“I can envision how he can really fit with and be an asset to the players we already have and a couple more we look to get,” said Great Fallls Electric Head Coach Johnny Clark. “His positive attitude and disposition fits in with everything the Electric is about, on and off the court, and in the community.”
Antwaan Cushingberry: Awards and Accomplishments
| 2,400 Career Points (1st in St. Francis History) | 156 Career Games Played/ 100 Career Games Won |
| 650 Career Assists (2nd in St. Francis History) | 3 National Tournament Appearances |
| 3X All-American (2nd Team, 3rd Team, Honorable Mention) | 1 Final Four Appearance |
| 4X First Team All-Conference | 2 Sweet 16 Appearances |
| Small College Bevo Francis Top 50 Best Player Finalist | 107 Double Figure Scoring Games |
| Small College Bevo Francis Top 100 Best Player Finalist | 75 Consecutive Double Figure Scoring Games |
| 2021 All-Tournament Team | Charles Stevenson Hustle Award |
Komara, Bates and Cushingberry are expected to be key contributors to this year’s inaugural Great Falls Electric basketball team.
“I’m very happy with all three of our selections in our first ever TBL draft, and I know each one of them will play a huge role in the success of our inaugural Electric season,” said Clark.
About the Great Falls Electric Basketball and The Basketball League
The Great Falls Electric will play and be affiliated with The Basketball League (TBL) starting in March 2024 as Great Falls businessman Jim Keough will now serve as the Team Owner and General Manager. The Electric will compete in The Basketball League’s (TBL’s) West Conference with other teams in Oregon and Washington. The first home games will be played in March at Swarthout Fieldhouse on the campus of Great Falls High School (see schedule).
About The Basketball League
The Basketball League is dedicated to delivering a World Class Professional Basketball experience to our community, our fans, and business partners. The Basketball League, Where the Spirit of the Game Lives.
The TBL, which began in 2018, currently features 39 teams across four conferences (East, Midwest, Central, and West) with the West Conference consisting of teams from Washington, California, and Oregon. Great Falls is the only team from Montana set to begin play in early 2024 and will be the tenth team in the Western Conference.
CONTACT:
Jim Keough
Great Falls Electric Team Owner/General Manager
Cell Phone: 406-868-6366
Email: jimkeough@gmail.com
The Basketball League: thebasketballleague.net
Great Falls Electric Basketball: www.thegreatfallselectric.com/
Follow the Great Falls Electric on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greatfallselectricbasketball Follow the Great Falls Electric on Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/gfelectrichoops
