The Strong Island Sound were an American Basketball Association

American Basketball Association (21st century)

The American Basketball Association, often abbreviated as ABA, is a semi-professional men's basketball league that was founded in 1999. The current ABA has no affiliation with the original American Basketball Association that merged with the National Basketball Association in 1976...

 team, that played their home games at Suffolk County Community College

Suffolk County Community College

Suffolk County Community College is a two-year public college on Long Island, NY sponsored by SUNY and Suffolk County, New York in the USA....

 in Long Island

Long Island

Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

's Suffolk County

Suffolk County, New York

Suffolk County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York on the eastern portion of Long Island. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,493,350. It was named for the county of Suffolk in England, from which its earliest settlers came...

. The team's head coach was Dytanya Mixon for the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons.

The team played off on the intersection of basketball and popular culture — in which Strong Island is used as hip hop slang for Long Island — and the neighboring Long Island Sound

Long Island Sound

Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...

.

2005-2006 season

After an inaugural season full of the obstacles typical of a minor league sports season, the Strong Island Sound were eliminated from the ABA Playoffs. Their 10-0 run down the stretch gave them some well earned respect among the growing ABA fan base.

The Sound qualified for the 2006 ABA playoffs as the 13th seed, and defeated the Birmingham Magicians

Birmingham Magicians

The Birmingham Magicians were a team in the American Basketball Association playing in Birmingham, Alabama. The team went 6-14 during their inaugural 2005-06 season. Despite reports of returning to the league in 2007-08, the team is not listed on the ABA's 07-08 schedule....

 in the first round on Long Island, and the Harlem Strong Dogs in Round 2 in Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

. They played in Rochester

Rochester, New York

Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...

 as one of the "Elite Eight" competing for the 2006 ABA Championship in the Great Eight Tournament. The Sound defeated the top-ranked Indiana Alley Cats

Indiana Alley Cats

The Indiana Alley Cats was a member of the Continental Basketball Association . They are based in Anderson, Indiana and formerly played at Anderson High School Wigwam. The team was formerly a part of the American Basketball Association.-2005-2006:...

, but lost to the Southern California Legends

SoCal Legends

The Southern California Legends, known commonly as the SoCal Legends, were a team in the Continental Basketball Association.The Legends are owned and coached by former NBA player Gary Grant. They played their home games at Azusa Pacific University's Felix Events Center...

 on March 25, 2006, who in turn were defeated by the Rochester Razorsharks

Rochester Razorsharks

The Rochester Razorsharks are a professional basketball team based in Rochester, New York. They are members of the Premier Basketball League and play their home games at the Blue Cross Arena in downtown Rochester. The Razorsharks were founded in 2005 as a member of the American Basketball...

 in the ABA's 2006 championship game.

2006-2007 season

In their second season of play, the Strong Island Sound improved their regular season record by four wins, finishing 20-13. During this season former Globetrotter and member of the 2005-06 Sound, Chris Sandy died in a car accident in Finland. He had been playing with Kouvot Kouvola and was rumored to return to the Sound shortly before his death. In honor of Sandy, a major contributor to the final four effort of the 05-06 Sound, the team wore black bands around the shoulder of their uniforms for the remainder of the season. The Sound also retired Sandy's uniform number 22 in his honor. In the first round of the ABA playoffs, the Sound defeated the Quebec City Kebs on the road, 108-97. They went on to lose to the Vermont Frostheaves by a score of 103-75.

2007-2008 season

In the offseason prior to the 2007-08 ABA season, the Sound confirmed that Head Coach Dytanya Mixon will be returning this year.
The team began the season by winning five of their first six contests before ceasing operations in December 2007. The final game in the franchises history would be a 92-90 victory over the Halifax Rainmen in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The teams collapse was a quick and without warning as co-owners Darren Cioffi and Michelle Wuestman had their financial backers pull out after the costly trip to Halifax. The teams players and coaches were never paid their final weeks salaries and communication between management and the staff was poor at best during this difficult time. Final season record: 5-1

2005-06 roster

• Lee Church
• Roberto Gittens
• Phil Grant
• Donald Harrison
• Avery Headley
• Jerome Holman
• Fabian Pinnock
• Will Samuels
• Chris Sandy
• Rasheed Sparks
• Gary Williams
• Cory Underwood
  • Head Coach: Joseph Medina

2006-07 roster

• Miguel Millien
• Rahlem Lowry
• Chris Grant
• Karim Smith
• Aaron Williams
• Tom Eddie
• Caheem Brodus
• Gregory Plummer
• Brian Woodward
• Sean Dantzler
• Raphael Edwards
  • Head Coach: Dytanya Mixson

2007-08 roster

• Malcolm Connor
• Sean Dantzler
• Raphael Edwards
• Chris Grant
• Donald Harrison
• Jenar Harrison
• Charles Jones
• Shamel Jones
• Raheim Lowery
• Gordon Malone
  Gordon Malone
  Gordon Malone is a former basketball player for West Virginia University. He was selected 44th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1997 NBA Draft....
  
  
• Fred Marshall (Brother of Denver Broncos Wide Receiver Brandon Marshall)
• Shawn Simpson
• John Thomas III
• Chris Wehye
• Brandon Wilson
  • Head Coach: Dytanya Mixson