The ABA is bringing semi-pro basketball to the MS Coast — and with more than one team

Two Mississippi Coast natives are coming home and bringing their American Basketball Association team with them.

Jerry Asiel Thompson and his wife, Mariah, are bringing the South Coast Sea Turtles of the ABA from California to Mississippi with plans to headquarter in Moss Point.

The couple has owned the franchise for two years and is heading into its second with an active team.

“We decided to come back closer to home, and I’ve always wanted to create opportunities and different things for people here,” Jerry told the Sun Herald.

Today’s ABA is a separate reincarnation of the original, which lasted from 1967 to 1975 and featured legends like Julius Erving, Rick Barry and George Gervin.

The current ABA began in 2000 with original branding licensed from the NBA and currently operates as a sprawling, regional-based league that saw more than 100 teams compete across the country last season.

Mississippi is getting a sudden influx of such teams. Two competed last season and one — the Mississippi Silverbacks — reached the ABA finals in its very first year. They were joined in the ABA’s South region, Black division by the Jackson Showboats.

The Sea Turtles are not the only Coast team on the way, either. The Gulfport Kings are set to begin their first season this fall, as well.

For Jerry and his wife, bringing the Sea Turtles to the Coast is all about giving back to their communities and creating a culture.

“I’m trying to help create a basketball culture within Mississippi and tap into the one that’s already there, just to create more opportunities for people that should have made it a long time ago,” Jerry said.

Jerry is a 2009 Moss Point graduate and Mariah a St. Martin grad. They left for California where they eventually took ownership of an ABA club with plans to move the team home.

The Sea Turtles name came from Jerry’s love for turtles as a kid and the brief period the couple spent in Hawaii.

Their goals for the Sea Turtles on the Coast are greater than basketball, and are centered around people and relationships with the community while building a foundation that can last for the long term.

“We want to actually be very, very involved in the community,” Jerry said. “I’ve been talking to businesses, former teachers, nonprofit organizations and churches, Gulf Coast Youth for Christ, we want to have our hands in everything throughout the Gulf Coast.

“I’m a former middle school teacher from Magnolia Middle School, so I know kind of the inner-workings of the cities of the Coast a little bit. Even though we’ve been gone for about seven years, I’ve been keeping up with things at home. We’re just trying to build a long lasting partnership. I would like (the Sea Turtles) to be a staple on the Coast. That’s what we’re trying to build right now.”

The Sea Turtles will soon be holding open tryouts to those 18 years old and above. The tryout is scheduled for Saturday, August 17 at 5 p.m. Registration is at seaturtlesbasketball.com or you can reach out through direct message on Instagram @seaturtlesbasketball.

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