“It takes people to be successful,” Swetoha said. “We really took our time and deliberately made sure that each hire was going to make a huge impact on our culture and driving results.” Under Swetoha’s leadership, the Swarm hired staff on both the business and basketball side and even did the simple stuff like finding office space and getting wi-fi. The facility was one of the major challenges for the Swarm, because it came down to the wire whether the building would be ready on opening night or not. But the building, a fieldhouse next to the Greensboro Coliseum, was ready and everything went off smoothly that first night. In each step of the process of building a basketball franchise, Swetoha emphasized embracing the Greensboro community. The basketball players and staff in Greensboro do community outreach events. “It’s in everyone’s DNA to give back,” Swetoha said. Greensboro has returned the favor, offering friendly and growing crowds and embracing their new professional sports franchise. One of the challenges for the Swarm in year one is explaining and introducing their product to the basketballcrazed yet new market in Greensboro. “The positive response [from] those that supported us in season one and wanting to come back in season two has been overwhelming,” Wolfert, the Swarm’s director of partnerships, said. “I think that’s just a credit to the entire team, front WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM
office and basketball ops in that people want to be a part of this season two.” In that second season, the Swarm hope to do more work with corporate sponsors and nonprofits to create more themed jersey nights. They also want to stay affordable and as a family-friendly experience. But an emphasis in reaching out with the Greensboro community is still a priority that won’t go away. “There’s still more to do, but [after] the first year, I’m pleasantly surprised with the results and the interactions and the involvement and the impact in the community,” Swetoha said.
After two Perry Ellis free throws with 10:01 left in the fourth quarter that pushed Greensboro’s lead to 94-77, it looks like the Swarm were on their way to an easy home victory. But then Jordan Crawford took over. Two nights later, on March 6th, Crawford will be in Utah playing for the New Orleans Pelicans on a 10-day NBA contract. He’ll score 19 points on 8-15 shooting from the field in his first game back in the NBA. But none of that matters on March 4 in Greensboro -- tonight, he’s just getting buckets. He leads the Drive on a 14-2 run. In the blink of an eye, the Swarm saw their lead dwindle to five with 7:15 left in the fourth quarter. If Greensboro wanted a win this night, they were going to have to fight for it.
Greensboro pushes back with a 7-0 run of its own. Grand Rapids punches back to cut the lead to six, then four, then two after Crawford hit a pull-up jumper with 4:24 left in the fourth quarter. Crawford looked tired as the game came to a close, but he just kept finding a way to score. The Swarm call a 20 second timeout with 59 seconds left in the game and with a five-point lead. On the ensuing possession, Greensboro commits an eightsecond backcourt violation, giving the ball back to the Drive. Jordon Crawford had the ball at the top of the key, the clock ticking underneath a minute to go. He accepts a screen and got Cheick Diallo to switch onto him on defense. Crawford fiddles with Diallo and fires, missing his three-point attempt. The Drive’s Chris Anderson got the rebound, though, and kicks it back to Crawford for another three-point attempt. It just misses but Anderson got another offensive rebound. Lorenzo Brown reset his team’s offense as the clock hit 30 seconds. Brown made a spin move and got fouls with 26 seconds to go. He misses his first attempt but makes his second. The Drive were forced to foul, and the Swarm executed to secure the victory, their 14th of the season.
After the game, the Fieldhouse was still alive with energy. At center court, Swarm players presented their game-worn pink jerseys to
the fans that bought them. The fans and player were brought out to center court for a photo op and as a thank-you for supporting the fight against breast cancer. Team president Steve Swetoha is all smiles. He’s pleased that 2,137 came out to watch tonight’s game. More importantly, he’s pleased his team raised $4,029 for Susan G. Komen Northwest North Carolina thanks to sales from the jersey auction. Coach Noel Gillespie sits in his office in the back of the Fieldhouse, content with tonight’s victory. The defensive toughness he’s been craving was there tonight, and he loves how that toughness manifested itself in the Drive shooting just 41.3 percent from the field. All the Swarm’s players made a lap around the court, taking time to sign autographs with fans that stayed for the post-game session. It’s as if this sort of thing is in their DNA. Cat Barber took pictures with every kid, especially those wearing red, that wanted one. Veteran Damien Wilkins cheerily led the way around the court. There were children with UNC, N.C. State, Duke shirts on, representing the varied allegiances for other teams throughout the state. But, as seen in the smiles of the little kids as they interacted with the big professional basketball players, some new Greensboro Swarm fans were made this Friday night. This is Swarm. !
MARCH 22-28, 2017
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