A nickname, color scheme and a head coach for a new pro basketball team in Cedar Rapids will be announced on Tuesday. Scott Eastin heads up a group that is putting a franchise in the American Basketball Association which is entering its third season since rebirth.

The ABA of the 1970’s was the rival of the NBA while the new version offers minor league framchises to nearly 60 cities in the US and Mexico. Eastin says they first looked at the IBL which has a franchise in Waterloo before settling on the ABA.

Eastin says while the league is spread out the teams compete on a regional level and that will help control expenses and give the team a better chance to succeed where others have failed.

The team is expected to begin play this fall.