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The league dropped the Mustangs and the Atlantic City Seagulls and added two new teams in their places, the Adirondack Wildcats and the St. Louis Skyhawks.

"We dropped our two weakest teams and added two financially stable organizations," said USBL Commissioner Dan T. Meisenheimer. "The owner of the Wildcats is worth $50 million, so we'll be OK without the Mustangs. We want a team in the D.C. area, no doubt, but it won't happen this season."

A franchise in the USBL sells for $300,000. The Mustangs were able to pay only a third of the fees. During the course of a season, expenses range between $200,000 and $400,000 depending on the arena, travel and salaries.

"The Oklahoma Storm just hired Kareem Abdul Jabbar to be their head coach. They're paying him $50,000 a year - that's more than the average team pays a head coach," Meisenheimer said.

Last season the Mustangs hired Robert Parrish as head coach and former Washington Bullets star Harvey Grant to assist him. Grant has moved to Brevard County, Fla., to coach the startup Brevard Blue Ducks. Last year's Mustang players have been declared free agents and are welcome to join one of the other 10 teams. The USBL draft will be held on April 9.

For two summers Showplace Arena had been home of the minor league team that featured some of the area's former high school and college stars who were still shooting for a roster spot on an NBA team. Franchises in big cities suffer due to higher rates for renting arenas, and the teams near NBA towns - such as Washington - have a hard time attracting media attention.

"When people come to our games, they have a great time. The players are talented, the games are competitive - it's just a smaller image than the NBA," Meisenheimer said. "In small towns, our teams are pulling in 4,000 fans a night. In a city with Michael Jordan, well, we won't do as well."

Semi-pro and minor leagues have come and gone under the shadow of the NBA. The Continental Basketball Association was the last well-known minor league to fold. The CBA had enjoyed partial sponsorship from the NBA but lost the NBA's support when the minor league failed to produce a consistent pool of elite players. This winter the NBA began its own developmental league that is being used to produce potential players as well as assistant coaches, general managers and talent scouts.

"The NBA's developmental league did not affect us at all," Meisenheimer said. "We are the second-best basketball league in the world. As their DNBA season ends, our USBL season is beginning and half of their better players will be with us this year."

The USBL has been a last-chance league for NBA hopefuls. More than 130 players have graduated into the NBA during the USBL's 17-year existence. The Washington Bullets/Wizards have been one of the most supportive NBA teams, drafting former USBL stars such as Manute Bol, Muggsy Bowles, Michael Adams, Darvin Ham, Tim Legler and Gerald King.