By Chris Cox, Arena Communications Director

Legacy. Connection. Togetherness.

Those are a few of the words that Potawatomi Fire Head Coach Mark Dannhoff preached to his team during their first meeting before the start of last season. Dannhoff knew that if his team played together and connected on and off the court, they’d could create a legacy that would live long beyond The Basketball League’s (TBL) 2025 season. He was correct.

“We talk about the importance of relationships,” said Dannhoff. “That’s player to player, coach to player, and coach to coach. It’s these relationships that allow us to hold each other accountable at a high level. Families fight and families argue, but at the end of the day, they’ve got each other’s back. So, when you have good relationships, you can call out people at a high level and get the right response from them. Those relationships and the fact that they care about each other helps them stay connected and lean on each other when adversity inevitably hits.”

The Fire came into 2025 in uncharted territory for a TBL team. No team had ever won two straight titles prior to the 2024 season when the Fire did just that and did it with a perfect 28-0 record. The Fire knew that every time they stepped on the court, they’d have a chance to continue making history. They also knew they’d get their opponents’ best shot every time.

“The expectations of us going undefeated again probably weren’t really high,” said Dannhoff. “We were going to compete for it and try to win every game we played. We got close, closer than we probably ever imagined. That’s a credit to these players and how hard they worked. I do think the fact so many of these guys were on the 2024 undefeated team allowed these guys to feel more freedom and not worry about mistakes. I also think after we lost one, they said ‘ok, we’re not going to go undefeated, but we can still win a championship.’ That one loss did not deter us from accomplishing anything we set out to do this year.”

While the Fire’s season did feature a single loss, their only loss in the last two seasons, it still ended the way the previous two seasons ended, with the Fire raising the Lillie trophy and being crowned TBL Champions.

“It always comes down to the guys,” said Dannhoff. “Some of these guys were a part of all three teams, some a part of two and some were just a part of the one this year. Winning these three titles speaks volumes to every player’s character and who they are on and off the court. I’m so thrilled for them.”

Dannhoff also told his players throughout the season that sacrifice was needed to win another ring. He challenged players to not worry about their individual statistics and just focus on the final score each game. He said that with team success will come the individual awards. Once again, he was correct.

After finishing 27-1 and winning their third straight title, several Fire players received accolades from the TBL. Point guard Chuck Guy won his second consecutive MVP award and become the first player in TBL history with two MVPs. He was also named 1st Team All-TBL for the fourth straight season and fifth time in his career.

Guy also solidified his standing as the best player in TBL history. To go along with those two MVP awards and the numerous 1st Team All-TBL recognitions, Guy was the 2023 TBL Defensive Player of the Year, Co-MVP of the playoffs in 2023, and an All-Star in 2023 and 2024. Guy also became the first player in TBL history to score 3,000 career points and record 1,000 career assists.

Along with Guy, Fire forward Ricardo Artis II was named TBL’s Playoff MVP after an electrifying performance in the postseason. Ke’Tarrious “K.T.” Bouchum earned TBL’s 6th Man of the Year award after joining the Fire midway through the season and becoming one of the best players off the bench. Finally, on top of those awards, Fire head coach Mark Dannhoff was named TBL’s Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season.

“I wouldn’t be in this position without these players,” said Dannhoff. “This award is as much about what I do as a coach as it is about the players going out and playing hard and playing well every night. There are a lot of great coaches in the TBL, and they could’ve given it to a number of different coaches. I’m surprised I won it again, but I am honored to win it.”

The Fire have now completed four seasons in The Basketball League and have established themselves as the preeminent franchise. The Fire are an astounding 105-13 in their four years. Under Dannhoff, the Fire are 84-5 and have won the last three TBL championships. The Fire have also never lost a home game under Dannhoff and have won a TBL record 52 straight games inside FireLake Arena dating back to their inaugural 2022 season, making FireLake Arena the most dominant home court advantage in the entire league.

With that kind of success, where do things go from here?

“That’s a good question,” said Dannhoff with a laugh. “Certainly, next year will be harder than this year (2025), which was harder than the last (2024), which was harder than the previous year (2023). We are enjoying this too much to stop doing it, but we have to keep finding the right fits, the right guys, and the right chemistry to give ourselves another chance to do it again. We have to just keep moving forward and try to do things a little better than we did the year before. If we do that, we always put ourselves in a situation to be successful.”

No matter what the future holds for the Fire, the legacy of this team has been secured.
Learn more about the Potawatomi Fire at potawatomifire.com.