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It didn't exactly look like a Hollywood premiere, but with about 350 fans filling the weathered old gym at Central High West, Tuscaloosa welcomed its first professional sports team into existence: the Druid City Dragons.

Part of the World Basketball Association, which serves primarily as a developmental league for NBA hopefuls, the Dragons took their home court for the first time Tuesday night and earned a crowd-pleasing 86-77 win over the Marietta Storm.

Head coach John Douglas, who is also the head basketball coach and athletic director at Lawson State Community College, said he was pleasantly surprised by the turnout for his team's debut.

"We were excited," Douglas said. "To be honest, I didn't anticipate the crowd would be this good because they don't know what kind of product we're putting on the court. If these kids continue to play as hard as they did tonight, you haven't seen anything yet."

Douglas himself had an illustrious college career at the University of Kansas and spent several years in the NBA playing for the New Orleans Jazz and the San Diego Clippers.

Now, Douglas hopes to help a team full of talented players to realize their NBA dreams while giving local fans a good show on the home court.

Among the Dragons' roster are former Shelton State center Patrick Culver, who had a team-high 19 points and 11 rebounds in the home opener, and former Crimson Tide guard Emmett Thomas, who put up two points.

Thomas, who graduated in 2004 and was part of the Tide's Elite 8 run, recently joined the team after playing in Europe for two seasons.

"I came back from Germany and heard about the team from the manager and she asked if I'd be interested in coming down to play," Thomas said. "I'm still getting a feel for the team right now, and I still have to get back into better shape. Coach Douglas is pushing me hard and making an example of me. I feel really blessed to have an opportunity to come back to Tuscaloosa and play basketball."

General manager Mark Booth said the Dragons will likely make an effort to bring in Tide players who aren't drafted as well as players from other local colleges.

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