ALBUQUERQUE — What do you do when you have a product that not enough people are interested in?

That seems to be the dilemma of the Albuquerque Thunderbirds, in their third season of existence as, basically, a minor-league feeder team for three National Basketball Association teams.

“People don’t know about the Thunderbirds,” lamented the team’s new general manager, Chris Holland, at a small news conference last week in Albuquerque’s Northeast Heights. How could that be, he was asked. The T-Birds won the D League championship just two seasons ago under former Lobo favorite Michael Cooper.

The NBA Development League is the NBA’s official minor league, and the first-ever basketball league with direct affiliations to NBA teams.  Now in its seventh season the D-League’s goals are to provide affordable, NBA-caliber entertainment to fans of its 14 teams, as well as continue to develop players, coaches, referees and front-office personnel for the NBA.  As the single source for in-season player “call-ups” to the NBA, fans of the D-League enjoy the highest caliber of basketball played outside the NBA. 

In fact, former D-League players represented 10 percent of NBA players on 2007-08 opening day rosters, numbering 44 in total. The D-League has produced 25 percent of current NBA referees and 16 current NBA coaches, including head coach Sam Vincent with the Charlotte Bobcats.

Albuquerque has long been a basketball town, namely for Lobos basketball, even before Cooper played at The Pit.

Although attendance for men’s games had been on the decline during coach Ritchie McKay’s tenure, attendance is rising again under the leadership of former Indiana University standout Steve Alford.

“The Pit is back,” is a familiar refrain on Albuquerque sports talk shows now.

But it has seemed hoops fans are slow in warming to the city’s other franchises: The Albuquerque Silvers and New Mexico Slam lasted but two seasons apiece, and the Thunderbirds, now in their third season, can rarely draw 2,000 to Tingley Coliseum for their games.

Granted, Tingley is often referred to as a barn — and it is an ideal facility for rodeos. The Thunderbirds and Tingley brass have done a lot to make the coliseum homier for the T-Birds and their fans, though, even draping a large curtain on the south end to make the setting more intimate.

Attendance woes, of course, are not limited to pro basketball teams in the Duke City.

The New Mexico Scorpions, in their second year at Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, have found big crowds to be rare, unless it’s a school-day game and 5,000 screaming youngsters are bused in.

In the Scorpions’ first nine years of existence, the team averaged no fewer than 4,000 fans for home games at Tingley.

In their first year in Rio Rancho, the team averaged little better than 3,200. Through the team’s first 13 home games this season, the average crowd is 2,745.

Santa Ana Star Center is “too far away,” a lot of the team’s fan base in Albuquerque moan.

That’s not the case for anyone going to Tingley, centrally located, and the team’s ticket prices are reasonable for any wallet.

And the T-Birds players are one step away from the NBA, just as the Isotopes are a step away from the big leagues; the Scorpions are two steps away, basically up one level to the American Hockey League and from there to the NHL.

In an odd Albuquerque baseball-basketball twist, D.J. Strawberry, the son of former big-league star Darryl Strawberry, was assigned to the T-Birds on Dec. 18. The elder “Straw Man” played briefly for the Albuquerque Dukes in 1993, while on a rehab assignment; D.J. Strawberry was sent to Albuquerque when T-Birds forward Alando Tucker was promoted to the Phoenix Suns.

Holland, of course, is more than familiar with Albuquerque’s most successful pro franchise, the Albuquerque Isotopes.

The Thunderbirds announced in mid-December that Holland had joined the T-Birds as chief operating officer. Billy Widner, the first team president in Thunderbirds history, left to become the COO of the Toros, the D-League team in Austin.

Holland brings years of experience and success in sports from the baseball world as the corporate sales and promotions manager for the Isotopes. A graduate of Western State College in Gunnison, Colo., he earned his BA in Communications/Journalism. 

“I’m just thrilled at the opportunity,” Holland said. “I look forward to building on the early success of the staff as we continue to strengthen our position within the community.”

“We’re grateful we had somebody as talented as Billy for as long as we did,” said David Kahn of Southwest Basketball, LLC, which owns the Thunderbirds in conjunction with attorney Sam Bregman and Cooper. “I also think it speaks volumes about the D League and the NBA that Billy has chosen to remain in the league, in a location where his family has roots.

“In the meantime, we’re pleased to have somebody of Chris’ caliber joining us.  The Isotopes have set the standard for minor league sports in New Mexico and I am certain Chris will help us immensely,” Kahn said.

Kahn and Holland said they were proud of the team’s community involvement: The Thunderbirds have participating in community events such as the Read to Achieve Program as well as “D-League Cares.” In the past two seasons, the T-Birds have worked almost 3,000 hours in the community, staying dedicated to Albuquerque and New Mexico.

“We want to be interwoven into the fabric of the community,” Holland said. “The product that we have is great and for it to be affordable entertainment is what we’re targeting — the families, the kids.”

For the Birds: After road games on Jan. 10, 12 and 13, the T-Birds are in Boise Jan. 15 (vs. Colorado) and Jan. 16 (vs. Tulsa). The team is home Jan. 23 and 25 (vs. Rio Grande Valley) and again on Jan. 26 (vs. Siouc Falls).

... Thunderbirds single game tickets are on sale and can be purchased at abqtbirds.com, Ticketmaster or at the Thunderbirds front offices, 111 Lomas Blvd. NE, Suite 240, in Albuquerque. For premium or group seating call the Thunderbirds office at 265-DUNK.

… Ex-bird Tucker was named the D-League.com Performer of the Week for games played during the week of Dec. 10. In two games, Tucker averaged 36 points, 6.5 rebounds while shooting 27-of-52 (.519) from the field. A 6-6 forward from Wisconsin, Tucker was selected 29th overall by the Suns in the 2007 NBA Draft.  In five games since being assigned on Nov. 29, he is averaging 28.2 points (tied for second in the D-League) and 7.0 rebounds. A first-team All-America and the 2006-07 Big-10 Player of the Year, Tucker averaged 6.0 points in two games with the Suns before his brief assignment to the Thunderbirds.