Bikini Basketball Team to Hold Tryouts on Sunday in Tinley

Korie Kellogg has a lot on her plate, some good and some not so good.

The Mokena single mom on Thursday began a bench trial in Will County for assault for beating her 10-year-old son with a belt last spring, she runs her own real estate company in Frankfort and she is the new owner and so far, only player, for the Chicago Crave bikini basketball team.

Kellogg did not shy away from her past.

“Everyone knows my name,” she said referring to the trial and her short marriage a decade ago to former Chicago Bulls player Eddy Curry.

“But not everyone knows who I am,” she said referring to her businesses and interests.

“Don’t mix the two,” she said.

Kellogg learned about the Bikini Basketball Association when she tried out last year for the original Chicago franchise. She stepped in and took over after that franchise disbanded over sexual misconduct claims.

“If I hadn’t gotten married so young,” she said. “I would have played basketball in college.” She said she played organized ball from the third grade through her senior year at Thornwood High School in South Holland.

Missing out on college ball is part of the reason she’s determined to succeed with the Crave as well as silence critics who say bikini basketball and its cousin lingerie football are nothing but excuses to see women in skimpy costumes pretend to play sports.

“I’m not worried about people laughing at us because its bikini basketball,” she said. “I’m taking this seriously and so are the women who are trying out.

“We have former players from the WNBA and lots of women who played college ball,” she said.

Kellogg said the league is in the process of determining how many teams it will field and how long a season the teams will play.

Toward that end, she is holding an open tryout for women 18 and older from noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 6, at LA Fitness, 18400 Convention Center Dr. in Tinley Park. An earlier tryout was held in December at the LA Fitness in Orland Park.

“I’ll be happy with whoever comes out,” she said, adding that some of the women who tried out have been invited back.

“I’m looking for from 14-21 players,” she said. Qualities she’s looking for include athleticism, attitude, leadership, skill, personality and looks.

Tryouts will be conducted in spandex shorts, sports bras and gym shoes. Women are asked to bring a biography and two photos to the tryout. You can pre-register by sending the bio and photos via email to tryouts@ChicagoCrave.com.

Kellogg said she was in negotiations for the venue for league games.

She also said that while she will be a player and owner the team will have a separate coach.

“(Former Chicago Bulls player) Craig Hodges was lined up to coach the original franchise,” she said, adding he took a position in Los Angeles when the job disappeared.

“I’ll find a coach before the season starts,” she said.

For information, visit the Chicago Crave website.