Joe Newman, the league's chief executive officer, said the franchise will begin play in November and will be headed by Ho-nolulu's Orrys Williams.

"This team will be a model basketball team," said Williams, who, according to a league release, owns a sports marketing company in Hawai'i that represents basketball and soccer players.

"We will reach out to the people for their support and in return we will build them one of the best teams in the ABA."

Williams said he hopes to secure Blaisdell Arena as a site for games. He said the ABA season runs about five months.

The league's season will compete with those of the University of Hawai'i football and basketball teams.

Williams said he has lived in Hawai'i for the past "15-16 years." His son runs track and plays baseball for Kalaheo High School.

"Our goal will be to entertain our fans and become a vital professional sports entity here in the State of Hawai'i," Williams said.

Hawai'i has not been kind to professional sports franchises.

In October, the Hawaiian Islanders arenafootball2 franchise folded after three seasons.

Two attempts at professional basketball in Hawai'i also failed.

The Hawai'i Chiefs of the American Basketball League played here from 1961-62.

The Hawai'i Volcanoes of the Continental Basketball Association lasted from 1979-80.

The Hawai'i Islanders baseball franchise was the only professional team to last more than five years in Hawai'i. The Islanders, a member of the Pacific Coast League that is affiliated with major league baseball, lasted from 1961-87.

The ABA is not affiliated with the NBA. The league opened play in 2000-01 and has 31 teams. It recently expanded to nearly 70 franchises that the league hopes will be playing in 2005-06.

The original ABA merged with the NBA in 1976, bringing in such stars as Julius Erving and Moses Malone.