It’s not as if there is a dearth of basketball in the Auburn area.

Considering the number of top-tier high school teams as well as the presence of Green River Community College, hoop fans in the community have a lot to choose from.

This year, however, fans can add another option — the American Basketball Association’s Seattle Mountaineers, who play their home games at Green River this season.

According to head coach and team president Don Sims, the team is not new to the Northwest.

“This is our first year in the ABA,” Sims said. “We have been in the IBL (International Basketball League) for the past four years.”

Sims said the decision to go with the ABA, which boasts 57 teams spread throughout the country, was an easy one.

“We did really well with that, but we wanted to get in a bigger league with better competition,” Sims said.

Sims compared the ABA to Triple-A in the baseball minor leagues.

“You have the NBA, and the D-league (the NBA’s developmental league),” Sims said. “We’re like the Tacoma Rainiers.”

Although many ABA rosters boast big-time NCAA Division I college stars, the Mountaineers try to keep the talent local, Sims said.

“I kept the core of the team when we switched, seven of the eleven players, because that helps our continuity,” Sims said.

Right now the team boasts several local players, among them: Tyler Amaya, a Western Washington University alum who is averaging more than 30 points per game; Renton High School product Rashaad Powell, who was drafted by the D-league Dakota Wizards this season; and Green River’s Jamaal Miller.

Although many teams offer salaries to their players, the Mountaineers are all volunteers.

“We are one of the few legitimate, non-profit teams in the league. Our kids are strictly volunteers, they aren’t paid,” Sims said. “Our players really appreciate the opportunity to play. They play for the chance to travel and play tough opposition.”

Currently the team is ranked No. 16 in the ABA, with a 3-4 record, but Sims said the team also has a higher calling.

“We do a lot of things out in the community,” he said. “We give camps and clinics to different organizations. We partner with quite a few amateur basketball groups and youth organizations.”

To do that, Sims said, the team relies on donations and support from corporations, such as Microsoft, rather than on attendance to stay afloat.

“The year is new, but right now we’re averaging about 100 people at the games,” he said. “But Microsoft accepted us as a matching gift program. They match anything we raise, and that’s a huge part of our budget. And everything donated is 100-percent tax deductible.”

With the region still smarting from the loss of the NBA Seattle Supersonics, Sims said he hopes the Mountaineers will be able to fill a bit of the void left by the team’s departure.

“Hopefully, we will be able to do that,” he said. “Being in the ABA with the type and caliber of players we have, I think as people come to see us they’ll realize it’s just good basketball.”

For more information on the team or to make a donation, visit www.seattle-mountaineers.org.