South Dragons
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| South Dragons | |
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| Established | 2006/07 |
| Team Colours | Black, White and Red |
| Home Venue | Vodafone Arena, Melbourne |
| Major Sponsor | Deloitte |
| Championships | None |
| Team History | South Dragons (2006-Present) |
| Chief Executive | Barry Gibson |
| Coach | Shane Heal |
| Captain | Unknown |
| Website | www.southdragons.com.au |
The South Dragons is a team in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL). They made their début in the 2006-07 season. The club is based in Melbourne, and is the city's second NBL team; the other is the Melbourne Tigers, which entered the league in 1984.
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[edit] History
On October 13, 2005, Mark Cowan, a graphic designer and owner of Cowan Basketball, and Raphael Geminder, chairman of Visy Industries, bought the license of the former Victoria Giants/Titans NBL franchise to establish a new NBL team in Melbourne. Cowan is the Dragons' majority owner with 51% control, with Geminder owning the remaining 49%. The team's name and uniforms were not announced until December 15, 2005, and until that time the Cowan Basketball website left a message "UNLEASHED 15.12.2005" as the only details on the team.
The Dragons entered the NBL in the 2006-07 season as the 12th franchise, and promised to look to fill its roster with young Australian basketballers returning home after playing NCAA college basketball in the United States.
The Dragons hired former NBA All-Star Mark Price as their inaugural head coach on March 1, 2006. Price is arguably the biggest name to play a major hands on role for an Australian basketball club. [1] His appointment was announced one day after the Melbourne Tigers had won the 2005-06 NBL Championship. The team also hired various other front-office staff with extensive basketball experience, including former WNBA player and Australian team captain Michele Timms as basketball development officer.
The team played its first NBL championship season game on September 26, 2006 against the New Zealand Breakers at the North Shore Events Centre in Auckland, New Zealand, losing 112 to 106.
Price resigned his position on October 22, 2006 after the Dragons lost their first five NBL championship season games, citing family reasons; he was replaced by Heal, who was appointed as captain and interim coach for the remainder of the season,[2] The following day Price spoke to the media and claimed that Heal had undermined his position, stating, "I've been in professional basketball a long time and I've never seen undermining of a coach quite like this before."[3]
The team won its first NBL game on October 29, 2006 against the Cairns Taipans 96-86, having lost its first six games.
On Boxing Day, 2006, the South Dragons claimed a memorable victory over their cross-town rivals, the Melbourne Tigers 107-94, leaving its mark on this newly formed rivalry in front of 9175 fans at Vodafone Arena.
[edit] Recruiting process
At the team's December 15 launch, Cowan said, "If you're Victorian and you're in college and coming home, you're on our list." It was believed the team was looking to sign Luke Schenscher — a member of the 2004 Georgia Tech team which went to the NCAA championship game against the University of Connecticut, and at the time an NBA Development League player — as its first marquee player. [4]
On March 3, 2006, it was reported by Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper that former Australian star Shane Heal was considering coming out of retirement to captain the Dragons for the 2006-07 NBL season, and is involved in contract negotiations with the team.[5] He officially signed with the team on April 6 as the Dragons' inaugural captain.[6]
On March 17, 2006, 18-year-old Australian Institute of Sport graduate Joe Ingles became the team's first signed player.[7] The Dragons were unable to sign Schenscher because the Chicago Bulls called him up to fill a roster vacancy earlier that month.
[edit] Current roster
| South Dragons Current Roster |
||||
| Head Coach: Shane Heal | Edit | |||
| Assistant Coach: Matt Shanahan | ||||
| Assistant Coach: Guy Molloy | ||||
| F | 32 |  |
Dean Brebner # | (VIC) |
| F | 9 | |
Ash Cannan | (VIC; Colorado Christian) |
| G |  |
Brad Hill | (SA) | |
| G |  |
Cortez Groves * | (Missouri;Kansas State University) | |
| G | |
Rosell Ellis * | (Seattle) | |
| G | 3 | |
Shane Heal | (VIC) |
| G | |
Luke Martin | (NSW) | |
| F | 41 | |
Brent Hobba | (WA; Colorado Christian) |
| F | 12 | |
Jacob Holmes | (SA) |
| G/F | 7 | |
Joe Ingles | (SA; Australian Institute of Sport) |
| G | 22 | |
Michael Zorich # | (SA) |
| * = Import, # = Development Player | South Dragons | |||
[edit] Notes
- ^ Hand, Guy. "NBL Dragons confirm coach", The Australian, 1 March 2006.
- ^ South Dragons (2006). Price resigns, Heal new head coach thus becoming the league's first player-coach since Cal Bruton with Hobart Devils in 1992. Retrieved October 23, 2006.
- ^ Sportal (2006). Price blasts Heal. Retrieved October 24, 2006.
- ^ Howell, Stephen. "South Dragons fire up to sign new talent", The Age, 15 Dec 2005.
- ^ Bernard, Grantley. "Heal weighs up Dragons captaincy", Herald Sun, 3 Mar 2006.
- ^ South Dragons (2005). Heal back in black. Retrieved April 6, 2006.
- ^ South Dragons (2005). Meet Joe Ingles. Retrieved March 17, 2006.
[edit] External links
| Clubs in the National Basketball League |
|
Adelaide 36ers | Brisbane Bullets | Cairns Taipans | Gold Coast Blaze | Melbourne Tigers | New Zealand Breakers | Perth Wildcats | Singapore Slingers | South Dragons | Sydney Kings | Townsville Crocodiles | West Sydney Razorbacks | Wollongong Hawks |
