| Buffalo Sharks | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2005 |
| League | ABA 2005-2008 |
| Team history | Buffalo Rapids 2005-2006 Buffalo Silverbacks 2006-2007 Buffalo Sharks 2008 |
| Arena | Koessler Athletic Center |
| Based in | Buffalo, New York |
| Team colors | Red and Blue |
| Owner | Vincent Lesh |
| Head coach | Richard Jacob |
| Championships | 0 |
| Division titles | 0 |
| Cheerleaders | Buffalo Rush (05-06) |
| Dancers | WBLK Sweet Divas (06-07) |
The Buffalo Sharks were a professional basketball team in the American Basketball Association based in Buffalo, New York. The team played two seasons as the Buffalo Rapids and Buffalo Silverbacks before suspending operations. This team is not to be confused with the Buffalo Stampede of the Premier Basketball League.
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The Buffalo Rapids were founded by Gary Nice and began play in the fall of 2005 as part of the ABA's Connie Hawkins Division. It was the first professional basketball team to play in Buffalo, New York since the Buffalo Braves. The team's name was chosen by a fan voting, with "Rapids" finishing second to "Braves". Trademark restrictions prevented the franchise from adopting the Braves name, but the Rapids team colors were identical to those of the Buffalo Braves.
Dan Robbie and Todd Wier became co-owners of the franchise in December 2005 following the league's removal of Gary Nice.[1]
Initial games were played at Burt Flickinger Center, but a financial dispute left the team searching for a new permanent home. They played most home games at Park School of Buffalo until February 2006. The final home game of the 2005-2006 season was played at Buffalo State Sports Arena, with the team later utilizing the venue for most 2006-2007 home games.
It was announced in May 2006 that the franchise had changed its name to the Buffalo Silverbacks.[2] Controversy arose in August 2006 when the Buffalo News ran an article condemning the team's logo, which featured a silverback gorilla, as racist. The team responded by adopting a new team logo featuring a tiger in October 2006.
Another bit of controversy involved the Silverbacks announcing that DayShawn Wright had been signed to the team in September 2006.[3] Soon after this announcement, Wright signed with the Minot SkyRockets of the CBA.[4]
Head coach Richard Jacob resigned from the team in November 2006 to focus on his job at Medaille College.[5] Trevor Ruffin, a player from the team's inaugural season and an assistant coach during their 2006-2007 training camp, replaced him as head coach.
In 2007, Weir sold the team to Vincent Lesh.[6] Lesh has been an entertainment promoter in Western New York for 25 years and is the owner of Concerts Plus. On November 11, 2007, the Silverbacks announced that they were suspending operations. On their official MySpace page, the team stated "If you did not already know, the Silverbacks are not playing this fall in the ABA. New ownership has decided to take this season off after taking over the team with 5 weeks before tip off."
Lesh re-branded the team as the Buffalo Sharks and reactivated them to begin play in November 2008. Richard Jacob was named the Head Coach and General Manager as he was for both the Rapids and Silverbacks. The Sharks were to play at Koessler Athletic Center on the campus of Canisius College. However, on 2008-09-18, Lesh announced his folding of the Sharks, his leaving of the ABA, and his purchase of the former Buffalo Dragons.[7]
| Regular Season | |||||||
| Year | Wins | Losses | Percentage | Home | Away | League | Division |
| 2005-2006 | 11 | 17 | .392 | 6-7 | 5-10 | 17th - ABA | 3rd - Connie Hawkins |
| 2006-2007 | 16 | 10 | .615 | 10-3 | 6-7 | 12th - ABA | 3rd - Northern |
| Playoffs | |||||||
| Year | Wins | Losses | Percentage | Home | Away | Seeding | Finish |
| 2005-2006 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 1-0 | 0-1 | 15th - ABA | Lost Quarterfinal |
| 2006-2007 | 1 | 1 | .500 | - | 1-1 | 12th - ABA | Lost Semifinal |
| ABA Regular Season | ||||||
| Date | Venue | Status | Opponent | Result | Score | High Score |
| 11/03/2005 | Burt Flickinger Center | Home | Maryland Nighthawks | Loss | 108-107 | 17 - Carlton Brown |
| 11/05/2005 | Blue Cross Arena | Away | Rochester Razorsharks | Loss | 89-88 | 29 - Tim Winn |
| 11/11/2005 | Centre Pierre Charbonneau | Away | Montreal Matrix | Loss | 94-74 | 22 - Kevin Ross |
| 11/14/2005 | Burt Flickinger Center | Home | Harlem Strong Dogs | Win | 97-90 | 32 - Trevor Ruffin |
| 11/19/2005 | Montgomery College | Away | Maryland Nighthawks | Loss | 132-102 | 20 - Tim Winn |
| 11/26/2005 | Niagara Catholic High School | Home | Montreal Matrix | Win | 104-94 | 26 - Tim Winn |
| 11/29/2005 | Park School of Buffalo | Home | Maryland Nighthawks | Loss | 113-112 (OT) | 34 - Tim Winn |
| 12/01/2005 | Lackawanna College | Away | Northeast Pennsylvania Breakers | Loss | 95-86 | 29 - Tim Winn |
| 12/04/2005 | Hunter College | Away | Harlem Strong Dogs | Loss | 116-109 | - |
| 12/13/2005 | Park School of Buffalo | Home | Harlem Strong Dogs | Win | 107-102 (OT) | 31 - Tim Winn |
| 12/17/2005 | Montgomery College | Away | Maryland Nighthawks | Loss | 110-94 | 20 - Brad Buddenborg |
| 12/18/2005 | Essex County College | Away | Newark Express | Win | 89-88 | 23 - Tim Winn |
| 12/23/2005 | Gow School | Home | Rochester Razorsharks | Loss | 110-100 | 29 - Tim Winn |
| 12/28/2005 | Park School of Buffalo | Home | Maryland Nighthawks | Win | 94-89 | 30 - Rashid Byrd |
| 12/30/2005 | Centre Pierre Charbonneau | Away | Montreal Matrix | Win | 98-86 | 38 - Brad Buddenborg |
| 01/07/2006 | Barnstable High School | Away | Boston Frenzy | Win | 113-96 | - |
| 01/11/2006 | Park School of Buffalo | Home | Rochester Razorsharks | Loss | 94-91 | 27 - Tim Winn |
| 01/14/2006 | Saint Joseph's College | Away | Strong Island Sound | Win | 70-65 | 20 - Tim Winn |
| 01/21/2006 | Saint Joseph's College | Away | Strong Island Sound | Loss | 123-107 | - |
| 01/26/2006 | Blue Cross Arena | Away | Rochester Razorsharks | Loss | 114-87 | 19 - Tim Winn |
| 02/01/2006 | Park School of Buffalo | Home | Montreal Matrix | Loss | 132-127 (OT) | 40 - Johnny Tyson |
| 02/03/2006 | Park School of Buffalo | Home | Boston Frenzy | Win | 136-90 | 52 - Antoine Sims |
| 02/05/2006 | Park School of Buffalo | Home | Strong Island Sound | Loss | 128-100 | 23 - Turner Battle |
| 02/19/2006 | Park School of Buffalo | Home | Strong Island Sound | Loss | 102-101 | 31 - DeRon Rutledge |
| 02/25/2006 | Barnstable High School | Away | Boston Frenzy | Win | 117-104 | 20 - Tim Winn |
| 03/04/2006 | Hunter College | Away | Harlem Strong Dogs | Loss | 103-96 | - |
| 03/05/2006 | Buffalo State Sports Arena | Home | Newark Express | Win | 112-104 | 21 - Willie Chandler |
| 03/07/2006 | Blue Cross Arena | Away | Rochester Razorsharks | Loss | 106-95 | - |
| ABA Playoffs (15th seed) | ||||||
| Date | Venue | Status | Opponent | Result | Score | High Score |
| 03/12/2006 | Hilbert College | Home | Boston Frenzy (16th seed) | Win | 133-88 | 29 - Johnny Tyson |
| 03/17/2006 | New Birth Missionary Baptist Church | Away | Atlanta Vision (7th seed) | Loss | 99-97 | 19 - Johnny Tyson |
| ABA Regular Season | ||||||
| Date | Venue | Status | Opponent | Result | Score | High Score |
| 11/08/2006 | Buffalo State Sports Arena | Home | Detroit Panthers | Loss | 109-100 | 33 - Antoine Sims |
| 11/12/2006 | Buck Weeber Center | Away | Detroit Panthers | Loss | 128-113 | 24 - Antoine Sims |
| 11/16/2006 | Blue Cross Arena | Away | Rochester Razorsharks | Loss | 107-93 | 23 - Dameon Sansom |
| 11/18/2006 | Burlington Memorial Auditorium | Away | Vermont Frost Heaves | Loss | 110-100 | 27 - Johnny Tyson |
| 11/24/2006 | Buffalo State Sports Arena | Home | Rochester Razorsharks | Win | 96-93 | 29 - Antoine Sims |
| 11/30/2006 | Buffalo State Sports Arena | Home | Hammond Rollers | Win | 120-104 | 19 - Antoine Sims |
| 12/08/2006 | Buffalo State Sports Arena | Home | Detroit Panthers | Win | 119-104 | 24 - Antoine Sims |
| 12/09/2006 | Blue Cross Arena | Away | Rochester Razorsharks | Loss | 109-90 | 18 - Marlin Johnson |
| 12/13/2006 | Buffalo State Sports Arena | Home | Richmond Ballerz | Win | 119-97 | 22 - Antoine Sims |
| 12/14/2006 | Buffalo State Sports Arena | Home | Richmond Ballerz | Win | 123-116 | 25 - Kevin Ross |
| 12/15/2006 | Buck Weeber Center | Away | Detroit Panthers | Loss | 110-104 | 21 - Antoine Sims |
| 12/20/2006 | Buffalo State Sports Arena | Home | Rochester Razorsharks | Loss | 107-102 | 33 - Antoine Sims |
| 12/29/2006 | Buffalo State Sports Arena | Home | Cape Cod Frenzy | Win | 118-110 | 28 - Johnny Tyson |
| 12/30/2006 | Buffalo State Sports Arena | Home | Quebec City Kebekwa | Win | 110-98 | 29 - Lamar Castile |
| 01/05/2007 | Buffalo State Sports Arena | Home | Rochester Razorsharks | Loss | 96-94 | 30 - Lamar Castile |
| 01/10/2007 | Burlington Memorial Auditorium | Away | Vermont Frost Heaves | Loss | 92-90 | 29 - Lamar Castile |
| 01/13/2007 | Libbey High School | Away | Toledo Royal Knights | Win | 152-138 | 33 - Lamar Castile |
| 01/18/2007 | Buffalo State Sports Arena | Home | Detroit Panthers | Win | 103-95 | 25 - Lamar Castile |
| 01/19/2007 | University of North Florida Arena | Away | Jacksonville Jam | Loss | 105-96 | 25 - Lamar Castile |
| 01/21/2007 | Montgomery College | Away | Maryland Nighthawks | Win | 114-108 | 31 - Dameon Sansom |
| 02/09/2007 | Université Laval | Away | Quebec City Kebekwa | Win | 91-79 | 23 - Antoine Sims |
| 02/10/2007 | Centre Pierre Charbonneau | Away | Montreal Royal | Win | 99-76 | 18 - Kueth Duany |
| 02/21/2007 | Iroquois High School | Home | Vermont Frost Heaves | Win | 100-95 | 45 - Lamar Castile |
| 02/22/2007 | Park School of Buffalo | Home | Detroit Panthers | Win | 116-102 | 38 - Antoine Sims |
| 03/09/2007 | Centre Pierre Charbonneau | Away | Montreal Royal | Win | 102-99 | 34 - Lamar Castile |
| 03/10/2007 | Université Laval | Away | Quebec City Kebekwa | Win | 120-107 | 38 - Lamar Castile |
| ABA Playoffs (12th seed) | ||||||
| Date | Venue | Status | Opponent | Result | Score | High Score |
| 03/16/2007 | University of North Florida Arena | Away | Jacksonville Jam (2nd seed) | Win | 100-91 | 37 - Lamar Castile |
| 03/22/2007 | Felix Events Center | Away | Beijing Aoshen Olympian (7th seed) | Loss | 121-106 | 30 - Antoine Sims |
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