Wollongong Hawks

Wollongong Hawks
2011-12 Wollongong Hawks season
Founded 1979 as Illawara Hawks
Stadium The Sandpit
WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong
Capacity 5,673
Owner Wollongong Hawks Basketball Limited
CEO Mili Simic
Head Coach Gordie McLeod
League NBL
2010-11 5th
Championships 2001

The Wollongong Hawks are a team competing in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL), based in the New South Wales city of Wollongong. They won the NBL championship in 2001 and finished as runners-up in 2005 and 2010. The team's home venue is the Wollongong Entertainment Centre (WEC), known as "The Sandpit" within the NBL.[1]

Contents

History

The Hawks are the only remaining NBL club to have competed in every season since the league's inception in 1979 without relocating to another city. The club was originally known as the Illawarra Hawks, the name referring to the Illawarra region rather than specifically its major urban centre Wollongong. The name change took place after the 1998 season; the team also adopted a new logo and moved to the WEC.

Previous to 1998 the Hawks played out of "The Snakepit" in Gwynneville (A suburb of Wollongong close to the city centre). The Snakepit had a reputation among players and coaches as one of the most feared venues in the league. Despite being only small (Capacity 1,800), the fans were packed in close to the action making for an awesome atmosphere. Local supporters were known to lean over from the bar at the southern end of the court and shake the ring and even sometimes throw beer on opposition players as they entered the change room. The Snakepit is still in use by the Hawks as a training venue and for preseason matches.

During the 2007/2008 season, the Hawks experienced significant financial difficulty and as a result the team nearly was forced to withdraw prior to the completion of the season. A community ownership plan was developed, the Friends of the Hawks, along the lines of the Green Bay Packers of the American NFL.[2]

In February 2009, Hawks Captain Mat Campbell started the "Save the Hawks" Campaign to make sure the last remaining foundation club would still exist in the National Basketball League. Mat and his small team reached their goal, thanks to the commitment of the Illawarra community, naming rights sponsor ahm Australian Health Management and a bank guarantee provided by Indian mining magnate Mr. Arun Jagatramka from Gujarat NRE.[3]

Season by Season

Season Results Finals Coach Captain
1979
8th (5-3)
-
Joe Farrugia
Bob Kubbinga
1980 6th (13-9) - Adrian Hurley
Gordie McLeod
1981 8th (9-13) - Joe Farrugia
1982 9th (11-15) - Tom Pottenger
1983 7th (4-18) -
Charlie Ammit
 Mike Jones
1984 4th (13-11) Elimination Finalist
Gordie McLeod
1985 5th (10-16) - Ted Weston
1986 5th (15-11) Semi Finalist
Dave Lindstrom
1987 3rd (20-6) Semi Finalist
1988 7th (11-13) -
1989 11th (7-11) -
Chuck Harmison
1990 8th (13-13) -
1991 13th (6-20) -
1992 5th (13-11) Quarter Finalists
1993 6th (15-11) Quarter Finalists
Alan Black
1994 8th (13-13) Quarter Finalists
1995 7th (14-12) Quarter Finalists
1996 10th (9-17) -
Brendan Joyce
1997 11th (7-23) - Matt Zauner
1998 6th (14-16) Elimination Finalists
Clayton Ritter
1998/99 3rd (16-10) Semi Finalists
1999/00 8th (11-17) - Eric Cooks
2000/01 4th (21-7) Champions
Mat Campbell &
Glen Saville
2001/02 4th (16-14) First Round
2002/03 4th (18-12) Semi Finalists
2003/04 2nd (28-8) Semi Finalists
Mat Campbell
2004/05 2nd (20-12) Grand Finalists
2005/06 3rd (19-13) Quarter Finalists Rotating Captaincy
2006/07 10th (11-12) -
Brendan Joyce, Eric Cooks
Glen Saville
2007/08 11th (9-21) -
Eric Cooks
Mat Campbell
2008/09 7th (9-19) -
2009/10 2nd (16-12) Grand Finalists
Gordie McLeod
2010/11 5th (15-13) -
2011/12 - -

Source:[4]

Retired Jerseys

Honour Roll

NBL Championships: 1 (2001)
NBL Finals Appearances: 1984, 1986–87, 1992–95, 1998–99, 2001–06, 2010
NBL Grand Final appearances: 2001, 2005, 2010
NBL Most Valuable Players: Mike Jones (1981), Gary Ervin (2011)
NBL Grand Final MVPs: Glen Saville (2001)
All-NBL First Team: Doug Overton (1992), Melvin Thomas (1993), Darnell Mee (2005), Cortez Groves (2006), Tywain McKee (2010), Gary Ervin (2011)
NBL Coach of the Year: David Lindstrom (1987), Alan Black (1993,'95), Brendan Joyce (1999, 2001), Gordie McLeod (2010)
NBL Rookie of the Year: Greg Hubbard (1987), Justin Withers (1989), Axel Dench (2001)
NBL Most Improved Player: C.J. Bruton (2001), Cameron Tragardh (2008), Oscar Forman (2011)
NBL Best Defensive Player: Glen Saville (2003), Darnell Mee (2005)

[5]

Club MVP

Source: www.hawks.com.au

Current roster

Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt.
G 2 Demos, Tyson 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
PG 3 Glover, Showron 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
SG 6 Beagley, Alex (DP)
F/C 7 Forman, Oscar 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in)
F 9 Jackson, Daniel 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)
F/C 10 Davidson, Larry 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)
G/F 12 Saville, Glen 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
G 13 Martin, Rhys 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
SF 21 Jamieson, Luke (DP)
SF 22 Coenraad, Tim 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)
G/F 32 Campbell, Mat (C) 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
F/C 34 Catron, Joevan 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
PF 42 Gruber, Dave () 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
PG 55 Delaney, Zac (DP) 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Head coach
  • Gordie McLeod
Assistant coach(es)
  • Eric Cooks
  • Matt Flinn
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Development player
  • (TP) Training player
  • (I) Import player
  • Injured

Roster • updated 26 October 2011

Depth Chart

Pos. Starter Bench Bench Reserve
C Larry Davidson Joevan Catron
PF Oscar Forman Daniel Jackson Dave Gruber
SF Glen Saville Tim Coenraad Luke Jamieson
SG Mat Campbell Tyson Demos Alex Beagley
PG Rhys Martin Showron Glover Zac Delaney

References

  1. ^ "Venue and Season by Season results". Basketball Australia 2010. http://www.nbl.com.au/hawks/history/season-by-season/. Retrieved 7 November 2010. 
  2. ^ Wollongong Hawks > News
  3. ^ http://www.savethehawks.com
  4. ^ Hawks Season by Season
  5. ^ Wollongong Hawks > Inside the Hawks > History

External links

Sports teams based in Wollongong
Football (soccer)
Basketball
NBL: Wollongong Hawks
Rugby league
Australian rules football
Rugby union
Gridiron football