Southland Sharks

Southland Sharks
Leagues  New Zealand NBL
Founded 2009
History Southland Sharks
2010–present
Arena Stadium Southland
(Capacity: 4,500)
Location Invercargill, Southland
New Zealand
Team colors      Orange
     Dark Blue
     Maroon
     Gold
Main sponsor Zero Fees
General manager New Zealand Jill Bolger
Team manager New Zealand Troy Paulin
Head coach New Zealand Paul Henare
Championships 1 (2013)
Uniforms
Home
Away

The Southland Sharks are a New Zealand professional basketball team competing in the New Zealand National Basketball League. The team is based in Invercargill, Southland and play their home games at the Stadium Southland. In 2013, the Sharks won their first NBL championship in just their fourth year as a franchise.[1] The Southern Institute of Technology have been a sponsor of the Sharks since their inception in 2009.[2]

History

Early years

Establishment

The Southland Sharks began as a Conference Basketball League side (New Zealand's second tier competition) in the early 1990s. After finishing second in 2002, the Sharks side was promoted to the NZNBL but due to financial restraints, folded completely.

It was not until 2008 that Southland basketball rose again with the re-establishment of the Southland Basketball Association and the reformation of the Southland Flyers; the Flyers competed in the national division two tournament. In 2009, the Southland side containing Tall Blacks players Brendon Pongia and Ed Book, rugby star Joe Tuineau, and coached by former NZNBL player Richard Dickel, won the national tournament. The Association's success at the national tournament provided strong foundation for a worthy National Basketball League franchise license.

On December 22, 2009, the Southland Basketball Association received a three-year license to enter the country's premier basketball competition, becoming the region's third professional sports team after the Southland Stags Rugby union team and the Southern Steel netball team.

After confirming Richard Dickel as the coach, the new franchise made a splash in the off-season by signing many high profile players, the first of which was 28-year-old former Australian Boomers' point guard Luke Martin. Former Manawatu Jets' big man Gareth Dawson, Conference Basketball League shooting guard Ian Cathcart, former Otago Nuggets' combo guard Pete Burgess, Australian-born former Harbour Heat sharp shooter Daniel Munday and veteran big man James Paringatai all signed on with the Sharks for the 2010 season. Another coup for the Sharks came with the signing of former New Mexico State Aggies centre Martin Iti, who was able to play as a local due to holding both an Australian and a New Zealand passport. With the franchise's impressive local signings, next cam the two imports. The first import announced was former UNLV Runnin' Rebels swingman René Rougeau who was a star performer in his four years at the college. The Sharks struggled in their search for a second import as they were running out of time before the start of the season. With captain Luke Martin's responsibilities to the Wollongong Hawks keeping him from joining the Sharks on time, the franchise signed former Melbourne Tigers' shooting guard Mike Rose to a short-term deal.[3][4] The Sharks also had Invercargill-based players Paratene McLeod, Bubba Lau'ese, Izaac Williams and Andrew Wheeler on their inaugural roster.

2010: Inaugural season

The Southland Sharks participated in the Southern Showcase Tournament involving all the South Island-based NBL teams. They had mixed results after a week together, beating the Nelson Giants 70-65 and losing to the Christchurch Cougars 80-82 in overtime. They also lost by one point to the Otago Nuggets 74-75.

After the preseason, the Sharks journeyed back to Invercargill where they were joined by American imports René Rouegau and Mike Rose to prepare for their first regular season game against the Hawke's Bay Hawks. In their first ever NBL game on March 6, 2010, at Stadium Southland, the Sharks faced the Hawks in front of 1,500 fans. The Sharks unveiled their bright orange home uniform that matched the franchise's main sponsor's colours, the Southern Institute of Technology. Their starters Martin Iti, James Paringatai, René Rougeau, Mike Rose and Daniel Munday all put up strong performances with Munday scoring the franchise's first basket, while the two imports, Rougeau and Rose, both starred. After 40 minutes, the teams could not be separated with the scores locked at 84-all. The an overtime period needed, the Hawks came out victorious, winning 105-90.

Losing their next game away from home to the Harbour Heat at the North Shore Events Centre 96-82, the Sharks looked for revenge against first up opponents, Hawke's Bay. Once again on the back of tremendous performances from imports Rose and Rougeau, the Sharks achieved their first ever win. After their first win, they were bought back down to earth as they were thrashed by 44 points by the Wellington Saints. They continued their up and down form, winning against the Christchurch Cougars before losing to the Taranaki Mountainairs. They then came home where they achieved their first success at Stadium Southland, winning 85-79 against the Cougars. After losing to Nelson, they went back-to-back against the Otago Nuggets, winning the Invercargill Licensing Trust Challenge Shield which is contested every time the two sides meet. Mike Helms replaced Rose as the Sharks' second import after just seven games.[5]

They then started a four match home game streak, selling out three of them. They lost to the Waikato Pistons and Wellington Saints before beating the Manawatu Jets and Harbour Heat. They left themselves in a good position to reach the playoffs for the first time in their first season as they only needed to win two of four away games to end the season. Their away trip began with the Sharks losing in overtime to the second place Waikato Pistons at Hamilton Boys' High School. They then came one win closer to the playoffs with a win against the Taranaki Mountainairs with Rougeau recorded another double-double with 32 points and 10 rebounds. A loss to the Nelson Giants saw the Sharks needing to beat the lowly Manawatu Jets who were looking to spoil the Sharks' party.[6] With the 96-88 win over the Jets to finish the regular season, the Sharks claimed sixth spot and booked themselves a playoff berth. They went on to lose in their quarter-final match-up to the Nelson Giants, 67-82.

2011: Promising squad

With the franchise's re-signing of Gareth Dawson, James Paringatai, Ian Cathcart and Paratene McLeod for the 2011 season, some stability was built after the loss of captain Luke Martin to the Auckland Pirates. The Sharks also picked up Christchurch-based guard Sam Dobbs, local talent Tim Campbell and former Tall Blacks point guard Mark Dickel for the 2011 season, joining the franchise to play under his brother, Richard. Another former Tall Black, small forward Brendon Polyblank, also signed with the team and made the Sharks a serious contender for the title. The Sharks went on to finish sixth place again with a record of 6-10. They faced the Hawke's Bay Hawks in the quarter-finals where they lost 75-89.

Current roster

Southland Sharks roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt.
G 5 New Zealand Ili, Shea 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
F 7 New Zealand Bailey, Duane 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) 87 kg (192 lb)
G 9 New Zealand Smolenski, Rhys 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 85 kg (187 lb)
F 10 Australia Blanchfield, Todd (I) 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 94 kg (207 lb)
G 12 United States Braswell, Kevin (I) 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 90 kg (198 lb)
G 15 New Zealand Everitt, Sam 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
F 16 New Zealand Majstrovich, Adrian 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 100 kg (220 lb)
F 21 New Zealand Paringatai, James 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 120 kg (265 lb)
G 25 New Zealand Wheeler, Andrew 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 85 kg (187 lb)
G/F 31 New Zealand Murphy, Jordan 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 86 kg (190 lb)
F 34 Fiji Wesley, Tai 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 109 kg (240 lb)
F 35 New Zealand Newton, Mitchell 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • New Zealand Mark Bell
Team manager
  • New Zealand Troy Paulin
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Development player
  • (I) Import player
  • Injured

Roster
Updated: 2015-04-01

Notable past players

Media coverage

The Sharks' game highlights and player interviews are broadcast weekly on Invercargill-based television channel Cue TV. The Southland Times newspaper also features Sharks content weekly.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Worthington, Sam (14 July 2013). "Hungry Sharks claim unlikely NBL title". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  2. ↑ "SIT to continue Sharks sponsorship". Stuff.co.nz. 29 January 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  3. ↑ Savory, Logan (March 2, 2010). "Import bolsters Sharks". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  4. ↑ Egan, Brendon (March 3, 2010). "Mike Rose set to give Sharks a good shot". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  5. ↑ Egan, Brendon (April 5, 2010). "Southland Sharks can rise to top: Mike Rose". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  6. ↑ Egan, Brendon (June 18, 2010). "Southland Sharks ready to create history". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Sharks News – The Southland Times". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved January 1, 2015.

External links