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KW Titans

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KW Titans
KW Titans logo
LeagueNBL Canada
Founded2016
HistoryKW Titans
2016–present
ArenaKitchener Memorial Auditorium
LocationKitchener, Ontario
(Waterloo Region)
Team coloursBlue, black, white, silver
       
PresidentLeon Martin
Head coachNeal Foreman
Websitekwtitans.com

KW Titans (formally known as Kitchener-Waterloo Titans Basketball Club) are a professional basketball team based in Regional Municipality of Waterloo and competing the National Basketball League of Canada. The team plays its home games at Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex. It was founded in 2016 by an ownership group made up of Ball Construction and a local entrepreneur, Leon Martin.

History

On June 28, 2016, National Basketball League of Canada announced an approved expansion team to represent the Regional Municipality of Waterloo while still in the process of negotiating a lease with Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex.[1] A new ownership group was composed by several local businesses with the majority ownership going to Ball Construction and a minority stake held by Leon Martin, Jeff Berg and Brian Foster.[2] Ball Construction's chief financial officer, Frank Schneider, was named team president in representing the ownership group in team dealings.[3] The team name was determined through a contest and announced on July 29.[4] On August 23, the team announced that they would play their home games at Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex, unveiled their new uniforms, named Serge Langis as their first coach, and announced their first player signings.[5]

In the first game of their first season, the Titans lost to the Orangeville A's 110–105 at home. The team finished their season with 18 wins and 22 losses, finishing third in the Central Division. The team qualified for the playoffs but lost all three games in the first round to the Windsor Express.[6]

The team opened their second season on November 18, 2017, against the Windsor Express with Serge Langis returning as the head coach.[7] However, Langis was released during the season after a 5–22 record and replaced by former Titans' player Cavell Johnson.[8]

The 2019–2020 season was curtailed before the postseason due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the following season was cancelled entirely. Before the 2021–22 season, head coach Johnson resigned from his coaching positions with the team to due to other commitments.[9] There was no season in 2020-2021 due to the ongoing pandemic lockdowns.

The 2021-2022 season finally got off the ground in February 2022 after another provincial COVID-19 Lockdown. This the best season in franchise history finishing with a .500 regular season winning percentage, the team went all the way to the NBLC Finals, ultimately losing to the London Lightning. Mel Kobe was hired as VP of Basketball Operations & General Manager and former Windsor Express assistant coach Neal Foreman as Head Coach and Director of Player Personnel.[10][11]

All-star Weekend returned with the NBLC Allstars taking on The Basketball League (TBL) Allstars.

3 Titans were named to the NBLC team roster:

  • Eric Ferguson - Also competed in 3pt competition
  • Joel Kindred
  • Chad Frazier

8 KW athletes were nominated for regular season individual awards. 4 of them came away with hardware.

Individual Award Nominees & Winners - 2022
Award Name KW Nominees Winner Reference
Newcomer of the Year Eric Ferguson, Ron Artest III Jeremey Harris (Sudbury 5) [12]
Rookie of the Year Shakwon Barrett Shakwon Barrett [13]
Most Improved Player of the Year Joel Kindred, Jesse Jones Joel Kindred [14]
6th Man of the Year Darnell Landon Terry Thomas (London Lightning) [15]
Defensive Player of the Year Ty Walker, Joel Kindred Ty Walker [16]
Canadian Player of the Year Darnell Landon, Juwan Miller Terry Thomas (London Lightning) [17]
Most Valuable Player Eric Ferguson, Joel Kindred Joel Kindred [18]

Season-by-season record

Season Coach Regular season Post season
Won Lost Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
2016–17 Serge Langis 18 22 .450 3rd 0 3 .000 Lost in Division Semifinals
2017–18 Serge Langis
Cavell Johnson		 8 32 .200 5th Did not qualify
2018–19 Cavell Johnson 19 21 .475 4th 5 6 .455 Lost in Division Finals
2019–20 Cavell Johnson 9 16 .360 Season curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic
2021–22 Neal Foreman 12 12 .500 2nd 3 4 .429 Lost in League Finals
Totals 66 103 .391 — 8 13 .381

Current roster

KW Titans roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age
F 0 United States Ferguson, Eric 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 34 – (1989-10-04)4 October 1989
PG 2 United States Frazier, Chad 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 32 – (1992-08-22)22 August 1992
PG 3 United States Jones, Jesse 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 29 – (1995-01-01)1 January 1995
C 7 United States Walker, Ty 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 35 – (1989-08-07)7 August 1989
PG 8 Canada Miller, Juwan 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 29 – (1995-05-12)12 May 1995
G 9 Canada Barrett, Shakwon 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 27 – (1997-08-01)1 August 1997
G 10 Canada Tate, Tyrrel 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 32 – (1992-02-12)12 February 1992
G 11 Canada Landon, Darnell 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 31 – (1993-01-01)1 January 1993
G 12 United States Kindred, Joel 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 197 lb (89 kg) 32 – (1992-01-07)7 January 1992
F 21 Canada Craig, Jabari 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 29 – (1995-08-08)8 August 1995
F 23 United States Artest III, Ron 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 25 – (1999-04-30)30 April 1999
C 33 Canada Neufeld, Matt 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (110 kg) 28 – (1996-04-18)18 April 1996
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Cliff Clinkscales, Mike Quigley, Christine Hyde, Dwayne Marshall

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured Injured

References

  1. ^ "New National Basketball League of Canada team to be dubbed KW Titans". The London Free Press. July 29, 2016.
  2. ^ "NBLC Announces Newest Franchise for the Waterloo Region". OurSports Central. June 28, 2016.
  3. ^ "NBL Canada's Newest Franchise Announces Team Name". NBL Canada. July 29, 2016.
  4. ^ "K-W's new basketball team named the Titans". The Record. July 29, 2016.
  5. ^ "Titans announce coach, player and unveil pro hoop team's uniforms". The Record. August 23, 2016.
  6. ^ "2016-2017". www.nblcanada.com. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  7. ^ "schedule - KW Titans". www.kwtitans.com. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  8. ^ "KW TITANS RELEASE HEAD COACH SERGE LANGIS". KWTitans.com. February 25, 2018.
  9. ^ "Johnson to Change Roles with Titans". OurSports Central. November 16, 2021.
  10. ^ "KW Titans Crew Has a New Foreman". kwtitans.com. November 29, 2021.
  11. ^ "Titans Welcome Kobe". kwtitans.com. November 12, 2021.
  12. ^ "Jeremy Harris Named NBLC Newcomer of the Year". NBLCanada.ca. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  13. ^ "Shakwon Barrett Named NBLC Rookie of the Year". NBLCanada.ca. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  14. ^ "Joel Kindred Named NBLC Most Improved Player". NBLCanada.ca. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  15. ^ "Terry Thomas Named NBLC 6th Man of the Year". NBLCanada.ca. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  16. ^ "Tyran Walker Named NBLC Defensive Player of the Year". NBLCanada.ca. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  17. ^ "Terry Thomas Named NBLC Canadian Player of the Year". NBLCanada.ca. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  18. ^ "Joel Kindred Named NBLC Most Valuable Player". NBLCanada.ca. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
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