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Illawarra Hawks

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by DaHuzyBru (talk | contribs) at 13:46, 12 October 2018 (→‎Current roster: +Pozoglou per https://www.fibalivestats.com/u/NBL/898692/bs.html). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Illawarra Hawks
Illawarra Hawks logo
LeaguesNBL
Founded1979
HistoryIllawarra Hawks
1979–1998, 2015–present
Wollongong Hawks
1998–2015
ArenaWIN Entertainment Centre
LocationWollongong, New South Wales
Team colorsRed and white
   
General managerMat Campbell
Head coachRob Beveridge
Team captainKevin White
OwnershipSimon Stratford
Championships1 (2001)
Retired numbers5 (4, 5, 12, 32, 33)
WebsiteHawks.com.au

The Illawarra Hawks are an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at WIN Entertainment Centre, known colloquially as "The Sandpit".[1] The Hawks are the only remaining NBL team to have competed in every season since the league's inception in 1979. The team won their first and so far only NBL Championship in 2001 and finished as runners-up in 2005, 2010 and 2017.

History

The Illawarra Hawks began as a team in the New South Wales Men's Division 1 championship[2] before joining the National Basketball League (NBL) for its inaugural season in 1979. The Hawks played out of Beaton Park Stadium, commonly known as "The Snakepit". In 1981, import Mike Jones was named NBL Most Valuable Player. In 1987, the Hawks had their best season to date, finishing in third place with a 20–6 record. In 1998, the team was renamed the Wollongong Hawks and moved into WIN Entertainment Centre.

The 2000/01 season marked history for the Hawks as they won their maiden NBL Championship. Prior to the start of the season, coach Brendan Joyce changed almost half his roster, adding Charles Thomas, Damon Lowery, Grant Kruger, Matt Shanahan and Axel Dench. After finishing the regular season in fourth with a club-best 21 wins from 28 games, Wollongong upset Perth in the first round of the post-season before conquering Adelaide when Lowery sunk three free throws with no time on the clock in game three of the semi-final series.[3] The Hawks went on to beat Townsville 2–1 in the grand final to capture the team's only title.[4]

The Hawks returned to the NBL Grand Final in 2004/05, where they lost to the Sydney Kings. In 2009/10, they made their third appearance in the grand final series, this time coming up short to the Perth Wildcats. In 2010/11, import Gary Ervin was named MVP of the league, becoming the first Hawk to win the award since Mike Jones in 1981. In 2013/14, import Rotnei Clarke was named MVP of the league, becoming the third Hawk to win the award.

In February 2009, captain Mat Campbell started the "Save the Hawks" campaign after the ownership group declared the team would not be able to join revamped league in 2009/10 on financial grounds. Campbell and his small team reached their goal, thanks to the commitment of the Illawarra community, naming rights sponsor ahm Health Insurance, and a bank guarantee provided by Indian mining magnate Mr. Arun Jagatramka from Gujarat NRE. A not-for-profit community-based company formed as Wollongong Hawks Basketball Limited is established to operate the Hawks into the future.

In July 2014, a new era was ushered in by the Hawks after Telecommunications entrepreneur James Spenceley was successful in his bid to become the organisation's new owner.[5] However, following a dismal 2014/15 season, the organisation was dealt a substantial off-court blow with Wollongong Coal withdrawing their major sponsorship 1½ years into a five-year contract. The Hawks subsequently decided to place themselves into Voluntary Administration on 2 March 2015.[6][7] On 25 March 2015, the Hawks secured Multi Civil and Rail as their major sponsor, as the company committed to a one-year deal.[8]

On 22 June 2015, the organisation announced that the team would revert to its original name, the Illawarra Hawks, to better reflect not only the city of Wollongong, but also the surrounding area including the city of Shellharbour, the town of Kiama and the Wingecarribee Shire.[9][10]

Following long-time coach Gordie McLeod's departure, Rob Beveridge was signed as head coach for the 2015/16 season. He nabbed the trio of New Zealand sharp shooter Kirk Penney, big man AJ Ogilvy, and US point guard Kevin Lisch. The trio were dubbed "the three-headed monster",[11] but they were unsuccessful in leading the Hawks to a championship, falling short in the semi-finals. Lisch was named MVP of the league, becoming the fourth Hawk to win the award.

With Lisch and Penney departing after one season, the Hawks reacquired the serves of Rotnei Clarke for the 2016/17 season. He helped them reach the NBL Grand Final for the first time since 2010, where they were defeated 3–0 by the Perth Wildcats.

Name, logo and uniforms

The team's colours are red and white. The logo consists of a red hawk with smaller text "Illawarra" centered above the larger text of "Hawks". The Hawk is holding a basketball in its talons. Predominately red uniforms are used for home games, and predominately white uniforms for away games.

Home arenas

The Illawarra Hawks play their home games at WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong. WIN Entertainment Centre opened in September 1998 with a concert by Bob Dylan and Patti Smith. It holds a capacity of 6,000 seats when in full basketball format. The Illawarra Hawks are the only full-time tenants at the arena. The Hawks have been playing at the arena since the 1998–99 NBL season.

Prior to this season, the Hawks played out of the 2,000 seat Beaton Park Stadium (also known as the Illawarra Basketball Stadium) for twenty seasons starting from the club's inception in 1979. One story that evolved around the NBL during the 1980s was that the Illawarra Steelers rugby league team would sit behind the opposition bench during Hawks home games at Beaton Park in a bid to intimidate the opposing team. The Hawks continue to use the stadium as a training facility and also play some pre-season games there.

The Hawks record home attendance of 5,839 was set on 18 February 2005 against the Sydney Kings at the WIN Entertainment Centre during Round 21 of the 2004–05 NBL season.

Players

Retired jerseys

Illawarra Hawks retired numbers
No. Player Position Seasons
4 Chuck Harmison F/C 1988–1996
5 Gordie McLeod G 1979–1982, 1984–1988
12 Glen Saville G/F 1995–2007, 2008–2013
32 Mat Campbell G/F 1996–2012
33 Melvin Thomas F 1992–1995, 1999–2003

Source: Retired Numbers

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Illawarra Hawks roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt.
F 0 Australia Pozoglou, Nic (DP) 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
G 2 United States Jett, Jordair (I) 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 98 kg (216 lb)
G 3 Australia White, Kevin (C) 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) 90 kg (198 lb)
C 6 Australia Ogilvy, Andrew 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) 115 kg (254 lb)
G 9 United States Jackson, Cedric (I) 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 95 kg (209 lb)
G/F 11 Australia Grida, Daniel 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 88 kg (194 lb)
F/C 13 Australia Andersen, David 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) 113 kg (249 lb)
F 14 United States Conklin, Brian (I) 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 105 kg (231 lb)
G 20 Australia Nelson, Marshall 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
G/F 21 Australia Blanchfield, Todd 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 94 kg (207 lb)
F 22 Australia Coenraad, Tim 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) 97 kg (214 lb)
G 41 Australia Naar, Emmett 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 88 kg (194 lb)
Head coach
  • Australia Rob Beveridge
Assistant coach(es)
  • United States Eric Cooks
  • Australia Matt Flinn
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Development player
  • (I) Import player
  • (NS) Next Star player
  • Injured Injured
Updated: 12 October 2018

Coaches

There have been ten different head coaches for the Hawks during their history. Charlie Ammit was the first coach of the Hawks to take the team to a finals series when his side finished fourth in the regular season with a 13-11 record. Brendan Joyce was the first coach to both win the Championship (in 2000–01) and claim runners-up (in 2004–05). He was also the first coach to claim runners-up in the regular season (in 2003–04). Both Joyce (2004–05) and Gordie McLeod (2009–10) have the unfortunate honour of claiming the runners-up prize in both the regular season and finals series in the same year. Eric Cooks became the first captain of the club (1999–00) to also become a coach (2006–2009). McLeod is the only other captain (1980–1982 and 1984–1988) to have accomplished this when took over from Cooks in 2009.

Season by season

Illawarra Hawks season summary
Season Results Finals Coach Captain Club MVP[12]
1979
8th (5-13)
–
Joe Farrugia
Bob Kubbinga
Not awarded
1980 6th (13–9) – Dr. 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 Norman Taylor
1990 8th (13–13) – Norman Taylor
1991 13th (6–20) – Norman Taylor
1992 5th (13–11) Quarter Finalists Doug Overton
1993 6th (15–11) Quarter Finalists Alan Black Melvin Thomas
1994 8th (13–13) Quarter Finalists Melvin Thomas
1995 7th (14–12) Quarter Finalists Melvin Thomas
1996 10th (9–17) –
Brendan Joyce
Terry Johnson
1997 11th (7–23) – Matt Zauner Clayton Ritter
1998 6th (14–16) Elimination Finalists Clayton Ritter Clayton Ritter
1998–99 3rd (16–10) Semi Finalists C. J. Bruton
1999–00 8th (11–17) – Eric Cooks Glen Saville & Melvin Thomas
2000–01 4th (21–7) Champions
Mat Campbell &
Glen Saville
Glen Saville
2001–02 4th (16–14) First Round Glen Saville
2002–03 4th (18–12) Semi Finalists Glen Saville
2003–04 2nd (28–8) Semi Finalists
Mat Campbell
Glen Saville
2004–05 2nd (20–12) Grand Finalists Glen Saville
2005–06 3rd (19–13) Quarter Finalists Rotating Captaincy Cortez Groves
2006–07 10th (11–12) –
Brendan Joyce, Eric Cooks
Glen Saville
Adam Ballinger
2007–08 11th (9–21) –
Eric Cooks
Mat Campbell
Kavossy Franklin
2008–09 7th (9–19) – Glen Saville
2009–10 2nd (16-12) Grand Finalists
Gordie McLeod
Larry Davidson
2010–11 5th (15–13) – Gary Ervin
2011–12 8th (9–19) – Oscar Forman
2012–13 3rd (13–15) Semi Finalists
Oscar Forman
 Adris Deleon
2013–14 4th (13–15) Semi Finalists Rotnei Clarke
2014–15 8th (6–22) – Tim Coenraad[13]
2015–16 3rd (17–11) Semi Finalists Rob Beveridge Kevin Lisch
2016–17 4th (15–13) Grand Finalists Rotnei Clarke
2017–18 5th (12–16) — Kevin White Demitrius Conger

Source:[1]

Trophies and awards

Trophies

Championships (1): 2001
Grand Final Appearances (4): 2001, 2005, 2010, 2017
Finals Appearances (20): 1984, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17

Awards

NBL MVP

NBL Grand Final MVP

NBL Coach of the Year Award

NBL Rookie of the Year Award

NBL Best Defensive Player Award

NBL Most Improved Player Award

NBL Best Sixth Man Award

All-NBL team

Source: NBL AWARD WINNERS

Records and statistics

All-time records
Most games 527 Glen Saville[14]
Most points 6865 Glen Saville
Most rebounds 4041 Glen Saville
Most assists 1847 Glen Saville
Most steals 776 Glen Saville
Most blocks 423 Glen Saville
Most field goals 2511 Glen Saville
Most 3-pointers 1049 Mat Campbell
Most free throws 1163 Glen Saville
Game records
Most points in a game 54 Norman Taylor, 18 May 1990
Most 3-pointers made in a game 10 Charles Thomas, 29 December 2001
Most assists in a game 18 Gordie McLeod, twice
Most blocks in a game 7 3 players
Most steals in a game 9 Elliot Hatcher, 13 March 1998
Most rebounds in a game 23 Ray Borner, 9 May 1987
Source: andthefoul.net

References

  1. ^ a b "Season by Season". HawksHistory.com.au. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  2. ^ "FLASHBACK 4: August, 1977, ABM". botinagy.com. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  3. ^ Barrow, Tim (24 February 2016). "Lowery believes in Hawks' title destiny". illawarramercury.com.au. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  4. ^ "2000/01 - Wollongong Hawks : NBL Champions". hawkshistory.com.au. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  5. ^ Hawks under new Ownership
  6. ^ Hawks Announcement
  7. ^ Wollongong Hawks Announcement
  8. ^ Wollongong Hawks land new sponsor
  9. ^ Hawks revert to original Illawarra moniker
  10. ^ We're the Illawarra Hawks and we're flying to the top #FlyYouHawks
  11. ^ Illawarra Hawks on how they got their wings back
  12. ^ "Hawks MVP/Honour Roll". hawks.com.au. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  13. ^ Tim Keeble (26 February 2015). "Coenraad rewarded with MVP for Hawks". Illawarra Mercury. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  14. ^ Glen Saville announces his retirement from the National Basketball League
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