South Dragons
Encyclopedia
The South Dragons is a former team in the Australasian
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...

 National Basketball League
National Basketball League (Australasia)
The National Basketball League, also known as the iiNet NBL Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in Australasia....

 (NBL). They made their début in the 2006/07 season and played their final season in 2008/09. The club was based at MSAC in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

's inner south-eastern suburbs, and was one of the city's two NBL teams; the other was the Melbourne Tigers
Melbourne Tigers
The Melbourne Tigers are Australia's oldest and most respected basketball team, established circa 1931 in a local church hall League. Entering the National Basketball League in 1984, they are now the only Melbourne team, after the South Dragons withdrew from the league.The Melbourne Tigers are the...

, which entered the league in 1984.

History

On 13 October 2005, Mark Cowan, a graphic designer and owner of Cowan Basketball, and Raphael Geminder, chairman of Visy Industries
Visy Industries
Visy Industries was established in Melbourne, Australia in 1948 and is headquartered at Level 11, 2 Southbank Boulevard,Melbourne, Australia. It has grown to become one of the world’s largest privately-owned paper recycling and packaging companies. In 2003, Visy employed more than 8000 people...

, bought the license of the former Victoria Giants/Titans
Victoria Titans
The Victoria Titans were an Australian basketball team, that played in Melbourne, Victoria, in the National Basketball League. The team was the result of a merger of two Melbourne clubs for the inaugural NBL summer season of 1998/99...

 NBL franchise to establish a new NBL team in Melbourne. Cowan is the Dragons' majority owner with 51% control, with Geminder owning the remaining 49%. The team's name and uniforms were not announced until 15 December 2005, and until that time the Cowan Basketball website left a message "UNLEASHED 15.12.2005" as the only details on the team.

The Dragons entered the NBL in the 2006-07 season as the 12th franchise, and promised to look to fill its roster with young Australian basketballers returning home after playing NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 college basketball in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

The Dragons hired former NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

 All-Star Mark Price
Mark Price
William Mark Price is a retired American basketball player who played for 12 seasons in the NBA, from 1986 to 1998...

 as their inaugural head coach on 1 March 2006. Price is arguably the biggest name to play a major role in any Australian basketball club. His appointment was announced one day after the Melbourne Tigers had won the 2005-06 NBL Championship. The team also hired various other front-office staff with extensive basketball experience, including former WNBA
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...

 player and Australian team
Australia women's national basketball team
The Australia Women's National Basketball Team is the women's National Basketball team for Australia. They won Gold at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games 2006 defeating New Zealand's Tall Ferns in the final match with a score of 77–39. They then followed it up with a gold medal at the 2006 FIBA...

 captain Michele Timms
Michele Timms
Michele Margaret Timms is a retired Australian professional basketball player who played for the Phoenix Mercury in the Women's National Basketball Association...

 as basketball development officer.

The team played its first NBL championship season game on 26 September 2006 against the New Zealand Breakers
New Zealand Breakers
The New Zealand Breakers are a professional basketball team competing in the Australasian National Basketball League. The Breakers joined the NBL for the 2003/04 season as one of two expansion clubs. The club is based in the city of Auckland, New Zealand and play their home games at the North...

 at the North Shore Events Centre
North Shore Events Centre
North Shore Events Centre is an indoor arena, located in Auckland, New Zealand. The arena opened in 1992 and has a capacity of 4,500 people.The Centre primarily hosts basketball games and is the home arena of the New Zealand Breakers who play in the Australasian NBL. It also hosts concerts and...

 in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, losing 112 to 106.

Price resigned his position on 22 October 2006 after the Dragons lost their first five NBL championship season games, citing family reasons; he was replaced by Shane Heal
Shane Heal
Shane Douglas Heal is a retired Australia professional basketball player who last played with the Gold Coast Blaze of the National Basketball League, retiring at the end of the 2008/09 season. During his early years as a player, Heal played for the Brisbane Bullets and the Geelong Supercats...

, who was appointed as captain and interim coach for the remainder of the season, The following day Price spoke to the media and claimed that Heal had undermined his position, stating, "I've been in professional basketball a long time and I've never seen undermining of a coach quite like this before."

The team won its first NBL game on 29 October 2006 against the Cairns Taipans
Cairns Taipans
The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team competing in the Australasian National Basketball League. The club is based in the northern Queensland city of Cairns. The Taipans, named after a species of venomous snake native to Australia, entered the NBL in the 1999/2000 season...

 96-86, having lost its first six games.

On Boxing Day
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...

, 2006, the South Dragons claimed a memorable victory over their cross-town rivals, the Melbourne Tigers
Melbourne Tigers
The Melbourne Tigers are Australia's oldest and most respected basketball team, established circa 1931 in a local church hall League. Entering the National Basketball League in 1984, they are now the only Melbourne team, after the South Dragons withdrew from the league.The Melbourne Tigers are the...

 107-94, leaving its mark on this newly formed rivalry in front of 9175 fans at Vodafone Arena
Vodafone Arena
Hisense Arena is a sports venue that is part of the Melbourne Park complex, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The current arena's name was purchased in July of 2008.-History:...

.

After finishing their first ever season with a 15-18 record, the Dragons reached the knockout phase of the playoffs - losing to Cairns 97-118 on 15 February 2007 at the Cairns Convention Centre.

The team's season 2007/2008 campaign began on 22 September 2007 against the West Sydney Razorbacks at Vodafone Arena with a 116-106 loss. It was a turbulent season for the club, ending with the clubs chairman Mark Cowan stepping down and the sacking of star player/coach Shane Heal
Shane Heal
Shane Douglas Heal is a retired Australia professional basketball player who last played with the Gold Coast Blaze of the National Basketball League, retiring at the end of the 2008/09 season. During his early years as a player, Heal played for the Brisbane Bullets and the Geelong Supercats...

. This came after the team once again started the season with six straight losses, prompting the sacking of import Nick Horvath, who was replaced by American Bakari Hendrix. Initially the move looked to have paid dividends as the Dragons claimed their first win of the season on 28 October at home to New Zealand. However, wins once again dried-up, with only another 3 coming in the remainder of the 2007 calendar year. On 9 January 2008, with the team sitting on the bottom of the ladder at 4-17, assistant coach Michele Timms resigned from the club, citing overseas job opportunities as the reason behind her sudden departure. Timms wouldn't be the only coach to go, as the club announced on 1 February 2008 that player-coach Shane Heal had been sacked, effective immediately. The last coach remaining at the Dragons- Guy Molloy- took over as interim coach for the final four games of the season, and took just two games to secure an elusive victory and snap a 14 game losing streak with a 95-90 win over Cairns at Vodafone Arena on 6 February. Despite returning to the winners list and showing greater energy and competitiveness under Molloy, the Dragons finished the season on the bottom of the ladder with a 5-25 record. On 1 April 2008, Brian Goorjian
Brian Goorjian
Brian Goorjian is an American-Australian basketball coach. He is the most successful coach in Australian basketball history...

 was signed as head coach on a 3 year deal.

Recruiting process for first season

At the team's 15 December launch, Cowan said, "If you're Victorian and you're in college
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....

 and coming home, you're on our list." It was believed the team was looking to sign Luke Schenscher
Luke Schenscher
Luke Dean Schenscher is an Australian professional basketball player for the Townsville Crocodiles in the Australasian National Basketball League.-School/College career:...

 – a member of the 2004 Georgia Tech
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...

 team which went to the NCAA championship game
2004 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 2004 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 2004, and ended with the championship game on April 5 at the Alamodome in San Antonio,...

 against the University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...

, and at the time an NBA Development League
NBA Development League
The NBA Development League, or NBA D-League, is the National Basketball Association's official minor league basketball organization. Known until summer 2005 as the National Basketball Development League , the NBA D-League started with eight teams in the fall of 2001...

 player – as its first marquee player.

On 3 March 2006, it was reported by Melbourne's Herald Sun
Herald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...

newspaper that former Australian star Shane Heal
Shane Heal
Shane Douglas Heal is a retired Australia professional basketball player who last played with the Gold Coast Blaze of the National Basketball League, retiring at the end of the 2008/09 season. During his early years as a player, Heal played for the Brisbane Bullets and the Geelong Supercats...

 was considering coming out of retirement to captain the Dragons for the 2006-07 NBL season, and is involved in contract negotiations with the team. He officially signed with the team on 6 April as the Dragons' inaugural captain.

On 17 March 2006, 18-year-old Australian Institute of Sport
Australian Institute of Sport
The Australian Institute of Sport is a sports training institution in Australia with world class facilities and support services. The Institute's headquarters is situated in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The 66.0 hectare site campus is in the northern suburb of Bruce, but some of the...

 graduate Joe Ingles
Joe Ingles
Joe Ingles is an Australian professional basketball player, currently with Regal FC Barcelona. Joe is in a relationship with Australian Diamonds and Melbourne Vixens netball player, Renae Hallinan. On 17 March 2006, he became the first player to sign with the South Dragons National Basketball...

 became the team's first signed player. The Dragons were unable to sign Schenscher because the Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...

 called him up to fill a roster vacancy earlier that month.

2008–09 – "Our Time Is Now"

After a disastrous 2007–08 NBL season, in which the team only won a handful of games, the Dragons looked set to try to rebuild quickly. Captain-Coach Shane Heal
Shane Heal
Shane Douglas Heal is a retired Australia professional basketball player who last played with the Gold Coast Blaze of the National Basketball League, retiring at the end of the 2008/09 season. During his early years as a player, Heal played for the Brisbane Bullets and the Geelong Supercats...

 was sacked along with multiple players. The Dragons signed on former Sydney Kings
Sydney Kings
The Sydney Kings are a professional basketball team competing in the Australasian National Basketball League. They are the only team to date to win three consecutive championships in the NBL and currently sit third behind the Adelaide 36ers and Melbourne Tigers two away from the record five wins...

 coach Brian Goorjian
Brian Goorjian
Brian Goorjian is an American-Australian basketball coach. He is the most successful coach in Australian basketball history...

 as their head coach. From there the Dragons signed on Nick Horvath
Nick Horvath
Nick Horvath is a naturalised New Zealand professional basketball player, originally from the United States, currently playing for the NZL NBL team Manawatu Jets....

 as their starting centre, Mika Vukona
Mika Vukona
Mika Vukona is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Australasian National Basketball League's New Zealand Breakers and for the New Zealand Tall Blacks...

 from the New Zealand Breakers
New Zealand Breakers
The New Zealand Breakers are a professional basketball team competing in the Australasian National Basketball League. The Breakers joined the NBL for the 2003/04 season as one of two expansion clubs. The club is based in the city of Auckland, New Zealand and play their home games at the North...

, former Sydney Kings player Mark Worthington
Mark Worthington
Mark Worthington is an Australian professional basketball player. He was named the NBL rookie of the year in 2006 and won gold with the Australian basketball team at the 2006 Commonwealth Games....

, former Brisbane Bullets point guard Adam Gibson, and former West Sydney Razorbacks
West Sydney Razorbacks
The Sydney Spirit were a professional basketball team competing in the Australasian National Basketball League...

 point guard Rhys Carter
Rhys Carter
Rhys Carter is an Australian professional basketball player. In 2011 he will play for Uppsala Basket in the Swedish Basketball League after spending the 2010-11 NBL season with the Adelaide 36ers.-Professional career:...

. The team were believed to have signed star NBL
National Basketball League (Australasia)
The National Basketball League, also known as the iiNet NBL Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in Australasia....

 player Ebi Ere
Ebi Ere
Ebi Ere is a US-born Nigerian professional basketball player. He plays shooting guard for the Obradoiro CAB, in the Spanish Liga ACB. He previously played for the Sydney Kings, also of the NBL. Ere won the grand final 2007 with the Brisbane Bullets...

 but he decided to sign on with the Dragons' crosstown rivals the Melbourne Tigers
Melbourne Tigers
The Melbourne Tigers are Australia's oldest and most respected basketball team, established circa 1931 in a local church hall League. Entering the National Basketball League in 1984, they are now the only Melbourne team, after the South Dragons withdrew from the league.The Melbourne Tigers are the...

. Instead the Dragons signed on high-flying American Tremmell Darden
Tremmell Darden
Tremmell Darden is an American professional basketball player, who now competes in the Euroleague overseas.- Career :* 2000-04: Niagara Purple Eagles * 2004-05: Erdemispor Belediyesi...

 as their second import alongside Cortez Groves
Cortez Groves
Cortez Groves is an American professional basketball player who has previously played in the now defunct International Basketball Association and the NBL in Australia....

.

The team started the season with a 6-point loss to the Cairns Taipans
Cairns Taipans
The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team competing in the Australasian National Basketball League. The club is based in the northern Queensland city of Cairns. The Taipans, named after a species of venomous snake native to Australia, entered the NBL in the 1999/2000 season...

. The Dragons rebounded by beating the Perth Wildcats
Perth Wildcats
The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League. The Wildcats are the only team in the league representing the state of Western Australia and are based in the state capital, Perth...

 twice. Next the Dragons lost a close match against the Townsville Crocodiles
Townsville Crocodiles
The Townsville Crocodiles are a professional Australian basketball team based in Townsville, Queensland. They compete in the National Basketball League...

. After this coach Brian Goodjian blasted his team for their slow start, in which the team trailed by as much as 20 points in the first half. After this the Dragons rebuilt by beating the Gold Coast Blaze
Gold Coast Blaze
The Gold Coast Blaze is an Australian professional basketball team which competes in the National Basketball League . The Blaze competed in their inaugural season in 2007/08. The club is based on the Gold Coast and joins two other NBL clubs competing from Queensland...

 by 17 points, the Wollongong Hawks
Wollongong Hawks
The Wollongong Hawks are a team competing in Australia's National Basketball League , 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...

 by 19 points and the Sydney Spirit by 5 points. Next up for the Dragons was the local derby against the Tigers. 9308 fans and spectators packed into the Dragons' home court of Hisense Arena. The contest was close early but a strong finish to the first quarter and strong defensive pressure saw the Dragons crush the Tigers 108–80, making it the biggest winning margin for the club in their history. The win saw the Dragons take top spot on the ladder. After the win coach Brian Goorjian commented that The Dragons' time is now. The Dragons followed this up with their fifth straight win against the Cairns Taipans
Cairns Taipans
The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team competing in the Australasian National Basketball League. The club is based in the northern Queensland city of Cairns. The Taipans, named after a species of venomous snake native to Australia, entered the NBL in the 1999/2000 season...

. The Dragons dominated the contest from the start and led by as much as 37 points before eventually winning by 29 points. A neck injury which sidelined crowd favourite Cortez groves saw the Dragons move on quickly, releasing Groves and signing Donta Smith. Smith bought a level the NBL has been missing and was an important key to the success to come. The Dragons finished the regular season in top spot on the ladder and had home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. The home-court advantage was crucial as they went on to win the championship by defeating Townsville 2–1 in the Semi Final and Melbourne 3-2 in the Grand Final series.

The New NBL

The Dragons elected to not participate in the New NBL, ensuring that their three years in the competition would be one of the shortest in Australian Professional Basketball History.

A website has been started www.saveourdragons.com in a last bid by the community to relaunch the Dragons in time for the 11/12 season. This website is now dead as the maintainer and the community gave up hope. Another website www.byeourdragons.com.au will be set up in January 2012 by some members of the community.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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