Wollongong Hawks
Encyclopedia
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.
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.
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.
Source:
Source: www.hawks.com.au
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), based in the New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
city of Wollongong. They won the NBL championship in 2001 and finished as runners-up in 2005 and 2010
2009–10 NBL season
The 2009–10 National Basketball League was the thirty-second season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 8 teams contested the league. The regular season was played between 24 September 2009 and 14 February 2010, followed by a post-season involving the top four teams...
. The team's home venue is the Wollongong Entertainment Centre (WEC), known as "The Sandpit" within the NBL.
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 regionIllawarra
Illawarra is a region in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is a coastal region situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the Shoalhaven or South Coast region. It encompasses the cities of Wollongong, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven and the town of Kiama. The central region contains Lake...
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
Gwynneville, New South Wales
Gwynneville is an inner city suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia located approximately 2 km north west of the city centre.It was originally named Gwynne Ville after the Gwynne family who owned the property. It was sold it two large lots, both of which were subdivided...
(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
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
of the American NFL.
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
Medibank Private
Medibank is an Australian government-owned private health insurer, established under the Fraser government in 1976 through the Health Insurance Commission . It is Australia's largest health insurance provider with 3.6 million members under two brands, and the only health insurer present in every...
Australian Health Management and a bank guarantee provided by Indian mining magnate Mr. Arun Jagatramka from Gujarat NRE.
Season by Season
| Season | Results | Finals | Coach | Captain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 6th (13-9) | - | Adrian Hurley | |
| 1981 | 8th (9-13) | - | Joe Farrugia | |
| 1982 | 9th (11-15) | - | Tom Pottenger | |
| 1983 | 7th (4-18) | - | |
Mike Jones |
| 1984 | 4th (13-11) | Elimination Finalist | |
|
| 1985 | 5th (10-16) | - | Ted Weston | |
| 1986 | 5th (15-11) | Semi Finalist | |
|
| 1987 | 3rd (20-6) | Semi Finalist | ||
| 1988 | 7th (11-13) | - | ||
| 1989 | 11th (7-11) | - | |
|
| 1990 | 8th (13-13) | - | ||
| 1991 | 13th (6-20) | - | ||
| 1992 | 5th (13-11) | Quarter Finalists | ||
| 1993 | 6th (15-11) | Quarter Finalists | |
|
| 1994 | 8th (13-13) | Quarter Finalists | ||
| 1995 | 7th (14-12) | Quarter Finalists | ||
| 1996 | 10th (9-17) | - | |
|
| 1997 | 11th (7-23) | - | Matt Zauner | |
| 1998 | 6th (14-16) | Elimination Finalists | |
|
| 1998/99 | 3rd (16-10) | Semi Finalists | ||
| 1999/00 | 8th (11-17) | - | Eric Cooks | |
| 2000/01 | 4th (21-7) | Champions | Mat Campbell Mat Campbell is an Australian professional basketball player, currently playing for the Wollongong Hawks as captain and shooting guard in the National Basketball League in Australia.-Club career:... & Glen Saville Glen Saville Glen Saville is an Australian professional basketball player, currently playing for the Wollongong Hawks in the Australasian National Basketball League.-Club Career:... |
|
| 2001/02 2001-02 NBL Season Here are the results and statistics from the National Basketball League season of 2000-2001.-End of Season Ladder:This is the ladder at the end of season, before the finals. In all, 154 games were played, 28 for each team. The top 6 teams qualified for the finals series.-First Round:1st played... |
4th (16-14) | First Round | ||
| 2002/03 2002-03 NBL Season The 2002-03 National Basketball League is the 25th season of professional basketball in Australia.... |
4th (18-12) | Semi Finalists | ||
| 2003/04 2003-04 NBL Season Here are the results and statistics from the National Basketball League season of 2003-2004.-End of Season Ladder:This is the ladder at the end of season, before the finals. In all, 198 games were played, 33 for each team... |
2nd (28-8) | Semi Finalists | |
|
| 2004/05 2004-05 NBL Season Here are the results and statistics from the National Basketball League season of 2004-2005.-End of Season Ladder:This is the ladder at the end of season, before the finals. In all, 176 games were played, 32 for each team... |
2nd (20-12) | Grand Finalists | ||
| 2005/06 2005-06 NBL Season Here are the results and statistics from the National Basketball League season of 2005-2006.-End of Season Ladder:This is the ladder at the end of season, before the finals. In all, 176 games were played, 32 for each team. The top 8 teams qualified for the finals series.KeyThe quarter finals were... |
3rd (19-13) | Quarter Finalists | Rotating Captaincy | |
| 2006/07 2006-07 NBL Season The 2006-07 National Basketball League is the 29th season of professional basketball in Australia. For the first time, a team was established from outside the Australasian area, with the Singapore Slingers taking over the licence of the Hunter Pirates... |
10th (11-12) | - | |
|
| 2007/08 2007-08 NBL Season 2007-08 is the 30th NBL season.On 21 November 2006, the NBL announced that Gold Coast Blaze will join the league, expanding it to 13 teams.-2007-08 league participants:-Pre-season Transactions:... |
11th (9-21) | - | |
|
| 2008/09 2008-09 NBL Season -2008-09 league participants:* On 30 June 2008 the Brisbane Bullets confirmed they would be handing back the team's license to the NBL. The NBL confirmed there will be no Brisbane team participating in the 2008/09 season.... |
7th (9-19) | - | ||
| 2009/10 | 2nd (16-12) | Grand Finalists | |
|
| 2010/11 | 5th (15-13) | - | ||
| 2011/12 | - | - |
Source:
Retired Jerseys
- #4 Chuck Harmison
- #5 Gordie McLeod
- #12 Glen SavilleGlen SavilleGlen Saville is an Australian professional basketball player, currently playing for the Wollongong Hawks in the Australasian National Basketball League.-Club Career:...
- #32 Mat CampbellMat CampbellMat Campbell is an Australian professional basketball player, currently playing for the Wollongong Hawks as captain and shooting guard in the National Basketball League in Australia.-Club career:...
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) |
Club MVP
- 1989 Norman Taylor
- 1990 Norman Taylor
- 1991 Norman Taylor
- 1992 Doug Overton
- 1993 Melvin Thomas
- 1994 Melvin Thomas
- 1995 Melvin Thomas
- 1996 Terry Johnson
- 1997 Clayton Ritter
- 1998 Clayton Ritter
- 1999 CJ Bruton
- 2000 Glen Saville & Melvin Thomas
- 2001 Glen Saville
- 2002 Melvin Thomas
- 2003 Glen Saville
- 2004 Glen Saville
- 2005 Glen Saville
- 2006 Cortez Groves
- 2007 Adam Ballinger
- 2008 Kavossy Franklin
- 2009
- 2010 Larry Davidson
- 2011 Gary Ervin
Source: www.hawks.com.au
Current roster
Depth Chart
| Pos. | Starter | Bench | Bench | Reserve |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C Center (basketball) The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well... |
Oscar Forman Oscar Forman Oscar Forman is a basketball player who currently plays for the Wollongong Hawks in the Australian National Basketball League. Forman played for the Adelaide 36ers from 2001 until 2006, winning a championship in 2002, before moving to the Breakers at the end of the 2005-2006 season... |
Larry Davidson Larry Davidson Larry Davidson is an Australian basketballer. He plays in the National Basketball League with the Wollongong Hawks as a power forward or center.... |
||
| PF Power forward (basketball) Power forward is a position in the sport of basketball. The position is referred to in playbook terms as the four position and is commonly abbreviated "PF". It has also been referred to as the "post" position. Power forwards play a role similar to that of center in what is called the "post" or "low... |
Joevan Catron Joevan Catron Joevan Eugene Catron is an American professional basketball player for the Wollongong Hawks in the NBL.-Early life:... |
Daniel Jackson Daniel Jackson (basketball) Daniel Alexander Jackson is an Australian basketball player. He joined the Wollongong Hawks basketball team in the 2007/2008 season as a development player. Jackson is a 200 cm forward... |
 |
|
| SF Small forward The small forward, or colloquially known as three, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically somewhat shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers, but on occasion are just as tall... |
Glen Saville Glen Saville Glen Saville is an Australian professional basketball player, currently playing for the Wollongong Hawks in the Australasian National Basketball League.-Club Career:... |
Tim Coenraad | Luke Jamieson | |
| SG Shooting guard The shooting guard , also known as the two or off guard, is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. A shooting guard's main objective is to score points for his team... |
Mat Campbell Mat Campbell Mat Campbell is an Australian professional basketball player, currently playing for the Wollongong Hawks as captain and shooting guard in the National Basketball League in Australia.-Club career:... |
Tyson Demos | Alex Beagley | |
| PG Point guard Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that... |
Rhys Martin | Showron Glover | Zac Delaney |