- Buffalo Sharks
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Buffalo Sharks Founded 2005 League ABA 2005-2008 Team history Buffalo Rapids
2005-2006
Buffalo Silverbacks
2006-2007
Buffalo Sharks
2008Arena Koessler Athletic Center Based in Buffalo, New York Team colors Red and Blue Owner Vincent Lesh Head coach Richard Jacob Championships 0 Division titles 0 Cheerleaders Buffalo Rush (05-06) Dancers WBLK Sweet Divas (06-07) The Buffalo Sharks were a professional basketball team in the American Basketball Association based in Buffalo, New York. The team played two seasons as the Buffalo Rapids and Buffalo Silverbacks before suspending operations. This team is not to be confused with the Buffalo Stampede of the Premier Basketball League.
Contents
History
Buffalo Rapids (2005-2006)
The Buffalo Rapids were founded by Gary Nice and began play in the fall of 2005 as part of the ABA's Connie Hawkins Division. It was the first professional basketball team to play in Buffalo, New York since the Buffalo Braves. The team's name was chosen by a fan voting, with "Rapids" finishing second to "Braves". Trademark restrictions prevented the franchise from adopting the Braves name, but the Rapids team colors were identical to those of the Buffalo Braves.
Dan Robbie and Todd Wier became co-owners of the franchise in December 2005 following the league's removal of Gary Nice.[1]
Initial games were played at Burt Flickinger Center, but a financial dispute left the team searching for a new permanent home. They played most home games at Park School of Buffalo until February 2006. The final home game of the 2005-2006 season was played at Buffalo State Sports Arena, with the team later utilizing the venue for most 2006-2007 home games.
Buffalo Silverbacks (2006-2007)
The controversial first logo of the Silverbacks
After the controversy, the Silverbacks adopted this new logoIt was announced in May 2006 that the franchise had changed its name to the Buffalo Silverbacks.[2] Controversy arose in August 2006 when the Buffalo News ran an article condemning the team's logo, which featured a silverback gorilla, as racist. The team responded by adopting a new team logo featuring a tiger in October 2006.
Another bit of controversy involved the Silverbacks announcing that DayShawn Wright had been signed to the team in September 2006.[3] Soon after this announcement, Wright signed with the Minot SkyRockets of the CBA.[4]
Head coach Richard Jacob resigned from the team in November 2006 to focus on his job at Medaille College.[5] Trevor Ruffin, a player from the team's inaugural season and an assistant coach during their 2006-2007 training camp, replaced him as head coach.
In 2007, Weir sold the team to Vincent Lesh.[6] Lesh has been an entertainment promoter in Western New York for 25 years and is the owner of Concerts Plus. On November 11, 2007, the Silverbacks announced that they were suspending operations. On their official MySpace page, the team stated "If you did not already know, the Silverbacks are not playing this fall in the ABA. New ownership has decided to take this season off after taking over the team with 5 weeks before tip off."
Buffalo Sharks (2008)
Lesh re-branded the team as the Buffalo Sharks and reactivated them to begin play in November 2008. Richard Jacob was named the Head Coach and General Manager as he was for both the Rapids and Silverbacks. The Sharks were to play at Koessler Athletic Center on the campus of Canisius College. However, on 2008-09-18, Lesh announced his folding of the Sharks, his leaving of the ABA, and his purchase of the former Buffalo Dragons.[7]
Standings
Regular Season Year Wins Losses Percentage Home Away League Division 2005-2006 11 17 .392 6-7 5-10 17th - ABA 3rd - Connie Hawkins 2006-2007 16 10 .615 10-3 6-7 12th - ABA 3rd - Northern Playoffs Year Wins Losses Percentage Home Away Seeding Finish 2005-2006 1 1 .500 1-0 0-1 15th - ABA Lost Quarterfinal 2006-2007 1 1 .500 - 1-1 12th - ABA Lost Semifinal Game results
2005-2006
ABA Regular Season Date Venue Status Opponent Result Score High Score 11/03/2005 Burt Flickinger Center Home Maryland Nighthawks Loss 108-107 17 - Carlton Brown 11/05/2005 Blue Cross Arena Away Rochester Razorsharks Loss 89-88 29 - Tim Winn 11/11/2005 Centre Pierre Charbonneau Away Montreal Matrix Loss 94-74 22 - Kevin Ross 11/14/2005 Burt Flickinger Center Home Harlem Strong Dogs Win 97-90 32 - Trevor Ruffin 11/19/2005 Montgomery College Away Maryland Nighthawks Loss 132-102 20 - Tim Winn 11/26/2005 Niagara Catholic High School Home Montreal Matrix Win 104-94 26 - Tim Winn 11/29/2005 Park School of Buffalo Home Maryland Nighthawks Loss 113-112 (OT) 34 - Tim Winn 12/01/2005 Lackawanna College Away Northeast Pennsylvania Breakers Loss 95-86 29 - Tim Winn 12/04/2005 Hunter College Away Harlem Strong Dogs Loss 116-109 - 12/13/2005 Park School of Buffalo Home Harlem Strong Dogs Win 107-102 (OT) 31 - Tim Winn 12/17/2005 Montgomery College Away Maryland Nighthawks Loss 110-94 20 - Brad Buddenborg 12/18/2005 Essex County College Away Newark Express Win 89-88 23 - Tim Winn 12/23/2005 Gow School Home Rochester Razorsharks Loss 110-100 29 - Tim Winn 12/28/2005 Park School of Buffalo Home Maryland Nighthawks Win 94-89 30 - Rashid Byrd 12/30/2005 Centre Pierre Charbonneau Away Montreal Matrix Win 98-86 38 - Brad Buddenborg 01/07/2006 Barnstable High School Away Boston Frenzy Win 113-96 - 01/11/2006 Park School of Buffalo Home Rochester Razorsharks Loss 94-91 27 - Tim Winn 01/14/2006 Saint Joseph's College Away Strong Island Sound Win 70-65 20 - Tim Winn 01/21/2006 Saint Joseph's College Away Strong Island Sound Loss 123-107 - 01/26/2006 Blue Cross Arena Away Rochester Razorsharks Loss 114-87 19 - Tim Winn 02/01/2006 Park School of Buffalo Home Montreal Matrix Loss 132-127 (OT) 40 - Johnny Tyson 02/03/2006 Park School of Buffalo Home Boston Frenzy Win 136-90 52 - Antoine Sims 02/05/2006 Park School of Buffalo Home Strong Island Sound Loss 128-100 23 - Turner Battle 02/19/2006 Park School of Buffalo Home Strong Island Sound Loss 102-101 31 - DeRon Rutledge 02/25/2006 Barnstable High School Away Boston Frenzy Win 117-104 20 - Tim Winn 03/04/2006 Hunter College Away Harlem Strong Dogs Loss 103-96 - 03/05/2006 Buffalo State Sports Arena Home Newark Express Win 112-104 21 - Willie Chandler 03/07/2006 Blue Cross Arena Away Rochester Razorsharks Loss 106-95 - ABA Playoffs (15th seed) Date Venue Status Opponent Result Score High Score 03/12/2006 Hilbert College Home Boston Frenzy (16th seed) Win 133-88 29 - Johnny Tyson 03/17/2006 New Birth Missionary Baptist Church Away Atlanta Vision (7th seed) Loss 99-97 19 - Johnny Tyson 2006-2007
ABA Regular Season Date Venue Status Opponent Result Score High Score 11/08/2006 Buffalo State Sports Arena Home Detroit Panthers Loss 109-100 33 - Antoine Sims 11/12/2006 Buck Weeber Center Away Detroit Panthers Loss 128-113 24 - Antoine Sims 11/16/2006 Blue Cross Arena Away Rochester Razorsharks Loss 107-93 23 - Dameon Sansom 11/18/2006 Burlington Memorial Auditorium Away Vermont Frost Heaves Loss 110-100 27 - Johnny Tyson 11/24/2006 Buffalo State Sports Arena Home Rochester Razorsharks Win 96-93 29 - Antoine Sims 11/30/2006 Buffalo State Sports Arena Home Hammond Rollers Win 120-104 19 - Antoine Sims 12/08/2006 Buffalo State Sports Arena Home Detroit Panthers Win 119-104 24 - Antoine Sims 12/09/2006 Blue Cross Arena Away Rochester Razorsharks Loss 109-90 18 - Marlin Johnson 12/13/2006 Buffalo State Sports Arena Home Richmond Ballerz Win 119-97 22 - Antoine Sims 12/14/2006 Buffalo State Sports Arena Home Richmond Ballerz Win 123-116 25 - Kevin Ross 12/15/2006 Buck Weeber Center Away Detroit Panthers Loss 110-104 21 - Antoine Sims 12/20/2006 Buffalo State Sports Arena Home Rochester Razorsharks Loss 107-102 33 - Antoine Sims 12/29/2006 Buffalo State Sports Arena Home Cape Cod Frenzy Win 118-110 28 - Johnny Tyson 12/30/2006 Buffalo State Sports Arena Home Quebec City Kebekwa Win 110-98 29 - Lamar Castile 01/05/2007 Buffalo State Sports Arena Home Rochester Razorsharks Loss 96-94 30 - Lamar Castile 01/10/2007 Burlington Memorial Auditorium Away Vermont Frost Heaves Loss 92-90 29 - Lamar Castile 01/13/2007 Libbey High School Away Toledo Royal Knights Win 152-138 33 - Lamar Castile 01/18/2007 Buffalo State Sports Arena Home Detroit Panthers Win 103-95 25 - Lamar Castile 01/19/2007 University of North Florida Arena Away Jacksonville Jam Loss 105-96 25 - Lamar Castile 01/21/2007 Montgomery College Away Maryland Nighthawks Win 114-108 31 - Dameon Sansom 02/09/2007 Université Laval Away Quebec City Kebekwa Win 91-79 23 - Antoine Sims 02/10/2007 Centre Pierre Charbonneau Away Montreal Royal Win 99-76 18 - Kueth Duany 02/21/2007 Iroquois High School Home Vermont Frost Heaves Win 100-95 45 - Lamar Castile 02/22/2007 Park School of Buffalo Home Detroit Panthers Win 116-102 38 - Antoine Sims 03/09/2007 Centre Pierre Charbonneau Away Montreal Royal Win 102-99 34 - Lamar Castile 03/10/2007 Université Laval Away Quebec City Kebekwa Win 120-107 38 - Lamar Castile ABA Playoffs (12th seed) Date Venue Status Opponent Result Score High Score 03/16/2007 University of North Florida Arena Away Jacksonville Jam (2nd seed) Win 100-91 37 - Lamar Castile 03/22/2007 Felix Events Center Away Beijing Aoshen Olympian (7th seed) Loss 121-106 30 - Antoine Sims Roster and Staff
2005-2006
- 04 - Andrew Bush - F
- 08 - Antoine Sims - G
- 09 - Marlin Johnson - G/F
- 11 - Tim Winn - G
- 12 - Modie Cox - G
- 18 - DeRon Rutledge - F
- 20 - Kevin Ross - F
- 21 - Mark Bortz - F
- 24 - Carlton Brown - F
- 33 - Willie Chandler - G
- 34 - Brad Buddenborg - F
- 42 - Jean Paul Afif - F
- 44 - Johnny Tyson - C
- Team Captain - Tim Winn
- All-Star Selection - Tim Winn
- All-ABA Selection - Tim Winn
Released
- 08 - Caswell Cyrus - C
- 08 - Trevor Ruffin - G
- 09 - Julien Nze - F
- 18 - Harry Good - C
- 18 - Tyrone Thomas - F
- 21 - Brian Gilic - C
- 21 - Louis-Patrick Levros - F
- 21 - Pierre Tucker - G
- 25 - Turner Battle - G
- 33 - Rashid Byrd - C
- ?? - Shanod Burton - G
Staff
- Owners - Gary Nice (11/05 - 12/05), Dan Robbie and Todd Wier (12/05 - 11/07)
- General Manager - Richard Jacob
- Head Coach - Richard Jacob
- Assistant Coach - Tyrone Thomas
- Player Assistant Coaches - Modie Cox and Tim Winn
- Strength and Conditioning Coach - Bob Bateson
- Account Executive - Bryan Perry
- Game Day Operation Manager - Timothy M. Simko
- Media Relations - Nadia Fezzani
2006-2007
- 05 - David Ruffin - G
- 11 - Lamar Castile - G
- 12 - Modie Cox - G
- 18 - Trevor Ruffin - G
- 21 - Mackenzie Clark - F
- 23 - Antoine Sims - G
- 24 - Marlin Johnson - G/F
- 31 - Kueth Duany - G/F
- 32 - Kevin Ross - F
- 33 - Keith Closs - C
- 34 - Sean Murphy - G/F
- 42 - Andrew Bush - C/F
- All-Star Selection - Antoine Sims
- ABA Community Service Award - Modie Cox
Released
- 03 - David Bailey - F
- 03 - Victor Venters - F
- 04 - Koran Barnes - G
- 10 - Dameon Sansom - G
- 18 - Kenny Brunner - G
- 18 - Jeff Daisley - C
- 20 - Todd Jones - G/F
- 21 - Eze Samuel - C
- 21 - James Williams - ?
- 33 - Herb Baker - C/F
- 44 - Johnny Tyson - C/F
- ?? - DayShawn Wright - F
Staff
- Owners - Dan Robbie and Todd Wier
- Head Coach - Trevor Ruffin
- Player Assistant Coach - Modie Cox
- Strength and Conditioning Coach - Bob Bateson
References
- ^ http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3252068
- ^ http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3307942
- ^ http://oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3381729
- ^ http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3384184
- ^ Niagara Gazette - SILVERBACKS: Jacob steps down as coach unexpectedly
- ^ McKissic, Rodney (2008-07-11). "Is two a crowd?". Buffalo News. http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/story/389566.html. Retrieved 2008-07-16.[dead link]
- ^ McKissic, Rodney (2008-09-18). "New minor-league basketball team will be called Stampede". The Buffalo News. http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/story/442242.html. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
External links
- BuffaloSharks.com - Official website of the Buffalo Sharks
- Buffalo Silverbacks @ OurSportsCentral - Buffalo Silverbacks scores, news and information
Categories:- American Basketball Association (2000–present) teams
- Sports in Buffalo, New York
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