The Mansfield Hawks were an International Basketball Association

International Basketball Association

The International Basketball Association was founded by Alexandria, Minnesota entrepreneur Thomas Anderson in 1995. Anderson traveled the Upper Midwest searching for franchise owners for a couple of years before the league began play with five teams in the 1995-1996 season...

 (IBA) professional basketball team that existed for exactly two basketball seasons in 1998-99 and 1999-2000. After a successful inaugural season, the Hawks won the IBA championship in their second, and final, season of existence. They were guided by local, but infamous, coach Kevin Mackey

Kevin Mackey

Kevin Mackey is a former head coach of men's basketball at Cleveland State University. Although several low moments of his life were made public, Mackey was also a popular symbol of success when his CSU Vikings upset the Indiana Hoosiers to make the Sweet 16 in the 1986 NCAA Men's Division I...

. One of the Hawks' notable players was 7 ft 2 in, 315 pound center Garth Joseph

Garth Joseph

Garth McArthur Fitzgerald Joseph is a Dominican professional basketball player who previously played in the NBA....

, a dominating presence with a physical appearance resembling Shaquille O'Neal

Shaquille O'Neal

Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal , nicknamed "Shaq" , is a former American professional basketball player. Standing tall and weighing , he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA...

. The team played its home games in the gymnasium of Malabar Middle School in Mansfield, Ohio

Mansfield, Ohio

Mansfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Richland County. The municipality is located in north-central Ohio in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau, approximately southwest of Cleveland and northeast of Columbus....

.

In 2005, Mansfield

Mansfield

Mansfield is a town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the main town in the Mansfield local government district. Mansfield is a part of the Mansfield Urban Area....

 was again targeted as the home for another possible professional basketball team http://www.centralohio.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/B7/20050505/NEWS01/505050346/1002.

All-time roster

This list is incomplete

• Tommy Adams
• Dubrey Black - Bowling Green, Ashland University
• Samuel Haley - University of Missouri
• Donnell Harrison
• Matt Hill - University of Wisconsin
• Kris Hunter - University of Virginia, Jacksonville University
• Garth Joseph
  Garth Joseph
  Garth McArthur Fitzgerald Joseph is a Dominican professional basketball player who previously played in the NBA....
  
   - St. Rose
• Darren Little
• Charles Macon - Ohio State University, Central Michigan
• Gaylon Nickerson
  Gaylon Nickerson
  Gaylon H. Nickerson is an American professional basketball player, formerly in the NBA. He attended Wichita State University, Butler Community College, Kansas State University, and Northwestern Oklahoma State University.Nickerson was selected in the second round of the 1994 NBA Draft by the...
  
   - Northwestern Oklahoma State
• Roheen Oats
• Reggie Okasa - LaSalle University
• Dapreis Owens
• Malcolm Sims - Cleveland State University
• Corey Tarrant
• Anthony Taylor
  Anthony Taylor
  Anthony Paul Taylor is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2nd round of the 1988 NBA Draft...
  
   - Miami (OH) University
• Bevin Thomas
• Vincent Thomas - University of Wisconsin Superior
• Art Crowder - Howard University

External links

• Team history
• Mission
• Coaches
• Roster