West Sydney Razorbacks
Encyclopedia
The Sydney Spirit were a professional basketball
team competing in the Australasia
n National Basketball League
. The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales.
They are the second team to represent Sydney's west in the NBL, several years after the Fosters (West Sydney) Westars were largely absorbed in a merger with the Sydney Supersonics to form the Sydney Kings
. After the demise of the Sydney Kings in 2008, the Razorbacks rebranded themselves as the Sydney Spirit to appeal to the greater Sydney community, as they are the sole remaining Sydney-based NBL team.
in Homebush
. Prior to that their home was the Whitlam Centre in Liverpool
.
The Razorbacks made history in season 2001–02 becoming the first Sydney team in the NBL's 24 year history to contest the Grand Final series. The Adelaide 36ers
went on to win the championship with a 2-1 result in the best-of-three series.
After breaking club records for most wins in a season, most wins on the road and most wins at home in 2003-04
, the Razorbacks made it to their second Grand Final series, this time against the Sydney Kings. In the new best-of-five format, the Razorbacks, who at one stage were up 2-1 in the series, lost 2-3.
During the 2003–04 season, legendary NBL forward, Bruce Bolden, became the first Razorback to have his singlet (#32) retired. In 2005-06
he was joined by #45 Simon Dwight - the NBL's all time top shot-blocker.
After being coached for their first six seasons by Gordie McLeod
, a new coach was appointed in 2004–05
– Mark Watkins who previously had been the team’s assistant coach.
The club is headed up by basketball Olympian
, Robbie Cadee, who launched the franchise in 1998–99. The Razors have had two shocking years in a row. The first of these years started off with Dwight's retirement and promising youngster Steve Markovic walking out on the club to play in Europe just a few weeks before the start of season. The second of the spell started off with import Nick Horvath
sustaining a knee injury in the first game (he was out for season).
Cadee axed Watkins and hired Cal Bruton
as coach in late 2006 amid a long Razorbacks losing streak. During the 2006-07
season the Razorbacks finally broke a 20 game losing streak against the Wollongong Hawks
. Six games after that, the Razorbacks thumped the Kings 106-75 at the Pig Pen, spoiling Brian Goorjian
's record of games coached.
In recent years the Razorbacks have been in severe financial difficulty after the original team owner, Canterbury Leagues Club, withdrew its support. Tri Media Group later took over the running of the club, which had almost folded. As a result of their financial troubles, the Razorbacks squad for season 2007–08 was composed mainly of young NBL rookies
, headed by first time NBL coach Rob Beveridge.
30,000 by Australian NBA
player Andrew Bogut
.
Source: www.nbl.com.au
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team competing in the Australasia
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...
n 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....
. The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales.
They are the second team to represent Sydney's west in the NBL, several years after the Fosters (West Sydney) Westars were largely absorbed in a merger with the Sydney Supersonics to form the 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...
. After the demise of the Sydney Kings in 2008, the Razorbacks rebranded themselves as the Sydney Spirit to appeal to the greater Sydney community, as they are the sole remaining Sydney-based NBL team.
As the West Sydney Razorbacks
The Razorbacks were formed in 1992 as the West Sydney Slammers in the Continental Basketball Association, and were granted a National Basketball League licence in 1997. The Razorbacks, played their first game in the NBL on October 10, 1998 defeating the Kings 103-97. They qualified for the NBL play-offs in their second season - 1999–2000. Since season 2000–01 the Razorbacks’ home venue has been the 5,006 seat State Sports CentreState Sports Centre
The State Sports Centre is a multi-use indoor arena in Sydney, Australia. It hosted the table tennis and taekwondo events for the 2000 Summer Olympics....
in Homebush
Homebush, New South Wales
Homebush is an inner western suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Homebush is located 15 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Strathfield. Homebush West and Homebush Bay are separate suburbs...
. Prior to that their home was the Whitlam Centre in Liverpool
Liverpool, New South Wales
Liverpool is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Liverpool is located 32 km south-west of the Sydney central business district, and is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Liverpool...
.
The Razorbacks made history in season 2001–02 becoming the first Sydney team in the NBL's 24 year history to contest the Grand Final series. The Adelaide 36ers
Adelaide 36ers
The Adelaide 36ers are Adelaide's men's professional basketball team, established as the Adelaide City Eagles when they joined the National Basketball League in 1982. The Adelaide 36ers tally of four championships is equal with the Melbourne Tigers and second behind the Perth Wildcats as the most...
went on to win the championship with a 2-1 result in the best-of-three series.
After breaking club records for most wins in a season, most wins on the road and most wins at home in 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...
, the Razorbacks made it to their second Grand Final series, this time against the Sydney Kings. In the new best-of-five format, the Razorbacks, who at one stage were up 2-1 in the series, lost 2-3.
During the 2003–04 season, legendary NBL forward, Bruce Bolden, became the first Razorback to have his singlet (#32) retired. In 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...
he was joined by #45 Simon Dwight - the NBL's all time top shot-blocker.
After being coached for their first six seasons by Gordie McLeod
Gordon McLeod (basketball)
Gordon McLeod is a former professional basketball player and current head coach of the Wollongong Hawks in Australia's National Basketball League.-Professional career:...
, a new coach was appointed in 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...
– Mark Watkins who previously had been the team’s assistant coach.
The club is headed up by basketball Olympian
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
, Robbie Cadee, who launched the franchise in 1998–99. The Razors have had two shocking years in a row. The first of these years started off with Dwight's retirement and promising youngster Steve Markovic walking out on the club to play in Europe just a few weeks before the start of season. The second of the spell started off with import 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....
sustaining a knee injury in the first game (he was out for season).
Cadee axed Watkins and hired Cal Bruton
Cal Bruton
Calvin Bruton is a former player and coach in the Australian National Basketball League. Originally an American import, but later becoming a naturalised Australian, Bruton has been an integral part of the league since its inception...
as coach in late 2006 amid a long Razorbacks losing streak. During the 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...
season the Razorbacks finally broke a 20 game losing streak against 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...
. Six games after that, the Razorbacks thumped the Kings 106-75 at the Pig Pen, spoiling Brian Goorjian
Brian Goorjian
Brian Goorjian is an American-Australian basketball coach. He is the most successful coach in Australian basketball history...
's record of games coached.
In recent years the Razorbacks have been in severe financial difficulty after the original team owner, Canterbury Leagues Club, withdrew its support. Tri Media Group later took over the running of the club, which had almost folded. As a result of their financial troubles, the Razorbacks squad for season 2007–08 was composed mainly of young NBL rookies
Rookies
Rookies may refer to:* The Rookies is an American television drama.* Rookies is a Japanese baseball manga and television drama.* Rookies is an American television series currently airing on A&E Network....
, headed by first time NBL coach Rob Beveridge.
As the Sydney Spirit
Shortly after the Kings left the competition, the Razorbacks changed their name to the Sydney Spirit, in an attempt to attract former Kings supporters to the only Sydney team left in the competition. This proved to be a failure as the Spirit could only attract a crowd of 1,500 fans to the opening match of the Spirit's season, and only two months into the 2008–09 NBL season the club's owner, Greg Evans, informed the league's executive that he intended to put the club into administration shortly, resulting in the club's immediate closure. The league stepped in with a rescue package to allow the Spirit to complete the remainder of the season, with the players and coaching staff agreeing to accept the league's minimum salary. The club also established a special financial account to allow interested parties to make contributions to supplement the league's rescue package; the first contribution was A$Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
30,000 by Australian 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...
player Andrew Bogut
Andrew Bogut
Andrew Michael Bogut is an Australian professional basketball player. He plays for the Milwaukee Bucks of the United States' National Basketball Association....
.
Honour roll
| NBL Championships: | |
| NBL Finals appearances: | 2000,2001,2002,2004 |
| NBL Grand Final appearances: | 2 (2002, 2004) |
| All-NBL First Team: | John Rillie John Rillie John Rillie is an Australian basketball player. Rillie previously captained the Townsville Crocodiles in the NBL but his contracted was not renewed. In his first season in the NBL, Rillie won Rookie of the Year honours playing for the Brisbane Bullets. He is known for his long range shooting... (2004), Sam Mackinnon Sam Mackinnon Samuel Mackinnon is a retired Australian professional basketball player whose last team was the NBL team Melbourne Tigers.-Playing career:... (2004) |
| NBL Rookie of the Year: | Steven Markovic Steven Markovic Steven Marković is an Australian professional basketball player of Serbian descent. He currently plays for Serbian club KK Radnički Kragujevac.-External links:* at legabasket.it* at adriaticbasket.com... (2004) |
| NBL Best Defensive Player: | Simon Dwight (2002) |
| NBL Best Sixth Man: | Bruce Bolden (1999) |
| NBL Most Improved Player: | Liam Rush Liam Rush Liam Rush is an Australian basketball player for the Melbourne Tigers.Rush started his professional career with NBL side Perth Wildcats in the 2003/04 season. He rose to prominence through his athleticism and strong fundamentals. In 2006/07, he moved to the West Sydney Razorbacks where he was... (2007), Matthew Knight (2009) |
Source: www.nbl.com.au