Moncton Miracles

Moncton Miracles
2016–17 NBL Canada season
Division Atlantic Division
League NBL Canada
Founded 2011
History Moncton Miracles
2011–present
Arena Moncton Coliseum
Location Moncton, New Brunswick
Team colours Black, orange, gray, white
                   
Team manager Brennan Bellemare
Head coach Paul Mokeski
Ownership Vacant
Website MiraclesBasketball.com
Uniforms
Home
Away

The Moncton Miracles are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Moncton, New Brunswick. Established in 2011, they are a charter member of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL). The Miracles play their home games at the Moncton Coliseum and are a part of the league's Atlantic Division. The team was founded and owned by Steven Conville but are now without an owner. Their seasons in the NBL Canada have been highlighted by struggle.[1]

History

The Miracles were founded in 2011 and made their debut in the inaugural 2011–12 season of the NBL. The team was primarily established by Steven Conville, who was the vice president and portfolio manager for Macquarie Private Wealth, part of the Macquarie Group, at the time. A big basketball fan, Conville accepted an offer to start a professional team by Andre Levingston, who would be the co-founder of the NBL Canada.[2]

Following a failure to establish an NBL Canada team based out of Kingston, Ontario, Conville decided to create one in Moncton. He targeted the city because of its rapid growth and tight-knit community. Despite not having visited the city before becoming the Miracles' owner, Conville gained a perspective of Atlantic Canada during business trips to Halifax, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.[2] He said, "So when I did my research on Moncton, I found out how much they loved basketball out there."[2] At a press conference in August 2011, Conville was officially named team owner. He also announced his hiring of Norris "Bo" Bell as the first head coach for the Miracles. Bell ran a basketball academy in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States.[2] A former player, he also had experience in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and in France and Switzerland. Bell faced the likes of Micheal Ray Richardson, Dražen Petrović, and Billy Knight during his playing career.[3] He also became fluent in French through his years in Europe, which was part of the reason he drew Conville's attention.[4][2]

The Miracles' nickname was inspired by the "Moncton Miracle", a term used to describe the city of Moncton's comeback from recession in the 1980s. Conville described it by saying that it "connects with Moncton's history and symbolizes the strength, courage and toughness that this city has shown over the years."[4] The nickname was also chosen because "Miracle" is the same word in both French and English.[4] Conville also commented on the team's logo, "Our team logo is meant to embody the strength that comes through when you rise above... the player in the logo carrying the ball is not wallowing in the past. He's heading towards the future and he's doing it ferociously."[4]

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Moncton Miracles roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age
F 5 United States Beaty, Tydran 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 215 lb (98 kg)
C 30 United States Creekmore, Will 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 260 lb (120 kg) 27 – (1989-04-09)9 April 1989
G 13 Canada Gibson, Gary 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 205 lb (93 kg) 30 – (1986-12-01)1 December 1986
C 33 United States Granado, Tom 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 260 lb (120 kg) 28 – (1988-11-04)4 November 1988
F 2 Canada Jeanty, Cordell 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 230 lb (100 kg) 37 – (1979-10-01)1 October 1979
G 55 United States Justice, James 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) 165 lb (75 kg) 27 – (1989-01-12)12 January 1989
F 10 United States Kearney, Brandan 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 190 lb (86 kg) 23 – (1993-03-01)1 March 1993
F 44 United States Martin, Mike 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 230 lb (100 kg) 31 – (1985-02-28)28 February 1985
F 22 Canada Smith, Ryan 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 205 lb (93 kg)
G 23 United States Strickland, Dexter 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 190 lb (86 kg) 26 – (1990-10-01)1 October 1990
G 42 United States Tate, Tyrrel 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 195 lb (88 kg) 24 – (1992-02-12)12 February 1992
G 7 United States Vanzant, Shawn 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 171 lb (78 kg) 28 – (1988-10-19)19 October 1988
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Montenegro Martin Knezevic
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured

Roster – Transactions
Updated: April 13, 2016

Season-by-season record

Season Division Regular season Playoffs Head coach Awards
Finish Games Wins Losses Pct. GB
Moncton Miracles
2011–12 — 7th 36 9 27 .250 19 Did not qualify Norris Bell (0–7)
Mike Evans (9–20) 		—
2012–13 Atlantic 3rd 40 20 20 .500 6 Won First Round (Mill Rats), 2–1
Lost Semifinals (Lightning), 1–3 		Ricky Benitez (8–9)
Serge Langis (1–1)
Dennis Truax (11–10) 		Devin Sweetney (MVP)
Isaac Butts (RoY)
Kim Blanco (EoY)
2013–14 Atlantic 3rd 40 14 26 .350 9 Lost First Round (Storm), 1–3 Dennis Truax —
2014–15 Atlantic 4th 32 8 24 .250 12 Lost First Round (Rainmen), 1–3 Serge Langis —
2015–16 Atlantic 3rd 40 15 25 .275 14 Lost First Round (Mill Rats), 1–3 Serge Langis —

References

  1. ↑ "Moncton Miracles need local owners, NBL commissioner says". CBC. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Fanfair, Ron. "Too short to play, Steven Conville now owns basketball team". Sharenews. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "Biography". CoachBoBell.com. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "NBL: Does Moncton believe in Miracles?". Journal Pioneer. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
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