Brisbane Bullets
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| Brisbane Bullets | |
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| Established | 1979 |
| Team Colours | Midnight Navy and Maize |
| Home Venue | Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, Brisbane |
| Major Sponsor | Virgin Blue |
| Championships | 1985, 1987, 2007 |
| Team History | Brisbane Bullets (1979-Present) |
| Chief Executive | Brian Kerle |
| Owner | David Kemp |
| Coach | Joey Wright |
| Captain | Sam Mackinnon |
| Website | www.bullets.com.au |
The Brisbane Bullets are a professional basketball team competing in Australia's National Basketball League. The Bullets are one of only two teams that have survived since the NBL's inception in 1979; the other is the Wollongong Hawks. The team plays in Midnight Navy and Maize colours. The Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre has been the home base for the Brisbane Bullets since the mid 1990s. Until then they were based at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.
The Bullets have three NBL Championships in their history, being successful in the 1985 and 1987 seasons and again in 2007, as well as having competed in the 1984, 1986 and 1990 grand finals. The team has reached the play-offs nearly 20 times.[1]
The Bullets play at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, in Brisbane, Queensland. They are one of four current Queensland based teams in the league, the others being the Townsville Crocodiles, Cairns Taipans and Gold Coast Blaze.
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[edit] History
The Bullets were established in 1979 for the foundation season of the National Basketball League, under the captaincy of Bruce Fitzgerald, and head coach Bob Young. Of the 18 games played during the inaugural NBL season, Brisbane won 13 and lost five, finishing in fifth place. Brisbane's Calvin Bruton finished as the league's highest points per game scorer of the season.
The Bullets made it to the finals in the second NBL season of 1980. Dave Claxton took over as head-coach as well. Finishing in third place, winning 17 of their 22 season games, the Bullets met the West Adelaide Bearcats in the second semi-final, losing 94-101. Brian Banks made the NBL First Team that season.
Brian Banks became the Bullets captain the following season. After making the finals in the second season, Brisbane did so again in 1981. Brisbane finished in fifth place, but first-placed St. Kilda did not attend the finals, as they were in Brazil contesting the World Club Championship. The Bullets lost to Launceston Casino City 69-71 in the first semi-final. In 1982, with new coach Rick Harden, the Bullets missed out on qualifying for the finals, finishing eighth. The following year season they finished fifth, still out of the finals.
Under new coach Brian Kerle, the Bullets' first grand final appearance came about in the 1984 season, though they were not successful in capturing their first championship. However, the following season they finished in first place and were again finalists, and this time were successful, gaining their first NBL championship.
The success in the 1980s continued under Kerle and captain Larry Sengstock, as they were again unsuccessful finalists in 1986, and then won their second championship in the 1987 season. They finished third in 1988, and made their exit at their elimination final. The following season they failed to make the finals, for the first t ime since 1983, finishing in eighth place.
However, the Bullets made a huge turn around the next season, finishing in third place, and going onto make it to the grand final of the 1990 season. The next season was not nearly as successful, as the team finished in ninth place, way out of finals contention. However, in 1992 the Bullets were back in the finals, making it to the quarter-finals. In 1993, Bruce Palmer became the new Bullets coach, and the team made it as far as the semi-finals.
From 1994 through to the 1996 seasons, the Bullets made it as far as the quarter-finals, finishing in fifth, sixth and eighth place respectively. David Ingham took over as head coach for the 1996 and 1997 seasons, with Brian Kerle coaching from 1998 to 2000.
The Bullets failed to get to the finals during the early years of the 2000s. The 2001-02 season was disappointing for the Bullets as they finished second last on the regular season table, winning just 4 of their 28 fixtures. The Bullets won 22 of their 33 fixtures in 2003-04 to finish in fourth place on the ladder.
The team qualified for the finals in the 2004-05 and the 2005-06 seasons. The Bullets finished in fifth place in 2005-06, just missing out on a quarter-final place. They hosted the Perth Wildcats at home in game one, though they lost 96-91 and were eliminated.
During the 2006-07 pre-season Blitz, the Bullets won all three of their group stage games to finish at the top of Pool A and advance to the quarter-finals. Defeating the Wollongong Hawks and the Sydney Kings to make it into the final, the Bullets went on to defeat the Melbourne Tigers to win the pre-season title.
Following on from there pre-season success the Bullets easily won the minor premiership for the 2006-07 season claiming an end of season record of 28 wins and only 5 losses. This included an all time NBL record breaking 21 game winning streak marking the Bullets most successful season since 1979. After defeating the Sydney Kings in the semis Brisbane made their first grand final in the NBL since 1990. The Bullets took the Finals series 3-1 over Melbourne Tigers to be crowned 2006/07 NBL Champions.
In March 2008, the Bullets' childcare mogul owner Eddy Groves - who had run into financial strife with his ABC Learning Centres empire - announced he would be forced to sell the club. On April 16, 2008, Logan businessman David Kemp was officially announced as the new owner, and he wasted no time in appointing former championship-winning coach Brian Kerle as general manager (replacing Jeff Van Groningen) and a new board including former Queensland Treasurer Terry Mackenroth and Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale.
[edit] Retired Jerseys
30 Leroy Loggins 22 Ron Radliff
[edit] Honour roll
| NBL Championships: | 3 (1985, 1987, 2007) |
| NBL Finals Appearances: | 1980, 1981, 1984-88, 1990, 1992-99, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 |
| NBL Grand Final appearances: | 6 (1984-87, 1990, 2007) |
| NBL Most Valuable Players: | Leroy Loggins (1984, 1986-87), Derek Rucker (1990), Steve Woodberry (1999), Sam Mackinnon (2007) |
| NBL Grand Final MVPs: | Leroy Loggins (1987); Sam Mackinnon (2007) |
| All-NBL First Team: | Brian Banks (1980), Larry Sengstock (1982), Leroy Loggins (1984-88, 1990, 1993-94), Derek Rucker (1990), Steve Woodberry (1999), Stephen Black (2004), Sam Mackinnon (2007), Ebi Ere (2008) |
| NBL Coach of the Year: | Brian Kerle (1984, 1990), Joey Wright (2004, 2007) |
| NBL Rookie of the Year: | Shane Heal (1988), John Rillie (1995) |
| NBL Most Improved Player: | Wade Helliwell (2002) |
| NBL Best Defensive Player: | Leroy Loggins (1987, 1990), Ben Castle (2004), Sam Mackinnon (2007) |
| NBL Best Sixth Man: | Mike McKay (1996) |
Source: www.nbl.com.au
[edit] Season-by-Season
| Season | Results | Finals | Coach | Captain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 5th (10-8) | n/a | Bob Young | Bruce Fitzgerald |
| 1980 | 3rd (15-7) | Lost semi-final | Dave Claxton | Bruce Fitzgerald |
| 1981 | 5th (13-9) | Lost semi-final | Dave Claxton | Brian Banks |
| 1982 | 8th (12-14) | n/a | Rick Harden | Brian Banks/Larry Sengstock |
| 1983 | 5th (10-12) | n/a | Rick Harden | Larry Sengstock |
| 1984 | 1st (19-5) | Lost Grand Final | Brian Kerle | Larry Sengstock |
| 1985 | 1st (20-6) | Champions | Brian Kerle | Larry Sengstock |
| 1986 | 3rd (17-9) | Lost Grand Final | Brian Kerle | Larry Sengstock |
| 1987 | 2nd (20-6) | Champions | Brian Kerle | Larry Sengstock |
| 1988 | 3rd (18-6) | Lost elimination final | Brian Kerle | Larry Sengstock |
| 1989 | 8th (11-13) | n/a | Brian Kerle | Larry Sengstock |
| 1990 | 3rd (18-8) | Lost Grand Final | Brian Kerle | Leroy Loggins |
| 1991 | 9th (13-13) | n/a | Brian Kerle | Leroy Loggins |
| 1992 | 7th (12-12) | Lost quarter-final | Brian Kerle | Leroy Loggins |
| 1993 | 4th (16-10) | Lost semi-final | Bruce Palmer | Leroy Loggins |
| 1994 | 5th (18-8) | Lost quarter-final | Bruce Palmer | Leroy Loggins |
| 1995 | 6th (16-10) | Lost quarter-final | Bruce Palmer | Leroy Loggins |
| 1996 | 8th (14-12) | Lost quarter-final | Dave Ingham | Leroy Loggins |
| 1997 | 5th (15-15) | Lost elimination final | Dave Ingham | Leroy Loggins |
| 1998 | 4th (16-14) | Lost semi-final | Brian Kerle | Leroy Loggins |
| 1998/99 | 5th (13-13) | Lost elimination final | Brian Kerle | Leroy Loggins |
| 1999/00 | 10th (7-21) | n/a | Brian Kerle | Leroy Loggins |
| 2000/01 | 10th (4-24) | n/a | Richard Orlick | Leroy Loggins |
| 2001/02 | 7th (14-16) | n/a | Richard Orlick | Simon Kerle |
| 2002/03 | 11th (6-24) | n/a | Richard Orlick/Joey Wright | Simon Kerle |
| 2003/04 | 4th (22-11) | Lost semi-final | Joey Wright | Derek Rucker |
| 2004/05 | 5th (17-5) | Lost semi-final | Joey Wright | Derek Rucker |
| 2005/06 | 6th (17-15) | Lost elimination final | Joey Wright | Derek Rucker |
| 2006/07 | 1st (28-5) | Champions | Joey Wright | Sam Mackinnon |
| 2007/08 | 3rd (21-12) | Lost semi-final | Joey Wright | Sam Mackinnon |
[edit] Current roster
| Brisbane Bullets Current Roster |
||||
| Head Coach: Joey Wright | Edit | |||
| G | 25 |  |
Ebi Ere * | (Oklahoma; University of Oklahoma) |
| G | 11 |  |
David Gurney # | (QLD) |
| F | 11 | |
Anthony Petrie | (NSW) |
| F | 15 | |
Cameron Rigby | (VIC) |
| F | 45 |  |
Dusty Rychart * | (Michigan; University of Minnesota) |
| F/C | ? | |
Adam Tanner | (VIC; University of Denver) |
| C | ? | |
Greg Vanderjagt | (NSW; Australian Institute of Sport) |
| G | ? | |
Stephen Weigh | (QLD; University of Utah) |
| * = Import, # = Development Player | Brisbane Bullets | |||
[edit] References
- ^ Brisbane Bullets v NZ Breakers. bcec.com.au. Retrieved on 28 September 2006.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- the Brisbane Bullets Official website
- The Official Bullets Team Blog
- The Official National Basketball League website
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Clubs in the National Basketball League
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