Crailsheim Merlins

Last updated

Hakro Merlins Crailsheim
Crailsheim Merlins logo.png
Leagues Basketball Bundesliga
Founded31 January 1986;38 years ago (1986-01-31)
HistoryCrailsheim Merlins
(1986–present)
ArenaArena Hohenlohe
Capacity3,000
Team colorsBlue, Navy, Silver
   
Main sponsorHakro
PresidentMartin Romig
Team managerIngo Enskat
Head coach Jussi Laakso
Championships1 ProB
Website crailsheim-merlins.de

The Crailsheim Merlins, for sponsorships reasons named Hakro Merlins Crailsheim, is a professional basketball club based in Crailsheim, Germany. Established in 1986, the club plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the highest professional league in Germany. The club is a part of the multi-sports club TSV Crailsheim. Home games are played in the Arena Hohenlohe, which has a capacity of 3,000 people.

Contents

History

The club was founded on 31 January 1986 by a group of students. Until 1994, the team was only active at the lower local leagues and had problems in finding a hall to play at. A year later, the club found a new home in the barracks of departed American armed forces. In 2001, the Merlins managed to promote to the German second division, now the ProA, for the first time. A new home arena was found again, in the form of a renovated market hall.

In the 2013–14 season Merlins promoted to the Basketball Bundesliga, by reaching the ProA Finals. [1] The club managed to avoid relegation in its first season in the league, because Artland Dragons was relegated the club received a wild card. However, in the following 2015–16 season the team was relegated once again after finishing last. In the 2020–21 season, coach Tuomas Iisalo guided the Merlins to their first Bundesliga playoff appearance in club history. [2] Iisalo left Crailsheim at the conclusion of the 2020–21 campaign, Sebastian Gleim was named the new head coach.[ citation needed ]

In the 2021–22 season, Crailsheim made its European debut as it was placed in the regular season of the FIBA Europe Cup. On 13 October 2021, the Merlins recorded an away win over Bakken Bears in their debut. [3] The same season, the Merlins also reached the final of the 2021–22 BBL-Pokal, its first final appearance in the national cup. The Merlins eventually lost to 86–78 to ALBA Berlin. [4]

Sponsorship names

Due to sponsorship reasons the team has been known as:

Honours

BBL-Pokal

ProB

Players

Current roster

Crailsheim Merlins roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Wt.Age
SF 1 Flag of the United States.svg Cook, Keandre 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)85 kg (187 lb)27 – (1997-05-01)1 May 1997
SG 3 Flag of Germany.svg Stuckey, Maurice 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)90 kg (198 lb)34 – (1990-05-30)30 May 1990
SG 4 Flag of Germany.svg Baggette, Elias 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)70 kg (154 lb)22 – (2002-04-28)28 April 2002
SF 6 Flag of Germany.svg Wulff, Luis 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in)90 kg (198 lb)20 – (2004-03-14)14 March 2004
C 8 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Oduro, Prince 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)113 kg (249 lb)25 – (1998-10-27)27 October 1998
SF 9 Flag of Germany.svg Bleck, Fabian 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)105 kg (231 lb)31 – (1993-03-19)19 March 1993
PG 11 Flag of Germany.svg Kindzeka, René 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)76 kg (168 lb)29 – (1995-06-05)5 June 1995
SF 12 Flag of the United States.svg Murry-Boyles, James 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)95 kg (209 lb)26 – (1997-09-01)1 September 1997
PG 19 Flag of France.svg Westermann, Leo 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)89 kg (196 lb)31 – (1992-07-24)24 July 1992
C 21 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Žejdl, Matěj 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)107 kg (236 lb)21 – (2003-03-30)30 March 2003
C 30 Flag of the United States.svg Smith, Galin 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)107 kg (236 lb)25 – (1998-12-29)29 December 1998
PF 10 Flag of the United States.svg Darden, Tremmell 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)100 kg (220 lb)42 – (1981-11-17)17 November 1981
PG Flag of Germany.svg Blunt, Tyreese 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)86 kg (190 lb)22 – (2002-06-03)3 June 2002
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Flag of Finland.svg Daniel Herbert
Athletic trainer(s)
  • Flag of Germany.svg Marcus Linder
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured
Updated: June 18, 2024

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

Notable players

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

Criteria

To appear in this section a player must have either:

  • Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
  • Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
  • Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

Head coaches

PeriodName
1986–1989 Flag of Germany.svg Dieter Wolfarth
1989–1990no head coach
1990–1993 Flag of Germany.svg Markus Schmidt
1993–1994 Flag of Serbia.svg Zoran Borovnica
1994–1997 Flag of Croatia.svg Zlatko Nikolić
1997–1999 Flag of Germany.svg Matthias Braun
1999–2002 Flag of Croatia.svg Zoran Banozic
2002–2004 Flag of Croatia.svg Velibor Balabanović
2004 Flag of Romania.svg Marian Thede
2004–2008 Flag of Germany.svg Arne Alig
2008–2012 Flag of Germany.svg Ingo Enskat
2012 – November 2014 Flag of the United States.svg Willie Young
November 2014 – March 2016 Flag of Germany.svg Ingo Enskat
March 2016 – May 2021 Flag of Finland.svg Tuomas Iisalo
May 2021 – May 2022 Flag of Germany.svg Sebastian Gleim
May 2022 – November 2023 Flag of Germany.svg Nikola Marković
November 2023 –present Flag of Finland.svg Jussi Laakso

Season by season

Season Tier LeaguePos. German Cup European competitions
2009–10
2
 ProA
6
2010–11
2
 ProA
6
2011–12
2
 ProA
4
2012–13
2
 ProA
11
2013–14
2
 ProA
2
2014–15
1
 BBL
18
2015–16
1
 BBL
18
2016–17
2
 ProA
2
2017–18
2
 ProA
2
2018–19
1
 BBL
16
2019–20 1 BBL 10 Round of 16
2020–21 1 BBL 5 Group stage
2021–22 1 BBL 9 Runner-up 4 FIBA Europe Cup QF
2022–23 1 BBL 13 Quarterfinals 4 FIBA Europe Cup 2R
2023–24 1 BBL 17 First round

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    References

    1. ↑ "Crailsheim schafft sportlichen Aufstieg". Handelsblatt (in German). 27 April 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
    2. ↑ "HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim – Historisch! HAKRO Merlins schlagen Bonn und qualifizieren sich erstmals in der Vereinsgeschichte für die Playoffs! Freitag kommt der MBC". hakro-merlins.com. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
    3. ↑ "Tsmoki-Minsk survive fightback for OT triumph; Crailsheim, London enjoy debut road wins". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
    4. ↑ "ALBA comeback from down 16, beating Crailsheim Merlins for the German Cup". basketnews.com. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
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