Halifax Hurricanes

Halifax Hurricanes
League	NBL Canada
Founded	2015
Folded	2021
History	Halifax Hurricanes 2015–2021
Arena	Scotiabank Centre
Capacity	11,093
Location	Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Team colours	Navy blue, sky blue, white
Website	halifaxhurricanes.ca
Home Away

The Halifax Hurricanes were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Hurricanes were founded as members of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBLC) to replace the Halifax Rainmen, who filed for bankruptcy in July 2015 ultimately leading to the club folding. In 2021, the organization left the NBLC.

History

Following steadily declining attendance and fallout from the 2015 NBL Canada Finals brawl the Halifax Rainmen folded in July 2015, with owner Andre Levingston citing bankruptcy with the franchise falling into a debt of nearly $700,000. ^{[1] [2]} The Rainmen's folding left a void in the Halifax professional basketball market and the league had lost one of its founding franchises and second largest market. Soon after, efforts began to replace the Rainmen.

On September 3, 2015, a new Halifax team was announced by the league. The new ownership group was expanded from just Andre Levingston to a 25-member investor group from the Halifax business community to stabilize ownership and reduce financial risk. ^[3] Andre Levingston was named general manager of basketball operations. Hugo López was hired to be the franchise's first head coach on September 30, 2015. ^[4] On October 20, 2015, the franchise unveiled its name and logo. The Hurricanes also announced their first two signings, former Rainmen player Cliff Clinkscales and newcomer Mike Glover. ^{[5] [6]}

In their first season, the Hurricanes won both preseason games before winning their first regular-season home game 129–113 against the Moncton Miracles in front of approximately 2,000 fans on December 26, 2015. ^[7]

Coach López and the Hurricanes were unable to come to terms for a second season and Kevin Keathley was hired as head coach and general manager for the 2016–17 season. ^[8] Unfortunately, coach Keathley had to leave the team before his first season for personal reasons. He was replaced by Mike Leslie. ^[9] After three seasons, Leslie moved up to be the Hurricanes' president and general manager, with Ryan Marchand taking over as head coach. ^[10]

The 2019–20 season was then curtailed in March 2020 due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The league subsequently cancelled its 2020–21 season due to continuing restrictions during the pandemic. In October 2021, the Hurricanes announced they had left the league. ^[11]

Home arena

Main article: Scotiabank Centre

The Scotiabank Centre is a multi-purpose indoor sporting arena located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The arena has a basketball capacity of 11,093. The Hurricanes share the arena with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and The Halifax Thunderbirds of the National Lacrosse League. The building is next to the World Trade and Convention Centre in Downtown Halifax, at the foot of Citadel Hill and it is the largest arena in the maritimes by seating capacity. ^[12]

Current roster

Halifax Hurricanes roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age F 15 Arseneault, Kyle 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 30 – (1994-10-24)24 October 1994 PG 12 Clinkscales, Cliff  (C) 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) 185 lb (84 kg) 41 – (1984-03-11)11 March 1984 F 25 Freeman, Gabe 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 39 – (1985-11-05)5 November 1985 PF Hall, Carl 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 238 lb (108 kg) 36 – (1989-03-29)29 March 1989 SF 1 Johnson, Chris 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 205 lb (93 kg) 36 – (1988-07-13)13 July 1988 F 20 Johnson, Tremayne 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 200 lb (91 kg) 35 – (1989-08-20)20 August 1989 G 13 Kindred, Joel 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 194 lb (88 kg) 34 – (1991-01-07)7 January 1991 SG 14 Mason, Antoine 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 210 lb (95 kg) 33 – (1992-05-24)24 May 1992 G 10 Scott, Calvin Tyler 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 33 – (1992-03-10)10 March 1992 PG 4 Sibley, Devin 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 174 lb (79 kg) 29 – (1996-02-09)9 February 1996 PF 22 Waithe, Marvell 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 216 lb (98 kg) 37 – (1987-10-20)20 October 1987 PF 25 Washington, CJ 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 219 lb (99 kg) 33 – (1992-02-28)28 February 1992 G 2 Zimmerman, Ta'Quan 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 200 lb (91 kg) 33 – (1991-12-02)2 December 1991	Head coach Mike Leslie Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: January 9, 2020

Season-by-season record

Season	Coach	Regular season						Post season
		GP	Won	Lost	Win %	Finish	Avg Attendance	GP	Won	Lost	Win %	Result
2015–16	Hugo López	40	29	11	.725	1st in Atlantic Division	1929	14	11	3	.786	League Champions
2016–17	Mike Leslie	40	27	13	.675	1st in Atlantic Division	1926	15	9	6	.600	Lost in finals
2017–18	Mike Leslie	40	28	12	.700	1st in Atlantic Division	1958	16	10	6	.625	Lost in finals
2018–19	Mike Leslie	40	25	15	.625	2nd in Atlantic Division	2095	12	6	6	.500	Lost in division finals
2019–20	Ryan Marchand	24	8	16	.333	—	1759	Season curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic
Totals		184	117	67	.636	3 division titles	1977	57	36	21	.632	1 League Championship

Notable players

To appear in this section a player must have either:

- Set a club record or won an individual award as a professional player.
- Played at least one official international match for his senior national team at any time.

• Coreontae DeBerry

See also

• Sports teams in Halifax, Nova Scotia

References

• How a Brawl and Sleazy Owner Killed the Halifax Rainmen, Vice Sports, 23 December 2015
• Investigan a Hugo López y Nguema por el caso de los Pasaportes, Marca, 4 February 2016
• La nacionalización fraudulenta de Slaughter y Panko apunta a dos ex del Real Madrid, Mundo Deportivo, 3 February 2016

1. Joseph, Rebecca. "Halifax Rainmen file for bankruptcy". Global News . Retrieved 22 November 2015.
2. Lipscombe, Kristen. "Return of pro basketball to Halifax 'looks promising'". Metro Halifax . Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
3. "Professional basketball returning to Halifax for 2015-16 NBLC season with local ownership" (PDF). HalifaxHurricanes.ca. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-11-23. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
4. "Halifax NBL Canada team names Hugo Lopez as Head Coach" (PDF). HalifaxHurricanes.ca. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
5. Lipscombe, Kristen. "'The storm is coming': Local pro basketball club renamed Halifax Hurricanes". Metro Halifax . Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
6. Zaccagna, Remo. "Halifax's new NBL team dubbed the Hurricanes". The Chronicle Herald . Retrieved 22 November 2015.
7. "Hurricanes open season with split". The Chronicle Herald . Retrieved 29 December 2015.
8. "Hurricanes Appoint New Coach/GM". OurSports Central. 28 September 2016.
9. "Hurricanes Welcome New Head Coach and General Manager". OurSports Central. 28 November 2016.
10. "Hurricanes Announce Front Office Moves". OurSports Central. 20 December 2019.
11. Palov, Willy (7 October 2021). "Halifax Hurricanes leaving the National Basketball League of Canada". www.saltwire.com. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
12. "Facility Information". Scotiabank-Centre.com. Retrieved 22 November 2015.