Niagara River Lions

Niagara River Lions
2015–16 Niagara River Lions season
Leagues	NBL Canada
Founded	2015
History	Niagara River Lions (2015–present)
Arena	Meridian Centre
Capacity	5,300
Location	St. Catharines, Ontario
Team colours	Green, Navy Blue, Grey
President	Jeffrey Sotiriou
Head coach	Grâce Lokole (interim)
Ownership	Richard Petko, Michael Skrtich, Jeffrey Sotiriou
Website	www.riverlions.ca

The Niagara River Lions are a Canadian professional basketball team based in St. Catharines, Ontario, that competes in the National Basketball League of Canada. They made their debut in the 2015–16 NBL season in the Central Division. The River Lions play their home games at the Meridian Centre in downtown St. Catharines.^[1]

History

In February 2014, the Niagara Basketball Group started the application process to get a local team.^[2] Over a year later, the NBL Canada announced that they would hold a press conference on the morning of April 8, 2015 regarding the expansion team. It would be attended by regional, municipal, and league representatives.^[3] The group also held an online contest in which fans had the opportunity to make suggestions as to what the team's nickname should be.^[2] On May 14, 2015, the NBL held a Board of Governors' meeting, in which it was approved and confirmed that Niagara would compete in the 2015–16 season.^[4] At a press conference on May 28, 2015, it was announced that the team would be called the "Niagara River Lions," a nickname inspired by the Niagara Region's coat of arms, which depicts the same animal. Ken Murray, a successful Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) coach, came out of retirement to claim the head coaching and General Manager (GM) position.^[5] However, during their inaugural season, Murray was fired from the team on February 20, 2016.^[6]

Players

Current roster

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

Niagara River Lions roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age G 2 Springer-Williams, Clinton 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 210 lb (95 kg) G 3 Zeglinski, Sammy 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) 190 lb (86 kg) 27 – 16 June 1988 G 5 Blazek, Adam 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 190 lb (86 kg) SG 9 Sutherland, Tramar 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 190 lb (86 kg) 27 – 23 March 1989 PG 10 Carter, Greg 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) 170 lb (77 kg) 26 – 26 March 1990 F 11 Stutz, Logan 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 220 lb (100 kg) 27 – 27 May 1988 F/C 13 Allison, Mike 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 220 lb (100 kg) 25 – 4 August 1990 G 15 Rush, Billy 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 200 lb (91 kg) 28 – 8 February 1988 F 21 Edgar, Dylan 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 230 lb (100 kg) F 30 Cook, Da'Quan 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 235 lb (107 kg) 28 – 27 October 1987 C 33 Conley, Russ 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 240 lb (110 kg) 24 – 4 April 1991	Head coach Ken Murray Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster – Transactions Updated: October 28, 2015

References

1. Dadson, Zach. "Five facts about River Lions". BulletNewsNiagara.com. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
2. "Niagara to get its own NBL Canada team". CKTB. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
3. "Professional Basketball Coming To The Niagara Region". NBLCanada.com. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
4. "Optimism And Unity Highlights NBL Canada League Meeting". NBLCanada.com. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
5. Dube, Kris. "River Lions ready to build winning team for Niagara". BulletNewsNiagara.com. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
6. "River Lions axe head coach coach/GM". Niagara Falls Review. 21 February 2016.

External links

• Official website