Wellington Saints

Wellington Saints
Leagues	National Basketball League
Founded	1981
History	Wellington Saints 1999–present
Arena	TSB Bank Arena
Location	Wellington, New Zealand
Team colors	Blue & white
CEO	Nick Mills
President	Justin Toebes
General manager	Fran Scholey
Head coach	Kevin Braswell
Ownership	Nick Mills
Championships	9 (1984, 85, 87, 88, 2003, 10, 11, 14, 16)
Website	Saints.co.nz
Uniforms
Home Away

The Wellington Saints are a New Zealand men's basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (NBL). They play their home games at TSB Bank Arena in Wellington.

History

In 1968, Father Terry O'Neil suggested to a tight-knit Senior 'A-team' that they form a St. Pat's Old Boys' Basketball Club. The newly formed club proved healthy competition to the established Marist Club, which became a healthy rivalry and an exciting competition for fans. In 1979, plans were beginning to form in order to start a National Basketball League in New Zealand. The established Marist Club and the Old Boys' Club began to look for a Physical Education teacher to coach both teams. Well-known American Fred Sawaya was appointed, becoming the first imported basketball coach.^[1]

By the time the National League started in 1981, the team was ready for action. The club was strengthened by amalgamation of four St. Pat's teams and 12 Southern Basketball Club teams. The powerful new club was officially named "the Saints". In 1982, the Saints won the second division title with the help of American import Kenny McFadden, promoting them to the first division for the 1983 season. From there on, the Saints built a dynasty in the 1980s, collecting four championships (1984, 1985, 1987 & 1988) and were runners-up in 1983 and 1986. McFadden was named most outstanding guard in 1983 and 1984 as he led the league in scoring in those years. McFadden's performance during the 1980s was acknowledged in 2012 by his No. 5 jersey becoming the first in the NBL to be retired.^[2]

The early 1990s held dwindling fortunes for the Saints. Following the conclusion of the 1996 season, both the Capital Power Saints and the Hutt Valley Lakers were struggling to survive. They amalgamated for the 1997 season and attracted naming sponsorship of the restructured regional energy company TransAlta, as TransAlta Wellington, but basketball fans wanted a 'real' name and so, for the 1998 season, they became the TransAlta Wizards. Even this wasn't strong enough for the fans and so, for the 1999 season, they returned to the original identity of the Wellington Saints.^[3]

The Saints returned to title contenders in the early 2000s, as they finished runners-up in 2001 and won their fifth title in 2003. The Saints stumbled through the rest of the decade before becoming the powerhouse team in 2010 following the demise of the Auckland Stars. They went back-to-back in 2010 and 2011 behind the leadership of Lindsay Tait, and with the help of Corey Webster, the Saints garnered their eighth title in 2014. Between 2008 and 2016, the Saints were grand finalists every year except 2009 and 2013. The club won their ninth title in 2016 with the help of import Torrey Craig, Tai Wesley, Leon Henry and B. J. Anthony.

Australian NBL hopes

In February 2014, after many years of angling for a Wellington presence in the Australian National Basketball League, Saints' CEO Nick Mills appeared set to get his wish, with ANBL boss Fraser Neill viewing a capital-based club as a prime candidate for a proposed four-team expansion in the 2015–16 season. With the ANBL hoping to expand from eight to 16 teams within five years, Wellington, Brisbane, Tasmania, Canberra and a second Melbourne side were all in the mix for 2015–16.^[4] Initial talks between Mills and Neill were positive but they struck a speed bump during a meeting in May 2014 after Mills' bid differed from the ANBL's preference.^[5]

Current roster

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

Wellington Saints roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. G 0 Ili, Shea 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) C 2 Davis, Bryan (I) 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) G/F 3 Craig, Torrey (I) 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) F 7 Ekenasio, Damien (C) 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 9 Sens, Matthew (DP) G 10 Mills, Jordan 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) C 11 Hunt, Jordan (DP) 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) G/F 13 Prewster, Dion 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) F 15 Henry, Leon 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) F 20 Anthony, B. J. 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) G 21 Webb, Joe (DP) 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) F 42 Wesley, Tai 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) G McCulloch, Nikau (DP) 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) G Mikaio, Jamal (DP) 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) Roache, Ethan (DP)	Head coach Kevin Braswell Assistant coach(es) Zico Coronel Team manager Phil Hartley Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Development player (IN) Inactive (I) Import player Injured Roster Updated: 12 May 2016

References

1. Wellington Saints – Wo Are We
2. "Saints Legend Kenny McFadden becomes first NBL player with a retired jersey". Saints.co.nz. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013.
3. "Locations - Exodus Saints". Wotzon.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013.
4. ANBL dream now a step closer for Nick Mills
5. Contrary visions stall Wellington's ANBL talks

External links

• Saints' official website
• Wellington Saints on Facebook
• Wellington Saints chairman Justin Toebes to miss last NBL finals