Buffalo Sharks

The Buffalo Sharks were a professional basketball team in the American Basketball Association based in Buffalo, New York. The team played two seasons as the Buffalo Rapids and Buffalo Silverbacks before suspending operations. This team is not to be confused with the Buffalo Stampede of the Premier Basketball League.

Buffalo Sharks
Founded2005
LeagueABA 2005–2008
Team historyBuffalo Rapids
2005–06
Buffalo Silverbacks
2006–07
Buffalo Sharks
2008
Based inBuffalo, New York
ArenaKoessler Athletic Center
ColorsRed and Blue
OwnerVincent Lesh
Head coachRichard Jacob
Championships0
Division titles0
CheerleadersBuffalo Rush (05-06)
DancersWBLK Sweet Divas (06-07)

History

Buffalo Rapids (2005–06)

The Buffalo Rapids were founded by Gary Nice and began play in the fall of 2005 as part of the ABA's Connie Hawkins Division. It was the first professional basketball team to play in Buffalo, New York since the Buffalo Braves. The team's name was chosen by a fan voting, with "Rapids" finishing second to "Braves". Trademark restrictions prevented the franchise from adopting the Braves name, but the Rapids team colors were identical to those of the Buffalo Braves.

Dan Robbie and Todd Wier became co-owners of the franchise in December 2005 following the league's removal of Gary Nice.[1]

Initial games were played at Burt Flickinger Center, but a financial dispute left the team searching for a new permanent home. They played most home games at Park School of Buffalo until February 2006. The final home game of the 2005–2006 season was played at Buffalo State Sports Arena, with the team later utilizing the venue for most 2006–2007 home games.

Buffalo Silverbacks (2006–07)
The controversial first logo of the Silverbacks

It was announced in May 2006 that the franchise had changed its name to the Buffalo Silverbacks.[2] Controversy arose in August 2006 when the Buffalo News ran an article condemning the team's logo, which featured a silverback gorilla, as racist. The team responded by adopting a new team logo featuring a tiger in October 2006.

Another bit of controversy involved the Silverbacks announcing that DayShawn Wright had been signed to the team in September 2006.[3] Soon after this announcement, Wright signed with the Minot SkyRockets of the CBA.[4]

Head coach Richard Jacob resigned from the team in November 2006 to focus on his job at Medaille College.[5] Trevor Ruffin, a player from the team's inaugural season and an assistant coach during their 2006–07 training camp, replaced him as head coach.

In 2007, Weir sold the team to Vincent Lesh.[6] Lesh has been an entertainment promoter in Western New York for 25 years and is the owner of Concerts Plus. On November 11, 2007, the Silverbacks announced that they were suspending operations. On their official MySpace page, the team stated "If you did not already know, the Silverbacks are not playing this fall in the ABA. New ownership has decided to take this season off after taking over the team with 5 weeks before tip off."

Buffalo Sharks (2008)

Lesh re-branded the team as the Buffalo Sharks and reactivated them to begin play in November 2008. Richard Jacob was named the Head Coach and General Manager as he was for both the Rapids and Silverbacks. The Sharks were to play at Koessler Athletic Center on the campus of Canisius College. However, on 2008-09-18, Lesh announced his folding of the Sharks, his leaving of the ABA, and his purchase of the former Buffalo Dragons.[7]

The ABA would later return to Buffalo with the Buffalo 716ers, set to begin play in 2013; that team has since moved to the Premier Basketball League.

The ABA would again return to Buffalo with the Buffalo Blue Hawks, who began play in 2016.

Standings
Regular Season
Year Wins Losses Percentage Home Away League Division
2005–06 11 17 .392 6-7 5-10 17th – ABA 3rd – Connie Hawkins
2006–07 16 10 .615 10-3 6-7 12th – ABA 3rd – Northern
Playoffs
Year Wins Losses Percentage Home Away Seeding Finish
2005–2006 1 1 .500 1-0 0-1 15th – ABA Lost Quarterfinal
2006–2007 1 1 .500 - 1-1 12th – ABA Lost Semifinal

Game results

2005–2006
ABA Regular Season
Date Venue Status Opponent Result Score High Score
11/03/2005 Burt Flickinger Center Home Maryland Nighthawks Loss 108-107 17 – Carlton Brown
11/05/2005 Blue Cross Arena Away Rochester Razorsharks Loss 89-88 29 – Tim Winn
11/11/2005 Centre Pierre Charbonneau Away Montreal Matrix Loss 94-74 22 – Kevin Ross
11/14/2005 Burt Flickinger Center Home Harlem Strong Dogs Win 97-90 32 – Trevor Ruffin
11/19/2005 Montgomery College Away Maryland Nighthawks Loss 132-102 20 – Tim Winn
11/26/2005 Niagara Catholic High School Home Montreal Matrix Win 104-94 26 – Tim Winn
11/29/2005 Park School of Buffalo Home Maryland Nighthawks Loss 113-112 (OT) 34 – Tim Winn
12/01/2005 Lackawanna College Away Northeast Pennsylvania Breakers Loss 95-86 29 – Tim Winn
12/04/2005 Hunter College Away Harlem Strong Dogs Loss 116-109 -
12/13/2005 Park School of Buffalo Home Harlem Strong Dogs Win 107-102 (OT) 31 – Tim Winn
12/17/2005 Montgomery College Away Maryland Nighthawks Loss 110-94 20 – Brad Buddenborg
12/18/2005 Essex County College Away Newark Express Win 89-88 23 – Tim Winn
12/23/2005 Gow School Home Rochester Razorsharks Loss 110-100 29 – Tim Winn
12/28/2005 Park School of Buffalo Home Maryland Nighthawks Win 94-89 30 – Rashid Byrd
12/30/2005 Centre Pierre Charbonneau Away Montreal Matrix Win 98-86 38 – Brad Buddenborg
01/07/2006 Barnstable High School Away Boston Frenzy Win 113-96 -
01/11/2006 Park School of Buffalo Home Rochester Razorsharks Loss 94-91 27 – Tim Winn
01/14/2006 Saint Joseph's College Away Strong Island Sound Win 70-65 20 – Tim Winn
01/21/2006 Saint Joseph's College Away Strong Island Sound Loss 123-107 -
01/26/2006 Blue Cross Arena Away Rochester Razorsharks Loss 114-87 19 – Tim Winn
02/01/2006 Park School of Buffalo Home Montreal Matrix Loss 132-127 (OT) 40 – Johnny Tyson
02/03/2006 Park School of Buffalo Home Boston Frenzy Win 136-90 52 – Antoine Sims
02/05/2006 Park School of Buffalo Home Strong Island Sound Loss 128-100 23 – Turner Battle
02/19/2006 Park School of Buffalo Home Strong Island Sound Loss 102-101 31 – DeRon Rutledge
02/25/2006 Barnstable High School Away Boston Frenzy Win 117-104 20 – Tim Winn
03/04/2006 Hunter College Away Harlem Strong Dogs Loss 103-96 -
03/05/2006 Buffalo State Sports Arena Home Newark Express Win 112-104 21 – Willie Chandler
03/07/2006 Blue Cross Arena Away Rochester Razorsharks Loss 106-95 -
ABA Playoffs (15th seed)
Date Venue Status Opponent Result Score High Score
03/12/2006 Hilbert College Home Boston Frenzy (16th seed) Win 133-88 29 – Johnny Tyson
03/17/2006 New Birth Missionary Baptist Church Away Atlanta Vision (7th seed) Loss 99-97 19 – Johnny Tyson

2006–2007
ABA Regular Season
Date Venue Status Opponent Result Score High Score
11/08/2006 Buffalo State Sports Arena Home Detroit Panthers Loss 109-100 33 – Antoine Sims
11/12/2006 Buck Weeber Center Away Detroit Panthers Loss 128-113 24 – Antoine Sims
11/16/2006 Blue Cross Arena Away Rochester Razorsharks Loss 107-93 23 – Dameon Sansom
11/18/2006 Burlington Memorial Auditorium Away Vermont Frost Heaves Loss 110-100 27 – Johnny Tyson
11/24/2006 Buffalo State Sports Arena Home Rochester Razorsharks Win 96-93 29 – Antoine Sims
11/30/2006 Buffalo State Sports Arena Home Hammond Rollers Win 120-104 19 – Antoine Sims
12/08/2006 Buffalo State Sports Arena Home Detroit Panthers Win 119-104 24 – Antoine Sims
12/09/2006 Blue Cross Arena Away Rochester Razorsharks Loss 109-90 18 – Marlin Johnson
12/13/2006 Buffalo State Sports Arena Home Richmond Ballerz Win 119-97 22 – Antoine Sims
12/14/2006 Buffalo State Sports Arena Home Richmond Ballerz Win 123-116 25 – Kevin Ross
12/15/2006 Buck Weeber Center Away Detroit Panthers Loss 110-104 21 – Antoine Sims
12/20/2006 Buffalo State Sports Arena Home Rochester Razorsharks Loss 107-102 33 – Antoine Sims
12/29/2006 Buffalo State Sports Arena Home Cape Cod Frenzy Win 118-110 28 – Johnny Tyson
12/30/2006 Buffalo State Sports Arena Home Quebec City Kebekwa Win 110-98 29 – Lamar Castile
01/05/2007 Buffalo State Sports Arena Home Rochester Razorsharks Loss 96-94 30 – Lamar Castile
01/10/2007 Burlington Memorial Auditorium Away Vermont Frost Heaves Loss 92-90 29 – Lamar Castile
01/13/2007 Libbey High School Away Toledo Royal Knights Win 152-138 33 – Lamar Castile
01/18/2007 Buffalo State Sports Arena Home Detroit Panthers Win 103-95 25 – Lamar Castile
01/19/2007 University of North Florida Arena Away Jacksonville Jam Loss 105-96 25 – Lamar Castile
01/21/2007 Montgomery College Away Maryland Nighthawks Win 114-108 31 – Dameon Sansom
02/09/2007 Université Laval Away Quebec City Kebekwa Win 91-79 23 – Antoine Sims
02/10/2007 Centre Pierre Charbonneau Away Montreal Royal Win 99-76 18 – Kueth Duany
02/21/2007 Iroquois High School Home Vermont Frost Heaves Win 100-95 45 – Lamar Castile
02/22/2007 Park School of Buffalo Home Detroit Panthers Win 116-102 38 – Antoine Sims
03/09/2007 Centre Pierre Charbonneau Away Montreal Royal Win 102-99 34 – Lamar Castile
03/10/2007 Université Laval Away Quebec City Kebekwa Win 120-107 38 – Lamar Castile
ABA Playoffs (12th seed)
Date Venue Status Opponent Result Score High Score
03/16/2007 University of North Florida Arena Away Jacksonville Jam (2nd seed) Win 100-91 37 – Lamar Castile
03/22/2007 Felix Events Center Away Beijing Aoshen Olympian (7th seed) Loss 121-106 30 – Antoine Sims

Roster and staff

2005–2006
  • 04 – Andrew Bush – F
  • 08 – Antoine Sims – G
  • 09 – Marlin Johnson – G/F
  • 11 – Tim Winn – G
  • 12 – Modie Cox – G
  • 18 – DeRon Rutledge – F
  • 20 – Kevin Ross – F
  • 21 – Mark Bortz – F
  • 24 – Carlton Brown – F
  • 33 – Willie Chandler – G
  • 34 – Brad Buddenborg – F
  • 42 – Jean Paul Afif – F
  • 44 – Johnny Tyson – C

Released

  • 18 – Tyrone Thomas – F
  • 21 – Brian Gilic – C
  • 21 – Louis-Patrick Levros – F
  • 21 – Pierre Tucker – G
  • 25 – Turner Battle – G
  • 33 – Rashid Byrd – C
  • ?? – Shanod Burton – G

Staff

  • Owners – Gary Nice (11/05 – 12/05), Dan Robbie and Todd Wier (12/05 – 11/07)
  • General Manager – Richard Jacob
  • Head Coach – Richard Jacob
  • Assistant Coach – Tyrone Thomas
  • Player Assistant Coaches – Modie Cox and Tim Winn
  • Strength and Conditioning Coach – Bob Bateson
  • Account Executive – Bryan Perry
  • Game Day Operation Manager – Timothy M. Simko
  • Media Relations – Nadia Fezzani

2006–2007
  • 05 – David Ruffin – G
  • 11 – Lamar Castile – G
  • 12 – Modie Cox – G
  • 18 – Trevor Ruffin – G
  • 21 – Mackenzie Clark – F
  • 23 – Antoine Sims – G
  • 24 – Marlin Johnson – G/F
  • 31 – Kueth Duany – G/F
  • 32 – Kevin Ross – F
  • 33 – Keith Closs – C
  • 34 – Sean Murphy – G/F
  • 42 – Andrew Bush – C/F
  • All-Star Selection – Antoine Sims
  • ABA Community Service Award – Modie Cox

Released

  • 03 – David Bailey – F
  • 03 – Victor Venters – F
  • 04 – Koran Barnes – G
  • 10 – Dameon Sansom – G
  • 18 – Kenny Brunner – G
  • 18 – Jeff Daisley – C
  • 20 – Todd Jones – G/F
  • 21 – Eze Samuel – C

Staff

  • Owners – Dan Robbie and Todd Wier
  • Head Coach – Trevor Ruffin
  • Player Assistant Coach – Modie Cox
  • Strength and Conditioning Coach – Bob Bateson

References
  1. http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3252068
  2. http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3307942
  3. http://oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3381729
  4. http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3384184
  5. Niagara Gazette - SILVERBACKS: Jacob steps down as coach unexpectedly
  6. McKissic, Rodney (2008-07-11). "Is two a crowd?". Buffalo News. Archived from the original on November 22, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  7. McKissic, Rodney (2008-09-18). "New minor-league basketball team will be called Stampede". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
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