Moncton Miracles

The Moncton Miracles were a Canadian professional basketball team in Moncton, New Brunswick. Established in 2011, they were a charter member of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL). The Miracles played their home games at the Moncton Coliseum as a part of the league's Atlantic Division and were one of two New Brunswick teams in the league along with the Saint John Riptide. The team was founded and owned by Steven Conville but were now without an owner for three seasons. Their seasons in the NBL Canada had been highlighted by struggles,[1] until the franchise was finally folded following the 2016–17 season when a new ownership decided to start a new franchise in Moncton called the Moncton Magic.[2]

Moncton Miracles
DivisionAtlantic Division
LeagueNBL Canada
Founded2011
HistoryMoncton Miracles
2011–2017
ArenaMoncton Coliseum
LocationMoncton, New Brunswick
Team coloursBlack, orange, gray, white
       
Team managerBrennan Bellemare
Head coachPaul Mokeski
OwnershipVacant
WebsiteMiraclesBasketball.com

History

The Miracles were founded in 2011 and made their debut in the 2011–12 season of the NBL (National Basketball League). The team was primarily established by Steven George Conville;Steven Conville, who was the vice president and portfolio manager for Macquarie Private Wealth, part of the Macquarie Group, at the time. A big basketball fan, Conville accepted an offer to start a professional team by Andre Levingston, who would be the co-founder of the NBL Canada.[3]

Following a failure to establish an NBL Canada team based out of Kingston, Ontario, Conville decided to create one in Moncton. He targeted the city because of its rapid growth and tight-knit community. Despite not having visited the city before becoming the Miracles' owner, Conville gained a perspective of Atlantic Canada during business trips to Halifax, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.[3] He said, "So when I did my research on Moncton, I found out how much they loved basketball out there."[3] At a press conference in August 2011, Conville was officially named team owner. He also announced his hiring of Norris "Bo" Bell as the first head coach for the Miracles. Bell ran a basketball academy in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States.[3] A former player, he also had experience in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and in France and Switzerland. Bell faced the likes of Micheal Ray Richardson, Dražen Petrović, and Billy Knight during his playing career.[4] He also became fluent in French through his years in Europe, which was part of the reason he drew Conville's attention.[3][5]

The Miracles' nickname was inspired by the term Moncton Miracle, which referred to the city of Moncton's comeback from recession in the 1980s. Conville described it by saying that it "connects with Moncton's history and symbolizes the strength, courage and toughness that this city has shown over the years."[5] The nickname was also chosen because "Miracle" is the same word in both French and English.[5] Conville also commented on the team's logo, "Our team logo is meant to embody the strength that comes through when you rise above... the player in the logo carrying the ball is not wallowing in the past. He's heading towards the future and he's doing it ferociously."[5]

After three seasons of operations under the league management and without an owner, the NBL Canada sold a new franchise to three local business to play as the Moncton Magic.[2]

Final roster

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

Moncton Miracles roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Wt.Age
F 5 Beaty, Tydran 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 215 lb (98 kg)
C 30 Creekmore, Will 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 260 lb (120 kg) 31 – (1989-04-09)9 April 1989
G 13 Gibson, Gary 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 205 lb (93 kg) 34 – (1986-12-01)1 December 1986
C 33 Granado, Tom 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 260 lb (120 kg) 32 – (1988-11-04)4 November 1988
F 2 Jeanty, Cordell 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 230 lb (100 kg) 41 – (1979-10-01)1 October 1979
G 55 Justice, James 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) 165 lb (75 kg) 32 – (1989-01-12)12 January 1989
F 10 Kearney, Brandan 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 190 lb (86 kg) 27 – (1993-03-01)1 March 1993
F 44 Martin, Mike 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 230 lb (100 kg) 35 – (1985-02-28)28 February 1985
F 22 Smith, Ryan 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 205 lb (93 kg)
G 23 Strickland, Dexter 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 190 lb (86 kg) 30 – (1990-10-01)1 October 1990
G 42 Tate, Tyrrel 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 195 lb (88 kg) 28 – (1992-02-12)12 February 1992
G 7 Vanzant, Shawn 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 171 lb (78 kg) 32 – (1988-10-19)19 October 1988
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Martin Knezevic
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured
Updated: April 13, 2016

Season-by-season record
Season Division Regular season Playoffs Head coach Awards
Finish Games Wins Losses Pct. GB
Moncton Miracles
2011–12—7th36927.25019Did not qualifyNorris Bell (0–7)
Mike Evans (9–20)		—
2012–13Atlantic3rd402020.5006Won First Round (Mill Rats), 2–1
Lost Semifinals (Lightning), 1–3		Ricky Benitez (8–9)
Serge Langis (1–1)
Dennis Truax (11–10)		Devin Sweetney (MVP)
Isaac Butts (RoY)
Kim Blanco (EoY)
2013–14Atlantic3rd401426.3509Lost First Round (Storm), 1–3Dennis Truax—
2014–15Atlantic4th32824.25012Lost First Round (Rainmen), 1–3Serge Langis—
2015–16Atlantic3rd401525.27514Lost First Round (Mill Rats), 1–3Serge Langis—
2016–17Atlantic4th401525.37512Lost First Round (Hurricanes), 0–3Paul Mokeski—

References
  1. "Moncton Miracles need local owners, NBL commissioner says". CBC. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  2. "Magic retires Miracles: Moncton welcomes new pro basketball team". cbc.ca. Retrieved 2017-06-23.
  3. Fanfair, Ron. "Too short to play, Steven Conville now owns basketball team". Sharenews. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  4. "Biography". CoachBoBell.com. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  5. "NBL: Does Moncton believe in Miracles?". Journal Pioneer. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
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