Niagara River Lions



















































Niagara River Lions
Niagara River Lions logo
Leagues CEBL
Founded 2015
History
Niagara River Lions
(2015–present)
Arena Meridian Centre
Capacity 4,030
Location St. Catharines, Ontario
Team colours Green, navy blue, grey
              
President Jeffrey Sotiriou
Head coach Joe Raso
Ownership Richard Petko, Michael Skrtich, Jeffrey Sotiriou
Website
www.riverlions.ca


Kit body greensides.png

Home jersey

Kit shorts greensides.png

Team colours


Home




Kit body greensides.png

Away jersey

Kit shorts greensides.png

Team colours


Away



The Niagara River Lions are a Canadian professional basketball team based in St. Catharines, Ontario, that competes in the Canadian Elite Basketball League. From 2015 to 2018, they were members of the National Basketball League of Canada. The River Lions play their home games at the Meridian Centre in downtown St. Catharines.[1]




Contents






  • 1 History


  • 2 Mascot


  • 3 Niagara Lady Lions


  • 4 Players


    • 4.1 Current roster




  • 5 Season-by-season record


  • 6 References


  • 7 External links





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.[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, and was replaced by assistant coach Grâce Lokole.[6] Lokole would step down from the head coach position during the next season on March 11, 2017.[7] He was replaced by local Niagara College head coach Keith Vassell on an interim basis while Lokole stayed on as an assistant. Joe Raso would be named the head coach for the 2017–18 season.[8]


In 2017, River Lions' owner Richard Petko became one the investors of a new basketball league called Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). On June 8, 2018, the River Lions announced that the franchise had moved to the CEBL after three seasons in the National Basketball League of Canada.[9]



Mascot


For their first season, the River Lions announced that their mascot would be Dunkin the River Lion. Dunkin performs during every River Lions home game and attends events throughout the Niagara Region.



Niagara Lady Lions


The Niagara Lady Lions are the official dance and promotional teams for the Niagara River Lions. They act as ambassadors for the team with fans and in the community. Both teams perform during River Lions home games and attend events throughout the Niagara Region.



Players



Current roster


.mw-parser-output .refbegin{font-size:90%;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul{list-style-type:none;margin-left:0}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul>li,.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>dl>dd{margin-left:0;padding-left:3.2em;text-indent:-3.2em;list-style:none}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-100{font-size:100%}

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. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age

G

5000000000000000000♠0

United States

Tate, Jaylon

7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)

7001771107029000000♠170 lb (77 kg)

23 – (1995-01-16)16 January 1995


G

7000200000000000000♠2

Canada

Rocca, Joe

7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)

7001870897350400000♠192 lb (87 kg)

26 – (1992-02-08)8 February 1992


PG

7000300000000000000♠3

United States

Johnson, Ronnie

7000182880000000000♠6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)

7001816466266000000♠180 lb (82 kg)

25 – (1993-12-12)12 December 1993


G/F

7000400000000000000♠4

United States

Dyck Jr., Torrence

7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)

7001870897350400000♠192 lb (87 kg)

24 – (1994-03-22)22 March 1994


F

7000900000000000000♠9

Canada

Boucard, Guillaume

7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)

7001893576968900000♠197 lb (89 kg)

28 – (1990-03-16)16 March 1990


G

7001110000000000000♠11

Canada

Wood, Connor

7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)

7001898112892600000♠198 lb (90 kg)

25 – (1993-05-29)29 May 1993


G

7001130000000000000♠13

United States

Klie, Adam

7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)

7001907184740000000♠200 lb (91 kg)

23 – (1995-04-30)30 April 1995


G/F

7001140000000000000♠14

Canada

Joseph, Kris

7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)

7001952543977000000♠210 lb (95 kg)

30 – (1988-12-17)17 December 1988


F

7001150000000000000♠15

United States

Muldrow, Sam

7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)

7002104326245100000♠230 lb (100 kg)

30 – (1988-06-08)8 June 1988


F

7001210000000000000♠21

Canada

Marshall, Matt

7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)

7001975223595500000♠215 lb (98 kg)



SG

7001230000000000000♠23

United States

Hooper, Max (I)

7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)

7001907184740000000♠200 lb (91 kg)

23 – (1995-02-05)5 February 1995


F

7001240000000000000♠24

United States

Pollard, Devonta

7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)

7001907184740000000♠200 lb (91 kg)

24 – (1994-07-07)7 July 1994


F

7001320000000000000♠32

Canada

Smith, Dwayne

7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)

7002102965467990000♠227 lb (103 kg)

29 – (1989-03-28)28 March 1989


PF


United States

Aiken, C.J. (I)

7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)

7001907184740000000♠200 lb (91 kg)

28 – (1990-09-27)27 September 1990



Head coach





  • Canada Joe Raso


Assistant coach(es)





  • Canada Nate Benjamin




  • Canada Elliott Etherington




  • Canada Vito DiMartino




Legend



  • (C) Team captain


  • (I) Inactive


  • Injured Injured





  • Roster

  • Transactions

Updated: April 1, 2018


Season-by-season record

































































League Season Coach Regular season Post season
Won Lost Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result

NBLC
2015–16
Ken Murray
Grâce Lokole
16 24 .400 3rd Central 0 3 .000 Lost Div. Semifinals
2016–17 Grâce Lokole
Keith Vassell
14 26 .350 5th Central
Did not qualify
2017–18 Joe Raso 17 23 .425 4th Central 1 3 .250 Lost Div. Semifinals
Totals 47 73 .392 1 6 .143


References





  1. ^ Dadson, Zach. "Five facts about River Lions". BulletNewsNiagara.com. Retrieved 7 July 2015..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}


  2. ^ ab "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.


  7. ^ "Keith Vassell taking over NBL Canada team on interim basis". stcatharinesstandard.ca. Retrieved 11 March 2017.


  8. ^ "Niagara River Lions name Joe Raso as new head coach". Niagara This Week. June 28, 2017.


  9. ^ "River Lions make move to CEBL – holding court in 2019". St. Catharines Standard. June 8, 2018.




External links



  • Official website









Popular posts from this blog

Florida Star v. B. J. F.

Error while running script in elastic search , gateway timeout

Adding quotations to stringified JSON object values