Canton Charge

Canton Charge
League NBA G League
Founded 2001
History Huntsville Flight
2001–2005
Albuquerque Thunderbirds
2005–2010
New Mexico Thunderbirds
2010–2011
Canton Charge
2011–present
Arena Canton Memorial Civic Center
Location Canton, Ohio
Team colors Wine, gold, white[1][2][3]
              
Team manager Mike Gansey
Head coach Nate Reinking
Ownership Cleveland Cavaliers
Affiliation(s) Cleveland Cavaliers
Championships 1 (2006)
Division/Conference titles 1 (2013)
Website canton.gleague.nba.com

The Canton Charge are an American professional basketball team based in Canton, Ohio, that competes in the NBA G League. The Charge are owned by and are also the minor league affiliate of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Its home games are held at the Canton Memorial Civic Center.

The franchise was founded in 2001 as the Huntsville Flight, based in Huntsville, Alabama, before moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2005, where they were known as the Albuquerque Thunderbirds until 2010. After playing the 2010–11 season in suburban Rio Rancho as the New Mexico Thunderbirds, the franchise was purchased by the Cavaliers and moved to Canton.

The team won the 2006 NBA D-League championship while playing in Albuquerque. The team lost the 2003–04 NBA D-League Finals, and reached the semifinals in 2004–05, 2006–07, 2011–12, 2014–15 and 2015–16.

History

The team was formed in 2001 as the Huntsville Flight based in Huntsville, Alabama, as a founding member of the NBA Development League, the affiliate minor league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). They played home games at the Von Braun Center. In their first two seasons, they failed to make the playoffs, but in their third they reached the NBA D-League Finals, losing to the Asheville Altitude. The team ended its tenure in Alabama at the conclusion of the 2004–05 season after finishing third in the league and making the playoffs.

New Mexico

The team moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and became the Albuquerque Thunderbirds beginning in the 2005–06 season.[4] They played home games at Tingley Coliseum. In their first season in New Mexico, the team won the 2006 NBA D-League Championship by defeating the Fort Worth Flyers in the championship game. In the 2006–07 season, they again made the playoffs, but were defeated by the Colorado 14ers. The Thunderbirds moved in 2010 to the Santa Ana Star Center in suburban Rio Rancho and were re-branded as the New Mexico Thunderbirds. They played just one season in Rio Rancho, finishing ninth and failing to make the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.

Canton

It was announced on July 7, 2011 the Thunderbirds had been purchased by the Cleveland Cavaliers and were moving to Canton, Ohio, for the 2011–12 season.[4] Alex Jensen was named the first head coach of the Charge on October 11. On October 13, the Canton Charge name, logo, colors, and court design were unveiled.[1] On October 20, the team announced the first two players of the new team: Keith McLeod and Jamine Peterson.[5] On October 25, the new uniforms were released.[6] In the 2011 NBA D-League Draft, the Canton Charge selected Tyrell Biggs in the first round.[7] In their first game as the Canton Charge, they were defeated by the 2010-11 champions Iowa Energy in an 82-100 game at home.[8] Their first win came against the Texas Legends in their third game, which they won by 108-87.[9]

Steve Hetzel was named head coach on September 11, 2013, for 2013–14.[10]

Logos and uniforms

Huntsville Flight (2001–2005)

The first logo of the team, when it still was the Huntsville Flight, consisted of a yellow basketball with a red fighter aircraft flying around the ball, and below it was written "Huntsville" in blue and "Flight" in yellow. Their colors were red, yellow, navy and white. The home uniform was white with "Huntsville" and the numbers written in red, near the arm and in the neck there were black and navy little lines. Their away uniform was similar, but it was red instead of white and the numbers in yellow.

Albuquerque/New Mexico Thunderbirds (2005–2011)

Their logo as Albuquerque and New Mexico was the same, with just one difference, the name written below the logo. The logo consisted on a bird black head, with a basketball in its claw. Their colors were dark yellow, black, white and orange. As New Mexico, they removed the orange color and replaced with grey. Their home uniform was white, with "Thunderbirds" and the numbers written in orange, and black details on the side of the jersey. The away uniform was orange, with black details, and letters ("Albuquerque") in white. As New Mexico, it had a little change, the away uniform used "T-Birds" instead of "New Mexico".

Canton Charge (2011–present)

Under the Cleveland Cavaliers ownership, the Charge adopted a similar style. The logo consists of a musketeer style soldier, with his sword pointing forward, and below him there is written "Canton Charge" in gold and white. The musketeer hat is wine and his clothes are gold. Their colors are wine, gold and white. They have an alternate logo, similar to the "C Sword Logo" from the Cavaliers, with a sword crossing a "C". Their home uniform is gold with details, "Charge" and the numbers written in wine. The away uniform is the same, only with the colors swapped.

Home arenas

Season-by-season

Season Division Regular season Playoffs
Finish Wins Losses Pct.
Huntsville Flight
2001–025th2630.464
2002–038th2228.440
2003–043rd2422.522Won Semifinals (Charleston) 108–100
Lost D-League Finals (Asheville) 106–108
2004–053rd2721.563Lost Semifinals (Asheville) 86–90
Albuquerque Thunderbirds
2005–062nd2622.542Won Semifinals (Florida) 80–71
Won D-League Finals (Fort Worth) 119–108
2006–07Western3rd2426.480Lost Semifinals (Colorado) 100–130
2007–08Southwestern4th2228.440
2008–09Southwestern3rd2426.480
2009–10Western7th1832.360
New Mexico Thunderbirds
2010–11Western9th2030.400
Canton Charge
2011–12Eastern4th2723.540Won First Round (Springfield) 2–1
Lost Semifinals (Austin) 1–2
2012–13Eastern1st3020.600Lost First Round (Tulsa) 1–2
2013–14Eastern2nd2822.560Lost First Round (Sioux Falls) 1–2
2014–15Atlantic2nd3119.620Won First Round (Sioux Falls) 2–1
Lost Semifinals (Fort Wayne) 0–2
2015–16Central2nd3119.620Won First Round (Maine) 2–0
Lost Semifinals (Sioux Falls) 0–2
2016–17Central3rd2921.580Lost First Round (Raptors) 0–2
2017–18Central4th2228.440
Regular season431417.5082001–2018
Playoffs1216.4292001–2018

Current roster

Canton Charge roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
G/F 1 Holland, John  (TW) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1988–11–06 Boston University
G 50 Olekaibe, Kevin 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1992–07–28 UNLV
F Preston, Billy (TW) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1997–10–26 Oak Hill Academy (VA)
G 2 Smith, Scoochie 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1994–11–11 Dayton
G 3 Thornton, Marcus 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1993–02–09 William & Mary
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (NBA) On assignment from NBA affiliate
  • (TW) Two-way affiliate player
  • (I) Inactive
  • Injured

Roster
Last transaction: 2018–05–15

Head coaches

# Head coach Term Regular season Playoffs Achievements
GWLWin%GWLWin%
1John Coffino2007–101506486.427
2Darvin Ham2010–11502030.400
3Alex Jensen2011–131005743.570945.444
4Steve Hetzel2013–14502822.560312.333
5Jordi Fernández2014–161006238.6201055.500
6Nate Reinking2016–present1005149.510202.000

References

  1. 1 2 "Powered by the Cleveland Cavaliers, Canton's new NBA D-League Team announces and unveils name, colors, logo and court design" (Press release). NBA Media Ventures, LLC. October 13, 2011. Archived from the original on October 15, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  2. "Charge Reveal Nike Uniforms" (Press release). NBA Media Ventures, LLC. October 16, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  3. "Canton Charge Reproduction Guideline Sheet". NBA Properties, Inc. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  4. 1 2 "T-Birds Sold, Moving to Ohio". Albuquerque Journal. July 8, 2011.
  5. Canton Native Keith McLeod and Jamine Peterson Sign with Canton Charge
  6. "Canton CHARGE to Suit Up in Wine & Gold". NBA Media Ventures, LLC. October 25, 2011. Archived from the original on October 29, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  7. Charge Select Tyrell Biggs With the 15th Overall Pick in the 2011 NBA Development League Draft
  8. Iowa Spoils Canton's Inaugural Opener
  9. Biggs Lead Charge to First-Ever Win
  10. "Steve Hetzel Named Head Coach of the Canton Charge".
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