Geraldton Buccaneers

Establishment

In the 1980s, the highest level of basketball in the state of Western Australia was played in the Perth-based District Competition. In an effort to expand the league, the Western Australian Basketball Federation began approaching various business people in the country areas to gauge their interest in a statewide basketball competition. Among those approached were Brian Middleton and Graham Greenaway, residents of Geraldton. Middleton and Greenaway convinced Kevin Jones, the Administrator of the Geraldton Amateur Basketball Association (GABA), to join them in establishing a basketball team in Geraldton. With Jones leading the project, Middleton and Greenaway provided funding for the license and became the team's private owners. They served as the licensees until the GABA eventually bought the rights to the team.^[1] Geraldton was joined by Albany and Bunbury, and then Kalgoorlie and Mandurah.^[1]

Early success

1989 saw the formation of the State Basketball League (SBL). The Buccaneers' initial coaching staff included Head Coach Tom McClain, a former player for the Perth Wildcats, and his two assistants, Kevin Jones and Jim O'Dea. Americans Dan Hunt and Brian Funingsland were the team's first import players, while Perth native Ray Chamberlain joined the squad. The rest of the team was made up of local Geraldton residents.^[1] The Buccaneers finished their inaugural season as minor premiers, earning first place on the standings with a 19–3 record. They defeated the Willetton Tigers 106–93 in the semi-finals before losing 114–89 to the Perth Redbacks in the SBL Grand Final.^[2]

In 1993, the Buccaneers won their second minor premiership after finishing the regular season in first place with a 19–5 record.^[3] In 1996, they made their first grand final appearance since 1989, where they lost 103–96 to the South West Slammers. In 1997, they returned to the SBL Grand Final, where they lost 94–92 to the Perth Redbacks.^[4]

In 2000, the Buccs finished on top of the West Conference table with a league-best 17–2 record.^[5] The team was led by coach Kevin Jones and guard Greg Brown, who led the league in total points scored in 2000 with 568 (25 games, 22.7 ppg).^[6] They made it through to their fourth SBL Grand Final, where they faced the Lakeside Lightning. In the championship decider, Brown scored 13 of his game-high 30 points in the second quarter of the 96–76 win,^[7] guiding the Buccs to their maiden championship. Canadian forward Jeff Bevington complemented Brown with a 25-point, 15-rebound performance, while guard Daniel McGlynn had 18 points.^[8] A year later, the Buccs made their fifth grand final appearance in 13 years, but despite a 30-point effort from Bevington, they were defeated 101–83 by the Perry Lakes Hawks.^[9]

Sixth grand final appearance

The Buccaneers played in the finals every year throughout the 2000s.^[3] In 2011, they missed the finals for the first time since 1998.^[3] They again missed the finals in 2012 before returning to form in 2013 with a playoff appearance.^[3][10]

Following their revival in 2013, the Buccaneers headed into the 2014 season not settling for anything less than a championship.^[11] Behind imports Carter Cook and Jerrah Young, as well as former Melbourne Tigers player Bennie Lewis and veterans Aaron Ralph, Mat Wundenberg and Luke Wrensted, the Buccaneers claimed their first minor premiership since 2000 with a 19–7 record. They went on to beat the South West Slammers and Lakeside Lightning in four-straight playoff matches to reach their first SBL Grand Final since 2001.^[10] However, they came up short in the championship decider as they were defeated 99–83 by the East Perth Eagles.^[12] The Buccaneers had now won just the one championship from six grand final appearances.^[13]

Early finals exits

In 2015, the Buccaneers remained in the mix for top championship contenders as they finished the regular season in second place with a 20–6 record. Despite their impressive season and boasting a roster that included Carter Cook, Bennie Lewis, Aaron Ralph, Daniel Thomas and Cory Cooperwood,^[14] the Buccaneers were outclassed by the seventh-seeded Goldfields Giants in the quarter-finals, losing the series 2–0.^[15]

Despite losing Bennie Lewis for the 2016 season, the Buccaneers were able to cover his loss by acquiring Matthew Adekponya and Jackson Hussey, while also signing Maurice Barrow to complement four-year import Carter Cook.^[15] They went on to lead the Buccs to a fourth-place finish with an 18–8 record, before advancing to the semi-finals where they were swept by the eventual champion Cockburn Cougars.

The 2017 season started off well for the Buccaneers, as they went 6–1 over the first seven games. The Buccs' early-season form demonstrated their ability to cover all areas, with imports Maurice Barrow and Dwayne Benjamin tremendously versatile, Mat Wundenberg and James Paringatai experienced bigs, Jackson Hussey and Matt Hancock a strong back court, and Aaron Ralph a sharpshooter off the bench.^[16] They went on to finish the regular season in third place with a 19–7 record before reaching the semi-finals, where they were defeated 2–1 by the Joondalup Wolves despite taking the first game.

There was a mass turnover in the playing stocks for the Buccaneers leading into 2018, with Benjamin and Hancock moving on, while Hussey and Barrow also departed to join the defending champion Perth Redbacks. As a result, they picked up imports Gokul Natesan and Colter Lasher, to go with Marcus Alipate of Tonga and Earnest Ross of Guam.^[17] With a 23–3 record in 2018, the Buccaneers won their first minor premiership since 2014. It also marked the Buccs' best regular-season record since 2001, when they finished second at 24–2.^[3] They went on to lose to the eighth-seeded Rockingham Flames in straight sets in the quarter-finals.

Current roster

Geraldton Buccaneers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. G 7000200000000000000♠2 Alipate, Marcus 7000183000000000000♠1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) G 7000500000000000000♠5 Natesan, Gokul (I) 7000196000000000000♠1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) F 7000600000000000000♠6 Lasher, Colter (I) 7000200999999999999♠2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) G 7000800000000000000♠8 Ducas, Alex 7000194000000000000♠1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) G 7000900000000000000♠9 Myers, Dylan 7000191000000000000♠1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) G/F 7001100000000000000♠10 Ralph, Aaron 7000200000000000000♠2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) G 7001110000000000000♠11 Ryan, Coby 7000172000000000000♠1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) F/C 7001120000000000000♠12 Smith, Ike 7000195000000000000♠1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) G 7001210000000000000♠21 Iaria, Joseph 7000168000000000000♠1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) G 7001220000000000000♠22 Ross, Earnest 7000196000000000000♠1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) C 7001230000000000000♠23 Wundenberg, Mat (C) 7000200000000000000♠2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) C 7001330000000000000♠33 Paringatai, James 7000200000000000000♠2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) G 7001340000000000000♠34 Haste, Oliver 7000188000000000000♠1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 7001440000000000000♠44 Galvin, William Bennett, Liam Hunt, Josh Hunt, Liam Joseph, Dempsey Joseph, River	Head coach Ray Evans Assistant coach(es) Aaron Ducas Mark Heron Team manager Joseph Bertolini Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Development player (I) Import player Injured Roster Updated: 30 July 2018

Notable past players