Canton Charge

Canton Charge
League NBA Development 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]
              
Team manager Mike Gansey
Head coach Nate Reinching
Ownership Cleveland Cavaliers
Affiliation(s) Cleveland Cavaliers
Championships 1 (2006)
Division / Conference titles 1 (2013)
Website cantoncharge.com

The Canton Charge is a NBA Development League minor league basketball team based in Canton, Ohio. The Charge's NBA affiliate is the Cleveland Cavaliers, which also owns the team. They play their home games at the Canton Memorial Civic Center.

Franchise history

2001–2005: Huntsville years

The team was formed as the Huntsville Flight and were established in Huntsville, Alabama in 2001 as a founding member of the NBA Development League, the affiliate minor league of the NBA. They used to play their home games at the Von Braun Center. In their first two seasons, they didn't 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 2005 season after finishing third in the overall NBADL and making the playoffs.

2005–2011: Albuquerque/New Mexico years

They became the Albuquerque Thunderbirds the following season. They played their games at the Tingley Coliseum. In 2006, the team also won the NBA D-League Championship game over the Fort Worth Flyers in their first year of existence in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In the 2006-07 season, they made the playoffs, but were defeated by the Colorado 14ers. They played in Albuquerque until the 2009-10 season. For 2010–11 the Thunderbirds moved from the Tingley Coliseum to the Santa Ana Star Center and re-branded as the New Mexico Thunderbirds. They played just one season in Rio Rancho, New Mexico and didn't make the playoffs.

2011–present: A new beginning in Canton

On July 7, 2011, it was announced the Thunderbirds had been purchased by the Cleveland Cavaliers and were moving to Canton, Ohio for the 2011–12 season.[2] 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.[3] On October 20, the team announced the first two players of the new team: Keith McLeod and Jamine Peterson.[4] On October 25, the new uniforms were released.[5] In the 2011 NBA D-League Draft, the Canton Charge selected Tyrell Biggs in the first round.[6] 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.[7] Their first win came against the Texas Legends in their third game, which they won by 108-87.[8]

On September 11, 2013, Steve Hetzel was named the head coach for 2013–14.[9]

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 thing with the colors swapped.

Home arenas

Season-by-season

Season Division Regular season Playoffs
Finish Wins Losses Pct.
Huntsville Flight
2001–02 5th 26 30 .464
2002–03 8th 22 28 .440
2003–04 3rd 24 22 .522 Won Semifinals (Charleston) 108–100
Lost D-League Finals (Asheville) 108–106
2004–05 3rd 27 21 .563 Lost Semifinals (Asheville) 90–86
Albuquerque Thunderbirds
2005–06 2nd 26 22 .542 Won Semifinals (Florida) 80–71
Won D-League Finals (Fort Worth) 119–108
2006–07 Western 3rd 24 26 .480 Lost Semifinals (Colorado) 130–100
2007–08 Southwestern 4th 22 28 .440
2008–09 Southwestern 3rd 24 26 .480
2009–10 Western 7th 18 32 .360
New Mexico Thunderbirds
2010–11 Western 9th 20 30 .400
Canton Charge
2011–12 Eastern 4th 27 23 .540 Won First Round (Springfield) 2–1
Lost Semifinals (Austin) 1–2
2012–13 Eastern 1st 30 20 .600 Lost First Round (Tulsa) 1–2
2013–14 Eastern 2nd 28 22 .560 Lost First Round (Sioux Falls) 1–2
2014–15 Atlantic 2nd 31 19 .620 Won First Round (Sioux Falls) 2–1
Lost Semifinals (Fort Wayne) 0–2
2015–16 Central 2nd 31 19 .620 Won First Round (Maine) 2–0
Lost Semifinals (Sioux Falls) 0–2
Regular season 380 368 .508 2001–2016
Playoffs 12 15 .444 2001–2016

Current roster

Canton Charge roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From
F 18 Beverly, Gerald 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1993–11–18 Daemen
G 2 Cook, Quinn 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 1993–03–23 Duke
C 17 Dunigan, Michael 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1989–07–02 Oregon
F 23 Evans, Chris 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1991–01–29 Kent State
F 27 Horford, Jon (I) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1991–10–16 Florida
F 33 Jerrett, Grant 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 232 lb (105 kg) 1993–07–08 Arizona
G 9 Johnson, Justin 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1988–11–04 Concordia-Irvine
G/F 21 Jones, Roosevelt 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1993–01–25 Butler
G/F 7 Lemon, Stedmon (I) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1992–12–31 Johnson C. Smith
F/C 25 Moreland, Eric 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1991–12–24 Oregon State
G 0 Olekaibe, Kevin 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1992–01–28 UNLV
G 10 Williams, Mike 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1991–10–27 Cal State Fullerton
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (NBA) On assignment from NBA affiliate
  • (I) Inactive
  • Injured

Roster • Transactions
Last transaction: 2016–11–20

References

  1. ↑ "Canton Charge Reproduction Guideline Sheet". NBA Media Central. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  2. ↑ Cleveland Cavaliers Bring NBA D-League Team To Canton, Ohio
  3. ↑ POWERED BY THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS, CANTON’S NEW NBA D-LEAGUE TEAM ANNOUNCES AND UNVEILS NAME, COLORS, LOGO AND COURT DESIGN
  4. ↑ Canton Native Keith McLeod and Jamine Peterson Sign with Canton Charge
  5. ↑ Canton CHARGE to Suit Up in Wine & Gold
  6. ↑ Charge Select Tyrell Biggs With the 15th Overall Pick in the 2011 NBA Development League Draft
  7. ↑ Iowa Spoils Canton's Inaugural Opener
  8. ↑ Biggs Lead Charge to First-Ever Win
  9. ↑ "Steve Hetzel Named Head Coach of the Canton Charge".
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