 | |
| Founded | 2015; 9 years ago (2015) |
|---|---|
| Folded | 2019; 5 years ago (2019) |
| League | ABA 2015–2017 NABL 2019 |
| Division | Northeast |
| Team history | Buffalo Blue Hawks 2015–2019 Buff City Braves 2019 |
| Based in | Buffalo, New York |
| Arena | Bishop Timon – St. Jude 2015–2017 Delavan Grider Community Center 2019 |
| Colors | Blue, blue, white |
| Owner | Franklin Jackson 2015–2019 Robert Cornelius 2019 |
| Head coach | Franklin Jackson 2015–2017 Darel Goodwin 2019 Robert Cornelius 2019 |
| Captain | Prince Knight 2019 |
| Overall record | 3–15 (.167) |
| Playoff berths | 1 (2019) |
The Buffalo Blue Hawks were a basketball team based in Buffalo, New York. The team was a member of the American Basketball Association from 2015 to 2017, and later the North American Basketball League in 2019.
History
2011–2014: Franchise acquisition
The Buffalo Stampede played their final season in 2010–11 as part of the American Professional Basketball League (ACPBL) before folding, leaving the city without a professional team.
Franklin Jackson founded a new ACPBL franchise called the Buffalo Warriors, but his team folded midway through the 2011–12 season.
Jackson then partnered with Tawan Slaughter to purchase an American Basketball Association (ABA) franchise for the city in November 2012. Slaughter went on to found the Buffalo 716ers in the Premier Basketball League after Jackson left the partnership.
Amateur teams were fielded by Jackson under the Buffalo Blue Hawks name beginning in 2013, and in December 2015 the club joined the American Basketball Association's Northeast D2 Division. It was the second ABA franchise in city history, following the Buffalo Sharks.
Home games were to be played at Bishop Timon – St. Jude High School.
2015–2017: Failed seasons in ABA
In its inaugural game of the 2015–16 ABA season, the team lost on the road to the Steel City Yellow Jackets by a score of 61–147 on December 12, 2015. Franklin Jackson coached the team to a 0–2 record, at which point their season ended prematurely in January 2016.
The team played in the Northeast Division for the 2016–17 ABA season, and in January 2017 their campaign once again ended early after an 0–7 start.
2019: Final season in NABL
The team was awarded entry into the North American Basketball League (NABL) in January 2018, and began play in the Northeast Division of the East Conference for the 2019 NABL season. Darel Goodwin was hired as head coach, and Delavan Grider Community Center was named as their new home venue.
Franklin Jackson sold the club mid-season to Robert Cornelius in April 2019 after the team started 0–4, leading to Cornelius taking over as head coach and changing the roster.
Lovell Smith was named NABL Player of the Week after scoring a triple-double in the team's 113–106 victory over the Lancaster Thunder on May 18, 2019. Smith was again named NABL Player of the Week after scoring 38 points, 20 rebounds, and 7 assists in the team's 135–102 victory over the Detroit Cobras on June 1, 2019.
The team's late-season success led them to qualify for the playoffs with a 3–5 record, where they were eliminated in the quarterfinal round by the Lancaster Thunder.
Dialo Rivera-Stevens was named to the 2009 All-NABL Team for his performance during the season.
Robert Cornelius announced in October 2019 that the franchise would rebrand as the Buff City Braves and once again join the American Basketball Association (ABA), but instead the team was folded. Lovell Smith and Jamaal Carter would go on to play for the Buffalo eXtreme, an ABA team that formed in 2023.
Personnel
2015–2016
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Injured2016–2017
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2019
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster |
Season-by-season record
| League champions | Conference champions | Division champions | Playoff berth |
| Season | Conference | Finish | Division | Finish | Wins | Losses | Win% | GB | Playoffs | Awards | Head coach | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | — | — | Northeast D2 | 3rd | 0 | 2 | .000 | — | Did not qualify. | Franklin Jackson | ||
| 2016-17 | — | — | Northeast | 11th | 0 | 7 | .000 | — | Did not qualify. | Franklin Jackson | ||
| 2019 | East | 6th | Northeast | 4th | 3 | 5 | .375 | — | Lost quarterfinal (Thunder) 99–121 | Dialo Rivera-Stevens (All-NABL) | Darel Goodwin Robert Cornelius |
Game log
2015–2016
Regular season
| 2015–16 game log Total: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1) | ||||||||||||||||||
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December: 0–1 (home: 0–0; road: 0–1)
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January: 0–1 (home: 0–1; road: 0–0)
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2016–2017
Regular season
| 2016–17 game log Total: 0–7 (Home: 0–4; Road: 0–3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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November: 0–2 (home: 0–1; road: 0–1)
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December: 0–3 (home: 0–1; road: 0–2)
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January: 0–2 (home: 0–2; road: 0–0)
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2019
Regular season
| 2018–19 game log Total: 3–5 (Home: 3–1; Road: 0–4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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March: 0–3 (home: 0–1; road: 0–2)
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April: 0–2 (home: 0–0; road: 0–2)
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May: 2–0 (home: 2–0; road: 0–0)
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June: 1–0 (home: 1–0; road: 0–0)
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Playoffs
| 2019 playoff game log Total: 0–1 (home: 0–0; road: 0–1) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Quarterfinals: 0–1 (home: 0–0; road: 0–1)
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References
- "Buffalo Stampede Join the ACPBL". OurSports Central. August 10, 2010. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- "Dill's Warriors pull out of league". royalgazette.com. April 18, 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- ^ McKissic, Rodney (May 10, 2023). "Hoops team owner Slaughter makes nothing but net gains". Buffalo News. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
- ^ "American Basketball Association 2016, News, Teams, Scores, Stats, Standings, Awards". usbasket. May 3, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
- ^ "Live Stats by 805stats.com". 805stats.com. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
- ^ "American Basketball Association 2017, News, Teams, Scores, Stats, Standings, Awards". usbasket. April 2, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
- "Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report". OurSports Central. January 1, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
- "Facebook". facebook.com. May 2, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
- "Facebook". facebook.com. May 22, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
- "Facebook". facebook.com. June 6, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
- ^ "North American Basketball League 2019, News, Teams, Scores, Stats, Standings, Awards". usbasket. July 16, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
- "Facebook". facebook.com. July 30, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
- "BUFF CITY BRAVES ADDED TO ABA EXPANSION -". Keep The Dream Alive. October 16, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- Bronstein, Jonah (November 4, 2023). "Darren Fenn's eXtreme Buffalo basketball venture: 'We don't want to be a flash in the pan'". News 4 Buffalo. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
