- Durham Wildcats
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Durham Wildcats 
League British Basketball League Established 2005 History Durham Wildcats
2005-presentArena Newton Aycliffe
Leisure Centre
(Capacity: 1,200)Location Durham, County Durham Head coach 
David ElderkinColours Purple, Black and White Website Uniforms 
Home
AwayDurham Wildcats is a basketball team based in County Durham, England. Established in 2005, the club has enjoyed a rapid rise through the English Basketball League system with three promotions in the past three seasons. As of 2011, Wildcats have been competing in the premier-level British Basketball League as the competition's newest entrants.
Contents
Franchise history
In 2001 the merge of the Belmont Basketball Club and a group of U16 players from Belmont School resulted in a club that competed in the Durham County Local League playing with teams in the 1st and 3rd divisions.
In 2005 Wildcats were officially founded with a team that competed in the EBL Division 3 North for four seasons.
In the first two seasons Wildcats played their home games at Spennymoor Leisure Centre in County Durham. At the start of the 2007-2008 season the team moved to the Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre, which is located in southern Durham.
In the 2008-2009 season the Wildcats won a highly competitive, and close-fought, EBL Division 3 North, gaining promotion to EBL Division 2.
On February 28, 2010, they won their first national silverware beating Westminster Warriors in the Patrons Cup Final (96-70), that was held at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. They went on to win the League title with 18-2 wins gaining promotion to EBL Division 1. On April 25, 2010, they beat Team Northumbria (70-67) in the Play-Offs Final at the Amaechi Basketball Centre, completing the Division 2 Treble.
Wildcats' had a mixed 2010-2011 season in Division 1 and weren't able to emulate the success of the past few seasons. A mediocre 7-11 record gave them a 7th place finish as well as only making it to the 3rd Round of the National Cup and Quarter-finals of the post-season Play-offs.
After weeks of rumours, it was officially announced on May 26, 2011, that the Wildcats would be the latest addition to the British Basketball League following the withdrawal of Worthing Thunder.[1]
Home arenas
- Spennymoor Leisure Centre (2005-2007 and 2009)
- Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre (2007-present)
Season-by-season records
Season Div. Pos. Pld. W L Play Offs National Shield Patrons Cup National Trophy National Cup Durham Wildcats 2005–2006 EBL 3N 6th 16 7 9 DNQ 2nd Round n/a n/a 2nd Round 2006–2007 EBL 3N 4th 20 13 7 Quarter-final 3rd Round n/a n/a 3rd Round 2007–2008 EBL 3N 7th 20 11 9 DNQ Quarter-final n/a n/a 1st Round 2008–2009 EBL 3N 1st 22 18 4 Semi-final 3rd Round n/a n/a 2nd Round 2009–2010 EBL 2 1st 20 18 2 Winners n/a Winners n/a Quarter-final 2010–2011 EBL 1 7th 18 7 11 Quarter-final n/a n/a 1st Round 3rd Round 2011–2012 BBL - - - - - - - - Notes:
- DNQ denotes Did Not Qualify.
Trophies
- EBL Division 2:
- Winners: 2009/10
- EBL Division 3 North:
- Winners: 2008/09
- EBL Division 2 Play-offs:
- Winners: 2009/10
- Patrons Cup:
- Winners: 2009/10
Players
Current roster
The following information is established according to the official websites of the team (www.godurhamwildcats.com) and Britain's top professional league, the BBL (www.bbl.org.uk).
Durham Wildcats roster7 Elderkin, Mark 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) G/F 8 
Pearce, Chris 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) F 9 Chambers, Sam 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) F 10 Elderkin, Paul 
1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) F 11 Jones, Stephen 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) F 12 Davies, Michael 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) F 13 
Hinnenkamp, Fred 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) C 15 
Chalkidis, Notis 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) G/F 20 Capocci, Mike 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) G 21 
Attah, Odiba 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) C 22 O'Mahoney, Liam 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) G 32 Bucci, Ralph 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) C 45 Flaherty, Mario 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) - Head coach
- David Elderkin
- Assistant coach(es)
- None
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- Injured
Roster • updated 2011-10-11
References
External links
- Official Durham Wildcats website
- Durham Wildcats on Facebook
- Durham Wildcats on EuroBasket.com
2011–12 British Basketball League Cheshire Jets · Durham Wildcats · Glasgow Rocks · Guildford Heat · Leicester Riders
Mersey Tigers · Milton Keynes Lions · Newcastle Eagles · Plymouth Raiders · Sheffield Sharks · Worcester WolvesCategories:- English basketball teams
- English sports team stubs
- Europe basketball team stubs
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