The Saskatchewan Hawks was a professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

club based in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as th ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

that competed in the

International Basketball Association The International Basketball Association (IBA) was founded in 1995 by a group of businessmen led by Tom Anderson. The original owners of franchises in the league were George Daniel (Black Hills Posse-Rapid City, SD), John Korsmo, Al Gardner, and A ...

beginning in the 2000–2001 season. The team's ownership group was composed of Tom Tao and former NBA owner Ted Stepien, as well as local private owners. The team's best season was during the 2000–2001 season that saw the Hawks finish second in the division and defeat the Billings RimRockers in the first round of playoffs, before eventually losing to the eventual IBA Champion Dakota Wizards in round two. That season, the team was coached by Rob Spon, before he was unexpectedly let go with two games remaining in the regular season. The director of operations was Travis Grindle. Mike Stefanuk was team manager; Mitchell MacGowan was an Assistant Coach and the other was assistant coach Otis Hailey, who assumed the head coach position after Spon was let go. The team then joined the Continental Basketball Association in 2001 when the IBA folded, along with former IBA rivals, the

Dakota Wizards The Dakota Wizards were an American professional basketball team based in Bismarck, North Dakota. They played in the NBA Development League from 2006 until 2012. After the 2011–12 season, the team relocated to Santa Cruz, California, and now pl ...

and the

Fargo-Moorhead Beez The Fargo-Moorhead Beez was a professional basketball club based in Fargo, North Dakota that competed in the International Basketball Association beginning in the 1995-1996 season. They were the 1995-1996 and the 1997-1998 International Basketbal ...

. In their first and only season in the CBA, the Hawks compiled the worst record in the league (8–32), and the team folded during the off-season. Their first coach that year was Laurian Watkins, who was let go in a power struggle.

External links

Official Site
(defunct) {{Defunct Saskatchewan sports teams Sport in Saskatoon Defunct basketball teams in Canada Defunct sports teams in Saskatchewan Basketball in Saskatchewan Basketball teams established in 2000 Basketball teams disestablished in 2001