The Wilmington Sea Dawgs are a professional basketball team and founding member of the

Tobacco Road Basketball League The Tobacco Road Basketball League (TRBL) was a professional men's basketball minor league in the United States that began play in April 2012. The league is centered in the Carolinas. In November 2014 the TRBL entered into an affiliation agreem ...

. The team is based in

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is t ...

, and began play in 2006 as a member of the American Basketball Association. The team later played as a founding member of the

Premier Basketball League The Premier Basketball League, often abbreviated to the PBL, is an American professional men's basketball minor league that began play in January 2008. The league folded after the 2017 season. It was announced that the league would be revived un ...

and a founding member of the

Continental Basketball League The Continental Basketball League (CBL) was a men's basketball minor league in the United States that began play in April 2010. The league was headquartered in Florida. History In 2009, Dennis Truax, who was previously affiliated with the Co ...

. In 2013, they will play at Blizzard Athletics, having previously played at the Joe and Barbara Schwartz Center on the campus of

Cape Fear Community College Cape Fear Community College (CFCC) is a public community college in Wilmington, North Carolina. It enrolls nearly 23,000 students each year. The service area of Cape Fear Community College includes New Hanover and Pender counties with a main ca ...

History

The Sea Dawgs won the ABA Blue Central division in their first year with a record of 19-8 and advanced to the playoff semi-finals, losing to the eventual champion

Vermont Frost Heaves The Vermont Frost Heaves were a professional basketball team in Vermont, United States, that last played in the Premier Basketball League, last coached by Joe Salerno. History The formation of the team was announced in December 2005 by foundi ...

. In their playoff run, they were scheduled to meet the defending champion Rochester Razorsharks, but weather-related travel problems caused the game to not be played. The ABA CEO then refused to reschedule the game although the two teams had agreed to a make up date. The CEO instead tried to force Rochester to accept a forfeit. This incident motivated the Razorsharks to leave the ABA and help form the

(PBL). The team moved to the PBL for the 2007–08 season. They played in the East Division. They finished the regular season at 11-9 and tied for second in the division with the

Reading Railers The Reading Railers were a team of the Premier Basketball League that began play in 2007. They played their home games at the Sovereign Center. The team was originally going to play in the American Basketball Association The American Baske ...

behind the Rochester Razorsharks. They made the playoffs and faced the

Maryland Nighthawks The Washington GreenHawks were a team of the Atlantic Coast Professional Basketball League (ACPBL) based in Washington, D.C. As the Maryland Nighthawks they were formerly part of the American Basketball Association (ABA) and a founding member o ...

in the first round but lost. On April 22, 2008, Kevin Whitted resigned as head coach of the Sea Dawgs On October 17, Dale Kuhl was named head coach. The team took a much more defensive approach compared to previous years and after a slow start sprinted to second place in their division and a wild card berth in the PBL playoffs with a record of 15-5. The Sea Dawgs were the first team this season to defeat the Battle Creek Knights (who finished 18-2 and were 12-0 at the time of their second meeting). The Sea Dawgs swept four games against the Detroit Panthers and five games against the

Augusta Groove The Augusta Groove was a team in the Premier Basketball League that previously played in the Continental Basketball Association and the modern American Basketball Association. Formerly, the team was known as the Charlotte Krunk in the ABA, where ...

. The Sea Dawgs ended their season losing in the playoff semi-finals to the Knights. On 2 November 2009, the Sea Dawgs announced via e-mail their move to the spring season

. The team finished with an 11-5 record and was the number one seed for (and thereby host for) the CBL Championship, which they lost in overtime to the Savannah Wildcats. One of the team's previous co-owners left the team to found the

Cary Invasion The Cary Invasion is a member of the Tobacco Road Basketball League and the Premiere Basketball League based in Cary, North Carolina Cary is a town in Wake and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Raleigh ...

. The Sea Dawgs's four year playoff streak was snapped in a rather mediocre campaign where the club finished 5-6 and missed the playoffs. The team announced (with the Cary Invasion) the formation of the Tobacco Road Basketball League and their membership therein. The TRBL added divisional play, moving the Sea Dawgs to the East Division. The Sea Dawgs also changed their home venue to Blizzard Athletics. Dale Kuhl was replaced as coach by Louis Defeliceantonio. Long time player Joseph King also assumed assistant coaching duties.

Season-By-Season records

References

External links

{{North Carolina Sports Basketball teams in North Carolina Tobacco Road Basketball League teams Former Continental Basketball League teams Sports in Wilmington, North Carolina Former Premier Basketball League teams Basketball teams established in 2006 Defunct American Basketball Association (2000–present) teams 2006 establishments in North Carolina