The Mansfield Hawks were an

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 ...

(IBA) professional basketball team located in

Mansfield, Ohio Mansfield is a city in Richland County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 47,534 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located approximately from Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, Columbus via Interstate 71, it i ...

for one season, in 1998-99. The Hawks won the IBA championship in their lone season. They were guided by local, but infamous, coach

Kevin Mackey Kevin Mackey (born August 21, 1946) is a former head coach of men's basketball at Cleveland State University. His CSU Vikings upset the Indiana Hoosiers and the Saint Joseph's Hawks to make the Sweet 16 in the 1986 NCAA Division I men's baske ...

. One of the Hawks' notable players was 7 ft 2 in, 315 pound center

Garth Joseph Garth McArthur Fitzgerald Joseph (born August 8, 1973) is a Dominican former professional basketball player. At 7'2" and 315 pounds, his physique was often compared to that of Shaquille O'Neal, especially when he was a young and raw-skilled cent ...

, a dominating presence with a physical appearance resembling

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

. The team played its home games in the gymnasium of Malabar Middle School. Before the 1999–00 season, the team was relocated to

Youngstown Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

and became the

Youngstown Hawks The Youngstown Hawks were an American International Basketball Association team based in Youngstown, Ohio, from 1999 to 2000. The team was owned by former Cleveland Cavaliers owner Ted Stepien, who moved the team to Youngstown from Mansfield. The ...

. In 2005,

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

was again targeted as the home for another possible professional basketball team.

All-time roster

''This list is incomplete'' * Tommy Adams * Dubrey Black - Bowling Green, Ashland University * Samuel Haley - University of Missouri * Donnell Harrison *

Matt Hill Matthew Hill (born January 19, 1968) is a Canadian voice actor working for Ocean Productions. Career Hill's roles include Ed in '' Ed, Edd n Eddy'', Kevin Keene/Captain N in '' Captain N: The Game Master'', Kira Yamato in '' Gundam Seed'' a ...

- University of Wisconsin * Kris Hunter - University of Virginia, Jacksonville University *

- St. Rose * Darren Little * Charles Macon - Ohio State University, Central Michigan *

Curtis McCants Curtis Reynard McCants (born August 2, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6-foot point guard, he played college basketball at George Mason for 3 years, being named CAA Rookie of the Year in 1994 and first team All-Conf ...

* Matt McClelland - Saint Francis University *

Gaylon Nickerson Gaylon Harrel Nickerson (born February 5, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and other leagues. Born in Osceola, Arkansas, he attended Wichita State University, But ...

- Northwestern Oklahoma State * Roheen Oats *

Reggie Okasa Reggie is a given name, usually a short form of the name Reginald (male) and Regina (female). Men with the given name * Reggie Bonnafon (born 1996), American football player * Reggie Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Reggie Bush (b ...

- LaSalle University * Dapreis Owens - University of Nebraska-Lincoln * Malcolm Sims - Cleveland State University * Corey Tarrant * Anthony Taylor - Miami (OH) University * Bevin Thomas * Vincent Thomas - University of Wisconsin Superior * Art Crowder - Howard University * Seth Marshall (basketball)-Freso State University * Mike Lloyd- Syracuse University * LaMarr Greer - Florida State University * Shane Drisdom * John Tripoulas - Oberlin College * John Wassenberger * Artemus McClary

References

External links

Team historyMission
Defunct basketball teams in the United States Mansfield, Ohio {{Ohio-basketball-team-stub