Crailsheim Merlins
Crailsheim Merlins, for sponsorships reasons named Hakro Merlins Crailsheim, is a professional basketball club based in Crailsheim, Germany. Established in 1986, the club plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the highest professional league in Germany. The club is a part of the multi-sports club TSV Crailsheim. Home games are played in the Arena Hohenlohe, which has a capacity of 3,000 people.
| Hakro Merlins Crailsheim | ||||
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| Leagues | Basketball Bundesliga FIBA Europe Cup | |||
| Founded | 31 January 1986 | |||
| History | Crailsheim Merlins (1986–present) | |||
| Arena | Arena Hohenlohe | |||
| Capacity | 3,000 | |||
| Team colors | Blue, Navy, Silver | |||
| President | Martin Romig | |||
| Team manager | Ingo Enskat | |||
| Head coach | Sebastian Gleim | |||
| 2020–21 position | Basketball Bundesliga, 6th of 18 | |||
| Championships | 1 ProB | |||
| Website | crailsheim-merlins | |||
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History
The club was founded on 31 January 1986 by a group of students. Until 1994, the team was only active at the lower local leagues and had problems in finding a hall to play at. A year later, the club found a new home in the barracks of departed American armed forces. In 2001, the Merlins managed to promote to the German second division, now the ProA, for the first time. A new home arena was found again, in the form of a renovated market hall.
In the 2013–14 season Merlins promoted to the Basketball Bundesliga, by reaching the ProA Finals.[1] The club managed to avoid relegation in its first season in the league, because Artland Dragons was relegated the club received a wild card. However, in the following 2015–16 season the team was relegated once again after finishing last. In the 2020-21 season, coach Tuomas Iisalo guided the Merlins to their first Bundesliga playoff appearance in club history.[2] Iisalo left Crailsheim at the conclusion of the 2020-21 campaign, Sebastian Gleim was named the new head coach.[3]
In the 2021–22 season, Crailsheim made its European debut as it was placed in the regular season of the FIBA Europe Cup. On 13 October 2021, the Merlins recorded an away win over Bakken Bears in their debut.[4]
Sponsorship names
Due to sponsorship reasons the team has been known as:
- Proveo Merlins 2007–2009
- Hakro Merlins Crailsheim 2018–present
Honours
- ProB
- Winners: 2008–09
Players
Current roster
| Crailsheim Merlins roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Updated: October 19, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.
Notable players
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.
| Criteria |
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To appear in this section a player must have either:
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Season by season
| Season | Tier | League | Pos. | German Cup | European competitions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–10 | ProA | |||||
| 2010–11 | ProA | |||||
| 2011–12 | ProA | |||||
| 2012–13 | ProA | |||||
| 2013–14 | ProA | |||||
| 2014–15 | BBL | |||||
| 2015–16 | BBL | |||||
| 2016–17 | ProA | |||||
| 2017–18 | ProA | |||||
| 2018–19 | BBL | |||||
| 2019–20 | 1 | BBL | 10 | Round of 16 | ||
| 2020–21 | 1 | BBL | 5 | Group stage | ||
| 2021–22 | 1 | BBL | 4 Europe Cup | |||
References
- "Crailsheim schafft sportlichen Aufstieg". Handelsblatt.com (in German). 27 April 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
- "HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim - Historisch! HAKRO Merlins schlagen Bonn und qualifizieren sich erstmals in der Vereinsgeschichte für die Playoffs! Freitag kommt der MBC". hakro-merlins.com. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
- "Skyliners coach Gleim moves to rival Crailsheim | tellerreport.com". www.tellerreport.com. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
- "Tsmoki-Minsk survive fightback for OT triumph; Crailsheim, London enjoy debut road wins". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
