Hakro Merlins Crailsheim
Hakro Merlins Crailsheim logo
LeaguesBasketball Bundesliga
Founded31 January 1986 (1986-01-31)
HistoryCrailsheim Merlins
(1986–present)
ArenaArena Hohenlohe
Capacity3,000
Team colorsBlue, Navy, Silver
     
Main sponsorHakro
PresidentMartin Romig
Team managerIngo Enskat
Head coachJussi Laakso
Championships1 ProB
Websitecrailsheim-merlins.de

The 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.

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] The same season, the Merlins also reached the final of the 2021–22 BBL-Pokal, its first final appearance in the national cup. The Merlins eventually lost to 86–78 to ALBA Berlin.[5]

Sponsorship names

Due to sponsorship reasons the team has been known as:

  • Proveo Merlins: 2007–2009
  • Hakro Merlins Crailsheim: 2018–present

Honours

BBL-Pokal

ProB

  • Winners: 2008–09

Players

Current roster

Crailsheim Merlins roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Wt.Age
SF 1 United States Cook, Keandre 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 85 kg (187 lb) 26 – (1997-05-01)1 May 1997
PG 2 United States Childress, Brandon 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 86 kg (190 lb) 26 – (1997-08-31)31 August 1997
SG 3 Germany Stuckey, Maurice 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 90 kg (198 lb) 33 – (1990-05-30)30 May 1990
SG 4 Germany Baggette, Elias 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 70 kg (154 lb) 21 – (2002-04-28)28 April 2002
SF 6 Germany Wulff, Luis 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) 90 kg (198 lb) 19 – (2004-03-14)14 March 2004
C 8 Canada Oduro, Prince 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 113 kg (249 lb) 25 – (1998-10-27)27 October 1998
SF 9 Germany Bleck, Fabian 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 105 kg (231 lb) 30 – (1993-03-19)19 March 1993
PG 11 Germany Kindzeka, René 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 76 kg (168 lb) 28 – (1995-06-05)5 June 1995
SF 12 United States Murry-Boyles, James 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 95 kg (209 lb) 26 – (1997-09-01)1 September 1997
PG 19 France Westermann, Leo 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 89 kg (196 lb) 31 – (1992-07-24)24 July 1992
C 21 Czech Republic Žejdl, Matěj 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 107 kg (236 lb) 20 – (2003-03-30)30 March 2003
C 30 United States Smith, Galin 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 107 kg (236 lb) 25 – (1998-12-29)29 December 1998
PF 10 United States Darden, Tremmell 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 42 – (1981-11-17)17 November 1981
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Finland Daniel Herbert
Athletic trainer(s)
  • Germany Marcus Linder

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured Injured

Updated: January 12, 2024

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

To appear in this section a player must have either:

  • Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
  • Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
  • Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

Head coaches

PeriodName
1986–1989Germany Dieter Wolfarth
1989–1990no head coach
1990–1993Germany Markus Schmidt
1993–1994Serbia Zoran Borovnica
1994–1997Croatia Zlatko Nikolić
1997–1999Germany Matthias Braun
1999–2002Croatia Zoran Banozic
2002–2004Croatia Velibor Balabanović
2004Romania Marian Thede
2004–2008Germany Arne Alig
2008–2012Germany Ingo Enskat
2012 – November 2014United States Willie Young
November 2014 – March 2016Germany Ingo Enskat
March 2016 – May 2021Finland Tuomas Iisalo
May 2021 – May 2022Germany Sebastian Gleim
May 2022 – November 2023Germany Nikola Marković
November 2023 –presentFinland Jussi Laakso

Season by season

Season Tier League Pos. German Cup European competitions
2009–10
2
ProA
6
2010–11
2
ProA
6
2011–12
2
ProA
4
2012–13
2
ProA
11
2013–14
2
ProA
2
2014–15
1
BBL
18
2015–16
1
BBL
18
2016–17
2
ProA
2
2017–18
2
ProA
2
2018–19
1
BBL
16
2019–20 1 BBL 10 Round of 16
2020–21 1 BBL 5 Group stage
2021–22 1 BBL 9 Runner-up 4 FIBA Europe CupQF
2022–23 1 BBL 13th Quarterfinals 4 FIBA Europe Cup2R
2023–24 1 BBL First round

    References

    1. "Crailsheim schafft sportlichen Aufstieg". Handelsblatt (in German). 27 April 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
    2. "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.
    3. "Skyliners coach Gleim moves to rival Crailsheim | tellerreport.com". www.tellerreport.com. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
    4. "Tsmoki-Minsk survive fightback for OT triumph; Crailsheim, London enjoy debut road wins". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
    5. "ALBA comeback from down 16, beating Crailsheim Merlins for the German Cup". basketnews.com. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
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