Jacksonville Giants

The Jacksonville Giants are a professional basketball team based in Jacksonville, Florida that plays in the American Basketball Association. The franchise was created in the 2010-2011.

The Giants hold their home games at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.

Staff[]

Owner(s) - Ron Sholes
Head Coach - Kevin Waters
Assistant Coach(es) - David Graham, Jerry Williams, Anthony Lumpkin, and Donate' Hill

Roster[]

Domane Brown
Jermaine Bell
Matt Fields
Courtenay Brown
Kevin Thomas
Freeman Taylor
Anthony Jackson
Jerrod Tucker
Tony Hooper
George Gray
Currye Todd

History[]

Previous attempts at a Jacksonville franchise[]

Originally, Jacksonville had plans to join the league during it's inaugural season as the Jacksonville Jackals, but the plans fell through. In 2006, Jacksonville joined the league with the addition of the Jacksonville Jam franchise, but the Jam would fold after one season. Beforehand, Jacksonville received the Jacksonville Wave franchise that would fold before even finishing the 2004-2005 season.

Jacksonville Giants[]

Jacksonville would finally get it's own permanent ABA team by the 2010-2011 season with the Jacksonville Giants. The Giants were owned by local attorney Ron Sholes, who invested greatly in the team in the hopes of creating a minor league championship-caliber team.

Today, the Giants hold the distinction of being the winningest team in the ABA, having won two championships in a row in 2012 and 2013. The Giants also hold the basketball record for most points ever made in a professional basketball game, which they set on February 7, 2014 by beating the Georgia Roadrunners 222-106.

The Giants also hold the ABA record for most people in attendance at a regular season game, when 8,534 fans crowded into Jacksonville Memorial Arena to watch the Giants defeat the Fayetteville Flight 161-111.

Season-by-Season Record[]

2010-2011

In their first season, the Jacksonville Giants acquired 7 footer Jermaine Bell, the league's star player (and the face of the franchise), Matt Fields, a serious offensive threat on the court, and Nick "Hollywood" Wallery, another big offensive threat, making the Giants one of the most dominant teams in the ABA.

The Jacksonville Giants went undefeated in their inaugural season, and cruised through the playoffs until narrowly losing to the Gulf Coast Flash in the semifinals.

2011-2012[]

With a growing fan base, a talented team, an a play-to-win attitude, the Jacksonville Giants went 11-3 in the regular season, eventually sweeping the South Carolina Warriors 2-0 in the finals to clinch their first title.

After taking the title, Jacksonville held a parade in celebration of winning the ABA championship.

2012-2013[]

Despite losing Nick Wallery to the Atlanta Aliens in the 2012 off-season, the Giants still dominated the competition behind Bell's and Field's offensive skills.

This time, the Giants would go 27-1 in the season and clinch their second title after sweeping the North Dallas Vandals in the finals.

2013-2014[]

The Giants continued to dominate other ABA teams and finished with a 29-1 record that season, clinching the Southeast Division title.

The Giants also broke their own record for most points ever scored in a basketball game by beating the Gainesville Heat 233-73.

In the ABA playoffs, Jacksonville defeated the South Florida Gold in the semifinals and meet the Shreveport-Bossier Mavericks in the ABA championship series.

Jacksonville lost both games to lose their first finals series in franchise history.

References[]

1. http://www.jacksonvillegiants.com/aba-history.html

2. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacksonville_Giants

3. http://www.jaxobserver.com/2010/12/02/pro-basketball-in-jacksonville-a-giant-challenge/