- Dakota Wizards
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Dakota Wizards 
Founded 1995 History Dakota Wizards
IBA: 1995–2001
CBA: 2001–2006
NBA D-League: 2006–presentArena Bismarck Civic Center City Bismarck, North Dakota Team colors Purple, Green, Black, Silver, White (2008-2009 through present)
Purple, Black, Silver, White (2006-2007 through 2007-2008)
Head coach TBA Owner Golden State Warriors Championships (4) 2 CBA 1 IBA 1 D-League Division titles (8) 4 CBA 2 IBA 2 D-League Affiliations Golden State Warriors Website www.dakotawizards.com/ The Dakota Wizards are an American basketball team in the NBA Development League, based in Bismarck, North Dakota. Home games are played at the Bismarck Civic Center.
Contents
History
Beginnings in IBA
The team was originally formed in 1995 as a member of the International Basketball Association, a basketball circuit based in the northern United States and western Canada. In the IBA's final year of operation, the 2000-01 season, the Wizards took the IBA title.
2001-02: CBA merger and championship
After that season, the IBA merged with several teams from the CBA. While conventional wisdom held that the smaller, regional IBA franchises would not survive against the stronger CBA squads, the Wizards held their own with a regular season record of 26-14, and a single-elimination 116-109 win over the Rockford Lightning in the CBA's championship game.
2002-03
In the 2002-03 season, they were the favorites to win the title, but they lost in the semi-finals to the eventual champion, the Yakama Sun Kings.
2003-04: Best season yet, another CBA title
Their third season in the CBA was their best yet. The Wizards rolled to a 34-14 regular season finish, proving themselves as the top team in the league. The Wizards beat the Rockford Lightning 3-1 in the best-of-five semi-finals of the playoffs, and in the winner-take-all championship game, they beat the Idaho Stampede 132-129.
2004-05
After the 2003-2004 season, coach Dave Joerger left the Wizards for a coaching opportunity with the Sioux Falls Skyforce. The Wizards announced that former assistant coach Casey Owens would become the head coach and Brian Walsh would become the assistant. The Wizards lost their opening two games versus the Skyforce, but then cruised to a 12 game winning streak before losing to Sioux Falls on New Year's Eve, 2004. The Wizards also lost two potential all-stars, Billy Keys and Dickey Simpkins, who left the team in mid-season to play overseas.
In the end, the Wizards clinched home court advantage throughout the 2005 playoffs with a league-best 32-16 record. Dakota split their first four playoff games with their first-round opponents, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, until Sioux Falls won game five with a 102-97 victory.
2005-06: Darkest Before Dawn
After the 2004-05 season, head coach Casey Owens was replaced by former Baylor University head coach Dave Bliss. The Wizards ownership never made it clear why Owens was not offered a new contract after coaching the team to the best record in the CBA in 2004-05. Hiring Bliss caused some controversy among basketball fans, as Bliss was previously involved in a basketball scandal involving the death of one of his Baylor University players, Patrick Dennehy. Dave Bliss then resigned after the 2005-2006 season, in which the Wizards finished 19-29 and missed the playoffs.
2006-07: On to the D-League, championship
It was widely speculated that they were going to fold, but on April 1, the team announced a three-year lease agreement with their arena. Five days later, on April 6, they announced they were switching to the NBA Development League.
On May 25, 2006, the Wizards announced that Dave Joerger would be returning as the team's Head Coach for the 2006-2007 NBA Development League season. He was signed to a two year deal. A few weeks later it was announced that the Chicago Bulls and the Washington Wizards would be the team's NBA affiliates. The number of affiliates varied from team to team. Some had three affiliates, some had two, and the Los Angeles D-Fenders had one. As former CBA teams, the Wizards, the Sioux Falls Skyforce and the Idaho Stampede had more experience in signing players, so they were given two affiliates each. The less experienced teams were given three.
2007 D-League Championship trophy awarded to the Dakota Wizards
On April 29, 2007, the Wizards won the D-League championship, defeating the Colorado 14ers 129-121 in overtime [1].
The Darker Era
On June 22, 2007, the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA hired Wizards coach Dave Joerger as an assistant coach along with Johnny Davis and Gordon Chiesa. As a result of the Grizzlies hiring Joerger, the Wizards became affiliated with the Grizzlies, while the Bulls were bumped to a more regional team, the expansion Iowa Energy.
Since the departure of Dave Joerger, the Wizards were coached by Duane Ticknor during the next two season, in which they made the play-offs both times, but never made it to the finals. Rory White was given the coaching position for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 seasons, making the play-offs during his first year, but barely missing out during the second year. It was the first time the Wizards failed to make a postseason appearance since 2005-2006, and just the second time since 1998-1999.
2011-12: Warriors ownership
On June 28, 2011, the Wizards were sold to the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association, making them the fourth D-League team to be fully owned and operated by an NBA team. The Wizards will remain in Bismarck during the 2011-2012 season, but the Warriors are looking to relocate the team to California the following season.
Season By Season
Season League Division Finish Wins Losses Pct. Postseason Results Dakota Wizards 1995–96 IBA 5th 7 17 .292 1996–97 IBA 2nd 17 13 .567 Won Semifinals (Magic City) 2-1
Lost IBA Finals (Black Hills) 2-11997–98 IBA West 3rd 14 20 .412 1998–99 IBA West 5th 12 22 .353 1999–2000 IBA West 1st 30 6 .833 Won Division Semifinals (Winnipeg) 2-0
Lost Division Finals (Magic City) 3-12000–01 IBA West 1st 30 10 .750 Won Division Semifinals (Magic City) 2-0
Won Division Finals (Saskatchewan) 2-0
Won IBA Finals (Des Moines) 3-22001–02 CBA National 1st 26 14 .650 Won Semifinals (Fargo-Moorhead) 3-0
Won CBA Finals (Rockford) 116-1092002–03 CBA National 1st 31 17 .646 Lost Semifinals (Yakima) 3-1 2003–04 CBA 1st 34 14 .708 Won Semifinals (Rockford) 3-1
Won CBA Finals (Idaho) 132-1292004–05 CBA West 1st 32 16 .667 Lost Semifinals (Sioux Falls) 3-2 2005–06 CBA West 4th 19 29 .396 2006–07 D-League Eastern 1st 33 17 .660 Won Division Finals (Sioux Falls) 115-113
Won D-League Finals (Colorado) 129-121 (OT)2007–08 D-League Central 1st 29 21 .580 Lost Round 1 (Sioux Falls) 101-89 2008–09 D-League Central 2nd 27 23 .540 Won Round 1 (Iowa) 114-109
Lost Semifinals (Utah) 103-932009–10 D-League Eastern 3rd 29 21 .580 Lost Round 1 (Austin) 2-1 2010-11 D-League Eastern 4th 18 31 .367 Regular season 388 291 .571 1995-2011 Playoffs 28 19 .596 1995-2011 Current roster
F/C 22 
Ayer, Christopher 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Loyola Marymount G 23 Baker, Maurice 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Oklahoma State G 15 Cooper, Darren 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Portland G 6 Crittenton, Javaris 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Georgia Tech C 32 Gladness, Mickell 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Alabama A&M* G 24 Goods, Anthony 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Stanford G 14 Johnson, Brandon 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 205 lb (93 kg) San Diego F 7 Major, Renaldo 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fresno State - Head coach
- Assistant coach(es)
- Bernard Smith
- Athletic trainer(s)
- Jamal James
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (DP) Unsigned draft pick
- (FA) Free agent
- (IN) Inactive
- (S) Suspended
- (NBA) Assigned from NBA team
Injured- * High school
Roster • Transactions
Last transaction: January 27, 2011Players assigned by NBA teams
Martynas Andriuskevicius - assigned by the Chicago Bulls on December 11, 2006
Hamed Haddadi - assigned by the Memphis Grizzlies on November 25, 2008 and February 17, 2009
Hasheem Thabeet - assigned by the Memphis Grizzlies on February 25, 2010- Lester Hudson - assigned by the Memphis Grizzlies on February 28, 2010
- DeMarre Carroll - assigned by the Memphis Grizzlies on December 14, 2010
Hamady N'diaye - assigned by the Washington Wizards on January 6, 2011
Players recalled by NBA teams
- Martynas Andriuskevicius - recalled by the Chicago Bulls on December 26, 2006
- Hamed Haddadi - recalled by the Memphis Grizzlies on December 24, 2008 and March 18, 2009
- Hasheem Thabeet - recalled by the Memphis Grizzlies on March 8, 2010
- Lester Hudson
- DeMarre Carroll - recalled by the Memphis Grizzlies on January 5, 2011
- Hamady N'diaye - recalled by the Washington Wizards on February 4, 2011
Players called up by NBA teams
- Sean Lampley - called up by the Golden State Warriors on November 13, 2003
- Oliver Miller - called up by the Minnesota Timberwolves on December 13, 2003
- Kaniel Dickens - called up by the Portland Trail Blazers on December 19, 2003
- Maurice Carter - called up by the Los Angeles Lakers on January 30, 2004 and the New Orleans Hornets on March 25, 2004
- Eddie Gill - called up by the Portland Trail Blazers on February 5, 2004
- Rodney Buford - called up by the Sacramento Kings on February 21, 2004
- Billy Thomas - called up by the New Jersey Nets on January 20, 2005
- Maurice Baker - called up by the Los Angeles Clippers on February 22, 2005 and the Portland Trail Blazers on March 12, 2005
- Justin Williams - called up by the Sacramento Kings on January 5, 2007
- Renaldo Major - called up by the Golden State Warriors on January 17, 2007
- Blake Ahearn - called up by the Miami Heat on March 21, 2008 and the San Antonio Spurs on November 16, 2008
- Chris Johnson - called up by the Portland Trail Blazers on January 24, 2011 and March 14, 2011, and called up by the Boston Celtics on February 24, 2011
Affiliates
- Chicago Bulls (2006–2007)
- Golden State Warriors (2011–present)
- Memphis Grizzlies (2007–2011)
- Washington Wizards (2006–2011)
External links
NBA Development League Western Conference Eastern Conference Texas LegendsCanton ChargeDakota WizardsSpringfield ArmorCategory · Basketball Portal · 2011–12 season Golden State Warriors Formerly the Philadelphia Warriors and the San Francisco Warriors • Founded in 1946 • Based in Oakland, California The franchise Arenas Head coaches General managers D-League affiliate Dakota WizardsRetired numbers Hall of Famers NBA Championships (3) Conference Championships (5) Culture Media TV: Comcast SportsNet Bay Area • Radio: KNBR/KTCT • Announcers: Bob Fitzgerald • Jim Barnett • Tim RoyeSports teams based in the Dakotas Baseball 
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- Basketball clubs established in 1995
- Sports clubs established in 1995
- Dakota Wizards
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