Hakro_Merlins_Crailsheim
Crailsheim Merlins
Professional basketball team in Crailsheim, Germany
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.
| Hakro Merlins Crailsheim | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Leagues | Basketball Bundesliga | |||
| Founded | 31 January 1986; 38 years ago (1986-01-31) | |||
| History | Crailsheim Merlins (1986–present) | |||
| Arena | Arena Hohenlohe | |||
| Capacity | 3,000 | |||
| Team colors | Blue, Navy, Silver | |||
| Main sponsor | Hakro | |||
| President | Martin Romig | |||
| Team manager | Ingo Enskat | |||
| Head coach | Jussi Laakso | |||
| Championships | 1 ProB | |||
| Website | crailsheim-merlins | |||
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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.[citation needed]
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.[3] 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.[4]
Due to sponsorship reasons the team has been known as:
- Proveo Merlins: 2007–2009
- Hakro Merlins Crailsheim: 2018–present
- Runners-up: 2021–22
- Winners: 2008–09
Current roster
| Crailsheim Merlins roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 |
|---|
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To appear in this section a player must have either:
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| Period | Name |
|---|---|
| 1986–1989 |  Dieter Wolfarth |
| 1989–1990 | no head coach |
| 1990–1993 | Markus Schmidt |
| 1993–1994 |  Zoran Borovnica |
| 1994–1997 |  Zlatko Nikolić |
| 1997–1999 | Matthias Braun |
| 1999–2002 | Zoran Banozic |
| 2002–2004 | Velibor Balabanović |
| 2004 |  Marian Thede |
| 2004–2008 | Arne Alig |
| 2008–2012 | Ingo Enskat |
| 2012 – November 2014 |  Willie Young |
| November 2014 – March 2016 | Ingo Enskat |
| March 2016 – May 2021 |  Tuomas Iisalo |
| May 2021 – May 2022 | Sebastian Gleim |
| May 2022 – November 2023 | Nikola Marković |
| November 2023 –present | Jussi Laakso |
| Season | Tier | League | Pos. | German Cup | European competitions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–10 | 2 |
ProA | 6 |
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| 2010–11 | 2 |
ProA | 6 |
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| 2011–12 | 2 |
ProA | 4 |
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| 2012–13 | 2 |
ProA | 11 |
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| 2013–14 | 2 |
ProA | 2 |
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| 2014–15 | 1 |
BBL | 18 |
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| 2015–16 | 1 |
BBL | 18 |
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| 2016–17 | 2 |
ProA | 2 |
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| 2017–18 | 2 |
ProA | 2 |
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| 2018–19 | 1 |
BBL | 16 |
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| 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 Cup | QF |
| 2022–23 | 1 | BBL | 13 | Quarterfinals | 4 FIBA Europe Cup | 2R |
| 2023–24 | 1 | BBL | 17 | First round | ||
- "Crailsheim schafft sportlichen Aufstieg". Handelsblatt (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.
- "Tsmoki-Minsk survive fightback for OT triumph; Crailsheim, London enjoy debut road wins". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
- "ALBA comeback from down 16, beating Crailsheim Merlins for the German Cup". basketnews.com. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
