BIO: Tim Coenraad was born in Brisbane (QLD) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Redlands basketball program.

FAMILY: His grandfather was Louis Farrakhan – the longstanding leader of the Nation of Islam.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Tim Coenraad made his NBL debut with the Wollongong Hawks at 24 years of age. He scored three points in his first game.

In his first season as Hawks head coach Gordie McLeod led the team through one of the closest season’s in NBL history, a three-way tie for second place occurred with Wollongong, Townsville and Gold Coast all finishing the regular season with the same record (16-12). Head to head victories saw the Hawks (5-3) claim the second seed, Crocodiles (4-4) finish third, and Gold Coast Blaze (3-5) take the final playoff spot.

Wollongong suffered a huge blow mid-season when star import Tywain Mckee (17.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals) was shut down after suffering two stress fractures in his lower back. Illawarra (11-10) then signed journeyman guard Luke Martin for the remaining 13 games of the season. In McKee’s absence, McLeod was forced to rely on the Hawk’s local talent for their playoff run. The team was led by Cam Tragadh (14.7 points, 5.4 rebounds), Glen Saville (10.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.3 steals), team captain Mat Campbell (10.3 points and 3.0) and the blue-collar Larry Davidson (9.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.3 steals) who would also win the Hawks club MVP.

As a rookie Coenraad would play the role of backup to Glen Saville at small forward, playing all 34 games and averaging 7.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists.

The Hawks eliminated the third placed Townsville Crocodiles (2-1) in the semi finals with Coenraad playing minimal court time, his best game coming in the game two loss where he scored five points and collected two rebounds. The Hawks would make their reach the NBL Grand Final for the third time, facing off against the Perth Wildcats (17-11) who finished the year in first place. Perth defeated Illawarra (75–64) in game one thanks to Wildcats’ guard Kevin Lisch (15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 1 block) filling the stat sheet.

The series then moved to Wollongong for game two, where the Hawks rode the scoring ability of Cam Tragardh who delivered 28 points (12 from 20 from the field). As Tragardh went to work offensively, the Hawks backcourt adjusted, locking Lisch down (11 points) and defeated Perth (75–63), forcing a third game.

While the first two games of the series resulted in comfortable wins for the home side, the series returned to Perth where the Wildcats found themselves down by 11 points in the second quarter. Lisch (29 points and 5 rebounds) would rebound from his poor game two showing however and delivering a win for the Wildcats'(96–72), resulting in their fifth NBL Championship. Lisch was subsequently named Finals MVP after averaging 18 points and 4 rebounds over the three-game series. Coenraad scored one point in the loss.

2010/11
In 2010/11, Ervin averaged 20.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 4.5 assists as Wollongong finished with a record of 15-13. The Hawks finished in fifth place and failed to qualfiy for the playoffs. The team was led by import Gary Ervin who after averaging 20.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 4.5 assists was subsequently named MVP of the league, becoming the first Hawk to win the award since Mike Jones in 1981.

2011/12
In 2011/12, Coenraad averaged 8.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 0.9 assists as the Hawks finished with a record of 9-19 and in eighth place during the regular season.

2012/13
In 2012/13, Coenraad averaged 8.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 0.9 assists, playing a key role in the Hawks rotation, helping the team finish reach a third place finish in the regular season with a 13-15 record.

2013/14
The 2013/14 season saw Coenraad average 8.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2 assists, including a career high 28-points vs 36ers in February 2013.

He played a key role in helping the Hawks to a fourth place finish in the regular season with a 13-15 record.

2014/15
During the 2014/15 season Coenraad averaged 10.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists and helped the Wollongong finish with a record of 6-22. The Hawks finished in fifth place at the end of the regular season and Coenraad was named the club’s most valuable player in 2015.

2015/16
Following long-time coach Gordie McLeod’s departure, Rob Beveridge was signed as head coach for the 2015/16 season. He made big moves coming into his first season, inking the trio of AJ Ogilvy, Kirk Penney, and Kevin Lisch, who had all been playing in Europe the previous season.

The trio were dubbed ‘the three-headed monster’, but a knee injury to Lisch in the Hawks opening game of the season saw the trio play limited games together during the first month of the season.

Lisch returned to action with a 15 point and 7 rebound effort in a loss to his former team, the Perth Wildcats (106–99). In January, Lisch was named NBL Player of the Month for December after leading the Hawks to five wins in six games and averaging 22.7 points, 4.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game throughout the month. This included a career-high 40 points in a double-overtime win over New Zealand (103–96) in Auckland. Four days later, he played his 150th NBL game in a loss to the Wildcats in Perth.

Illawarra finished the regular season in third place with a 17–11 record, which set them up to play the second-seeded Perth Wildcats in the semi finals. The Hawks chances of defeating the Wildcats were weakened when Lisch went down heavily on his left ankle late in the first quarter of game one in Perth and did not return, only coming back to the team’s bench in the second half in a moon boot on crutches. The injury ruled Lisch out of Game 2, but the Hawks managed to rally at home to even the series. He recovered in time to face the Wildcats in game three however, despite Lisch’s return, the Hawks were defeated (89–74) and eliminated from the playoffs.

Penney was named to the All-NBL second team while both Ogilvy (16.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists) and Lisch (19.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.8 steals) were selected to the All-NBL First Team. Lisch also took home the Best Defensive Player award as well as winning the NBL MVP for the second time, making Lisch only the second player in NBL history to win the award with two different team’s.

2016/17
The Hawks would face a tough off-season in 2017, first losing Kevin Lisch to NSW rival Sydney who offered a very large contract to Kevin Lisch far above what the Hawks could afford. Then losing veteran Kirk Penney who would return to play for the New Zealand Breakers.

Beveridge quickly signed Mitch Norton and Nick Kay who had been left without a team after the demise of the Townsville Crocodiles following the 2015/16 season. Both players being heavily sought after by a number of rival NBL clubs.

Despite both receiving a number of higher financial offers, it was the recommendation from former Crocodiles Shawn Dennis to playing under head coach Rob Beveridge while delivered both to the Illawarra Hawks. Both players signing two-year deals with the club In April 2016.

Beveridge would replace Lisch with returning Hawk and former NBL MVP Rotnei Clarke, pair him with Marvelle Harris as the team’s second import and was able to retain his core group of Oscar Forman, Tim Coenraad, Rhys Martin and Kevin White.

With all the new faces, the Hawks struggled to start the season and after first four rounds they sat at the bottom of the ladder.

Behind a strong finish to the season from the high-scoring Clarke (17 points per game) the Hawks squeezed into the top four by one game and Coenraad finished the regular season averaging 7.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists.

The Hawks faced the Adelaide In the semi finals, the 36ers had finished the season on top of the NBL Ladder and took game one easily, 93-78, behind Jerome Randle’s 26 points and 4 assists. In a major upset, the Hawks would go on to win games two (100–94) and three (106-98) ending the 36ers season in premature fashion. Rotnei Clark led the team in scoring with 20 points in the deciding game.

There they would face off against Beveridge’s former team, the Perth Wildcats, who would sweep the Hawks in three straight games and win their eighth NBL Championship.

Rotnei Clarke, the Hawks leading scorer, struggled against the Wildcats, with defensive player of the year Damian Martin limiting him to just eight shots in game one. On the other hand, Perth’s leading scorer Bryce Cotton couldn’t be stopped, etching his name in the record books after exploding for 45 points in game three and taking home the NBL Finals MVP award.

2017/18
Coenraad would average 7 points, 3 rebounds, and 0.7 assists with the Hawks who narrowly missed out on making the playoffs. Illawarra finished in fifth place with a record of 12-16.

2018/19
In 2018/19, Coenraad averaged 8.9 points, 4 rebounds, and 0.7 assists, playing a key role in the Hawks rotation, helping the team finish reach a seventh place finish in the regular season with a 12-16 record.

2019/20
The 2019/20 season saw Coenraad average 8.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists and play a key role in helping the Hawks to a ninth-place finish during the regular season with a 5-23 record.

2020/21
In April 2020, the Hawks’ season began with the team falling into voluntary administration, with creditors voting to liquidate the Hawks one month later. The NBL, however, vowed to keep the club alive, and on 17 June 2020, the NBL announced that Dorry Kordahi, Bryan Colangelo and Michael Proctor had been awarded the license for the club.

Under the agreement with the new ownership, the team has renamed The Hawks in a effort to broaden the team’s appeal in New South Wales and shortly after, it was announced the team had added Brian Goorjian as its head coach.

With all players having to renew their contracts with the new ownership, Sam Froling and Emmett Naar were the only players from the previous season’s full-time roster to return as the new ownership looked to build a almost entirely new roster. This began with the signing of Deng Adel, who had just finished a short stint with the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and Cam Bairstow, who had just returned to Australia after spending a season in Lithuania which was cut short due to COVID-19, who were both part of the Australian Boomers national squad. Justinian Jessup, who had signed a Next Star deal with the NBL, was also added to the roster and was placed in Illawarra on a two-year contract, while imports Tyler Harvey and Justin Simon were also brought in to be the focal points of the team’s offence and defence respectively.

The Hawk’s season began with plenty of off-court drama. First, it was the omission of AJ Ogilvy and Tim Coenraad, both fan-favourite players and key players from last season. As a result of injuries, both players were later added to the squad as injury replacements when Bairstow and Daniel Grida suffered major injuries. Ogilvy also being named team captain after joining the full roster.

Next was the outpouring of fans calling for the return of ‘Illawarra’ to the team’s name, something which was front page news in Wollongong, clearly outweighing the Hawk’s 4-0 start to the season.

In early February, after a campaign by the new ownership group where more membership numbers and corporate support contributed, the NBL reinstated the Illawarra name ahead of the club’s first home game.

While the Hawks fought for, and retained their name, they faced several further challenges, the first being Bairstow, who after missing nine games with a minor hip issue was ruled out for the rest of the season and Daniel Grida. Add to that the struggles of Adel (5.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2 assists), who was never able to make a impact in the NBL, requested a release from his contract mid-way through the season, in a attempt to prevent any harm to his future NBA chances.

From round 16, the Hawks took flight and won eight of their last 10 matches to cement a spot in the finals, qualifying for the postseason for the first time since 2017.

Scoring didn’t come easy to the Hawks, who fell from averaging 90.5 over the first 10 games to finishing with the league’s lowest points average in the league with 81.5. Only four Hawks players averaged points in the double-digits, Tyler Harvey (20 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.4 steals), Justinian Jessup (13.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.2 steals), Cam Bairstow (11.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) and Sam Froling (11.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks). The Hawks also had the worst field goal percentage of the league, sitting at 42.5 percent on the season (47.8 percent from the two-point range and 33.2 percent from deep). Illawarra’s free throw shooting also came in at 69.4 percent.

Despite the challenges, Illawarra didn’t fall below fifth place for the entire season and eventually finished third (20-16), with Ogilvy and Coenraad being crucial pieces at various points. Coenraad (5.5 points and 2.4 rebounds) took the court in 11 games, leading the NBL in three-point shooting (46.4%) and filled the hole in the roster created by Bairstow’s injury. Ogilvy (4.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game) proved he still had more in the tank, finishing the season as the team’s starting center.

Despite the challenges, Illawarra didn’t fall below fifth place for the entire season and eventually finished third (20-16).

The club powered through and made their first finals series in four years, a semifinals series against defending champions Perth. In four regular-season meetings against the Wildcats this season, the Hawks won one game – in Round 21 by two points. Otherwise, it was double-digit margins the way of Perth. Illawarra took Game 1 of the series by two points again, but unfortunately for the club, it would lose Game 2 and 3, each by eight-point margins, to end their playoff campaign.

2021/22
After nearly knocking off the Perth Wildcats and progressing to the Finals of NBL21, the Illawarra Hawks look primed and ready to progress even further in the upcoming season.

After a brilliant debut season, Tyler Harvey, the team’s leading scorer, was inked to a three-year deal and paired with import additions Antonius Cleveland and Travis Trice. Before the season began Trice was released from his contract after refusing to receive the COVID vaccine. Xavier Rathan-Mayes was signed as his replacement. Other additions included Harry Froling (via Brisbane) joining his brother Sam in Hawks colours and Duop Reath (via Serbia) joining the team after a impressive Boomers campaign.

Coming into the league off the back of a Bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics and ambitions to get into the NBA, the Reath started the season on fire averaging 19.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game in his first four games. Star guard Tyler Harvey however, found his second year in the NBL a little more challenging, seeing his scoring numbers dip from 20.4 points per game, to 16.1 but still led the team in scoring.

Club legend Tim Coenraad (3.9 points and 2.2 rebounds) was not included in the team’s full roster, but was later named as an injury replacement. He was elevated to full roster once again due to a season ending knee injury suffered by Daniel Grida.

Other notables for the Hawks saw a significant improvement from Next Star Justinian Jessup (13.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals) in his second season, Sam Froling (8.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks) bounced back from a injury plagued season to become a major part of the frontcourt rotation.

Illawarra finished the season in second place (19-9), before suffering another disappointing exit in the semi finals, this time by by cross-town rivals, Sydney. Reath (15.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks) collected the Hawks MVP award at the end of the season while Antonius Cleveland (14.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.1 blocks) was awarded the Damian Martin Trophy for Defensive Player of the Year and also named to the All-NBL First Team.

2022/23
After two straight seasons of reaching the NBL semi finals, head coach Brian Goorjian would exit the Hawks, signing a deal to coach the Bay Area Dragons in the newly established East Asia Super League. Goorjian’s longtime assistant Jacob Jackomas would be elevated in the role of the head coach and look to continue the success of the prior two seasons. However, this wasn’t to be, as Illawarra would see a mass exodus of talent after the coaching change, retaining only Tyler Harvey and Sam Froling from the Hawk’s main rotation. Duop Reath (to Lebanon) and Justinian Jessup (to Spain) heading overseas, Antonius Cleveland (to Adelaide), Xavier Rathan-Mayes (to Melbourne), Harry Froling (to Brisbane) signing with other NBL team’s and the retirement of longtime Hawk, AJ Ogilvy.

Illawarra would replace the outgoing talent with locals Deng Deng (via Brisbane), Wani Swaka Lo Buluk (via Perth) and Mangok Mathiang, who had been playing in the NBL1 state competition as he recovered from a long-term injury before finalising the roster with imports Justin Robinson and George King. Coenraad would sign a one-year deal as an injury replacement player.

The Hawks would split their opening games, losing to rivals Sydney (97–106) and then defeating South East Melbourne (85–72) behind a strong showing from Tyler Harvey (22 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists). The Hawks would then embark on a injury-riddled season which would see Justin Robinson require surgery on a meniscus tear in his knee, suffered in the Hawks opening game. Kevin White (via Perth) was brought in as a short-term injury replacement. Nine games later, Illawarra also made the decision to release George King (10.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 0.9 assists), who had struggled to overcome a persistent lower leg injury.

Former New Zealand guard Peyton Siva (9.3 points, 6.3 assists and 1.6 steals) would be brought in as a replacement for import Justin Robinson but managed only 11 games before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury against Adelaide, adding further salt into the wounds for the struggling Hawks.

By mid November, the Hawks still hadn’t won another game (1-9), and after playing through the first third of the season relying on Lachie Dent (4.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists), Wani Swaka Lo Buluk (4.9 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.9 assists) and injury replacement player Davo Hickey (4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.0 steals). Shortly after, former Perth Wildcats import Michael Frazier II was signed to help cover the load.

In December, the Hawks were able to snap their nine-game losing streak and defeat Melbourne (93-79), who entered the game on a 0-4 losing streak. Sam Froling (29 points) dominated for the Hawks, scoring 16 in the first quarter at a efficient 64% from the field. Michael Frazier II (16 points) and Tyler Harvey (15 points) also played key roles in the win.

After appearing in 8 games, Frazier suffered a broken arm during a game against Adelaide, after colliding with two 36ers players and miss the remainder of the season. Frazier (17.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.3 assists) was the Hawk’s highest-scoring player at the time.

It wasn’t until the third last game of the season that Illawarra registered another win, knocking off New Zealand in a nail-biter (78–76). A final minute Tom Abercrombie steal and dunk put the Breakers up with just seconds remaining, but a Tyler Harvey (25 points and 3 steals) match-winning heave sealed the win and produced one team’s highest moments of the season. Mathiang (15 points and 5 rebounds) was also a key contributor in the Hawks last win of the season.

Illawarra (3-25) would finish the year with the worst record in club history. Tyler Harvey (18.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.5 steals) led the team in scoring, Sam Froling (14 points, 8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists) won the Hawk’s MVP award, while Coenraad appeared in 24 games and averaged 2.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 0.4 assists for the season. After 14 seasons, all played with the Illawarra Hawks, Coenraad retired after last game of the season in 2023 against the Tasmania JackJumpers. The game would be his 373rd and final game.

Coenraad retired as one of the league’s most consistent sharpshooters. Over his career finishing just shy of a remarkable 40% all-time from the three-point line. His 373 games for Illawarra ranks third most in club history behind Glen Saville (527) and Mat Campbell (524).

Tim Coenraad played fourteen seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Wollongong Hawks and the Illawarra Hawks. He averaged 7.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 373 NBL games.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Dan Boyce (795 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.