Heroes Den Bosch

Heroes Den Bosch is a Dutch professional basketball club based in 's-Hertogenbosch.[1] The club plays in the BNXT League since 2021 and in the top basketball division in the Netherlands since 1972. Founded as EBBC in 1951, the club had several sponsored names the following decades.

Heroes Den Bosch
Heroes Den Bosch logo
LeaguesBNXT League
FIBA Europe Cup
Founded18 October 1952 (1952-10-18)
ArenaMaaspoort
Capacity2,700
Location's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
Team colorsRed, White, Blue
     
PresidentBob van Oosterhout
General managerStefan Wessels
Head coachErik Braal
OwnershipBob van Oosterhout
2021–22 positionBNXT League, 5th of 21
Championships17 Dutch Championships
7 Dutch Cups
3 Dutch Supercups
1 Ricoh Cup
1 Haarlem Basketball Week
Retired numbers4 (5, 9, 12, 12)
Websiteheroesdenbosch.com

Den Bosch has won a record seventeen Dutch championships, seven Dutch Cup and two Dutch Supercup titles. The team has also been a regular at European competitions, most recently the FIBA Europe Cup. Heroes plays their home games at the Maaspoort, which has a capacity of approximately 2,700 people.[2]

History

On 18 October 1952, Eerste Bossche Basketball Club (EBBC) was founded by Cees Vossen, Tom van der Leur, Hans van Oorschot and Frans van de Wiel. In 1962, Den Bosch played in the top division Eredivisie for the first time, but not very successful. Subsequently, the team was relegated again. In 1979, EBBC won its first title. In 1980, the team became Nashua Den Bosch after its new main sponsor. Its increased budget led to six consecutive Dutch titles between 1982 and 1987.

Nashua Den Bosch in the 1980s
Star player Mike Reddick, to the right of Aleksandar Đorđević, in 1988

In December 1979, Nashua signed as the club's new main sponsor.[3] In the next 10 years, Nashua won 9 national championships and was close to the European top clubs. Star players such as Tom Barker, Dan Cramer, Mitchell Plaat, David Lawrence, Henk Pieterse, Paul Thompson and Mike Reddick played for Nashua in this decade.

Den Bosch changed its home arena to the newly built Maaspoort, increasing its home capacity from 1,200 to 3,500. Nashua played in the 1979 FIBA Intercontinental Cup.

EiffelTowers (2005–2013)

Decades later, in June 2005, Den Bosch merged with EiffelTowers Nijmegen to form EiffelTowers Den Bosch. Following the merger the club had one of the largest budgets in the Netherlands, and with that they were able to attract high-quality players. In their first season they had immediate success by winning the Dutch League title. The year after that (2006–07) EiffelTowers The Bosch would win the title again after a clean sweep against the Matrixx Magixx, after losing only four games in the regular season. The two following years, Den Bosch reached the finals, but lost twice to Amsterdam.

In 2012, EiffelTowers won its fifteenth Dutch championship, after beating ZZ Leiden 1–4 in a best-of-seven-series.

SPM Shoeters (2013–2016)
Nashua presenting five new players in 1987

After 13 years playing as the EiffelTowers, in 2013, the club changed its name to SPM Shoeters as a reference to its new main sponsor SPM Shoes and Boots, a shoe producer based in Waalwijk.[4] Along with the name change the club changed the team colors to black, after playing in red since 2000.

In the 2014–15 season, Shoeters won its sixteenth DBL championship after Donar was beaten 4–1 in the Finals. The team also performed excellently in the EuroChallenge that season, reaching the Top 16. Star of the season for Den Bosch was Brandyn Curry, who was named DBL Playoffs MVP.

After the 2015–16 season, it was revealed that Shoeters was dealing with serious financial problems which had the team on the edge of bankruptcy.[5]

New Heroes (2016–2019)

In October 2016, the team was bought by Triple Double BV, a sports marketing enterprise. Owner of the company Bob van Oosterhout took over the club which was no longer in danger of dissolution. On 6 November 2016, Den Bosch found a new main sponsor and subsequently was named New Heroes Basketball after signing a three-year deal with the local online training platform New Heroes.[6] In its first season as New Heroes, the club finished fourth in the DBL and was swept by Donar in the semi-finals.

In the 2017–18 season, Croatian coach Silvano Poropat signed a two-year contract.[7] Under Poropat, Heroes finished fourth once again but was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Rotterdam Basketbal. Following the disappointing season, Poropat and Heroes parted ways.

On 31 May 2018, Kees Akerboom Jr. announced his retirement at age 34.[8] Akerboom, who played 11 seasons for the club, had his jersey number 12 retired.[9]

For the 2018–19 season, Ivica Skelin was appointed as head coach. This season, New Heroes played in the FIBA Europe Cup after a European absence of 3 years. In Group D, Heroes had a 3–3 record and finished in third place. In the DBL playoffs, Den Bosch was once again eliminated in the semifinals, this time by Landstede.

Heroes Den Bosch (2019–present)

On 21 August 2019, the club announced it was changing its name to Heroes Den Bosch and it is not planning to change the club name anymore.[10] In June, Heroes signed Jean-Marc Jaumin as its new head coach.[11]

On 15 June 2021, Heroes signed three-time DBL champion Erik Braal as head coach.[12] In the 2021–22 season, the DBL merged with the PBL into the BNXT League, in which the national leagues of Belgium and the Netherlands are combined. On 29 May 2022, Heroes ended a 7-year drought when it won its seventeenth national championship, beating ZZ Leiden in the finals series 3–2.

Logos
Heroes Den Bosch logos
2009–2013 2013–2016 2017–2019 2019–now

Home arenas
Interior view of the Maaspoort during a Heroes game in 2022

After many successful seasons by Nashua Den Bosch in the 1980s, a true basketball hall was built with the Maaspoort. The arena was opened on 3 September 1982 with a game against the NBA All-Stars.[13]

Honours

Domestic

Dutch National Champions (record)[14]

  • Winners (17): 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1992–93, 1995–96, 1996–97, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2021–22

Dutch Cup (record)[14]

Dutch SuperCup[15]

Ricoh Cup[16]

  • Winners (1): 2000

European

FIBA Saporta Cup[16]

Worldwide

FIBA Intercontinental Cup[16]

  • Runners-up (1): 1982

Friendly

Haarlem Basketball Week[16]

  • Winners (1): 2006

All-time records
Kees Akerboom, Jr. holds the record for most games played

Players

Retired numbers
Retired numbers hanging in the Maaspoort
Heroes Den Bosch retired numbers
No Player Position Tenure Retirement date
5 Jan Dekker G 1976–1983
9 Jos Kuipers PF/C 1981–1984, 1986–1999 9 December 2021[18]
12 Kees Akerboom Sr. G 1975–1986
12 Kees Akerboom Jr. SG 2001–2004, 2006–2018 23 September 2018[9]

Current roster
Further information: 2022–23 Heroes Den Bosch season
Heroes Den Bosch roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Age
F 1 United States Thomas, Donte 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 27 – (1996-05-06)6 May 1996
G 2 Netherlands van Vliet, Boy 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) 29 – (1994-07-13)13 July 1994
PF 3 Netherlands Grantsaan, Lagio 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) 26 – (1997-09-23)23 September 1997
PG 4 Australia Naar, Emmett 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 29 – (1994-07-03)3 July 1994
PF 6 Latvia Kohs, Verners 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 26 – (1997-05-21)21 May 1997
SF 10 Netherlands Helfrich, Keime 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) 26 – (1997-09-05)5 September 1997
G 11 United States Webster, Kobe 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) 24 – (1999-03-31)31 March 1999
C 21 Netherlands van der Mars, Thomas 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 32 – (1990-11-15)15 November 1990
F/C 24 Netherlands Rijkers, Florian 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) 18 – (2005-08-30)30 August 2005
SG 25 Norway Ndow, Chris-Ebou 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 29 – (1993-12-10)10 December 1993
SG 31 United States Price, Austin 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 28 – (1995-09-15)15 September 1995
C 33 Netherlands Kok, Jito 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 29 – (1994-03-23)23 March 1994
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Netherlands Mike de Kraker
Strength & conditioning coach(es)
  • Netherlands Rik Van Waes
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Development player
  • (I) Import player
  • Injured Injured
Updated: 22 September 2022

Depth chart
Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2
C Thomas van der Mars Jito Kok Florian Rijkers
PF Donte Thomas Verners Kohs Lagio Grantsaan
SF Chris-Ebou Ndow Keime Helfrich
SG Austin Price Boy van Vliet
PG Emmett Naar Kobe Webster

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.

Season by season
Season Tier League Pos. Dutch Cup European competitions
1996–97 1 DBL 1st 2 Saporta CupRS
1997–98 1 DBL 4th 2 Saporta CupRS
1998–99 1 DBL 4th
1999–00 1 DBL 5th Winner
2000–01 1 DBL 3rd
2001–02 1 DBL 6th Winner
2002–03 1 DBL 5th
2003–04 1 DBL 2nd
2004–05 1 DBL 5th
EiffelTowers Den Bosch
2005–06 1 DBL 1st Eighthfinalist 4 EuroCup ChallengeT16
2006–07 1 DBL 1st Eighthfinalist 2 ULEB CupRS
2007–08 1 DBL 2nd Winner 2 ULEB CupRS
2008–09 1 DBL 2nd Winner 3 EuroChallengeT16
2009–10 1 DBL 5th Quarterfinalist 3 EuroChallengeRS
2010–11 1 DBL 3rd Semifinalist
2011–12 1 DBL 1st Quarterfinalist
2012–13 1 DBL 3rd Winner
SPM Shoeters
2013–14 1 DBL 2nd Semifinalist 3 EuroChallengeRS
2014–15 1 DBL 1st Runners-up 3 EuroChallengeT16
2015–16 1 DBL 4th Champions
Heroes Den Bosch
2016–17 1 DBL 4th Eighthfinalist
2017–18 1 DBL 5th Semifinalist
2018–19 1 DBL 4th Quarterfinalist 4 FIBA Europe CupRS
2019–20 1 DBL 3rd[lower-alpha 1] Fourth round
2020–21 1 DBL 2nd Quarterfinalist 4 FIBA Europe CupR16
2021–22 1 BNXT League
(National)		 5th
1st		 Runners-up 4 FIBA Europe Cup RS
  1. The 2019–20 season was cancelled prematurely in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. No playoffs were played and no champions were named.

European record
Season Competition Round Club Home[A] Away[A] Agg[A]
2013–14 EuroChallenge Regular season Belgium Antwerp Giants 83–76 72–77 3rd in Group A
France JDA Dijon 66–70 64–83
Estonia Rakvere Tarvas 78–71 70–57
2014–15 EuroChallenge Regular season Italy Brindisi 71–69 62–76 2nd in Group
Germany Ulm 87–76 82–91
Sweden Södertälje Kings 115–108 (OT) 72–88
Second round Russia Avtodor 107–108 (OT) 85–89 4th in Group K
Germany Skyliners Frankfurt 92–94 (OT) 70–75
Estonia Tartu University 78–77 64–71
2018–19 FIBA Europe Cup Second qualifying round Bulgaria Balkan 76–86 68–66 144–152[B]
Regular season Russia Avtodor 93–97 79–89 3rd place in Group
Israel Ironi Nes Ziona 102–87 85–91
Czech Republic JIP Pardubice 91–58 68–64
2020–21 FIBA Europe Cup Regular season Russia Parma 63–85 (N) 2nd place in Group F
Netherlands Donar 99–98 (OT, N)
Belarus Borisfen DNP
Round of 16 Poland Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski 83–92 (N)
2021–22 FIBA Europe Cup Regular season Portugal Benfica 76–78 78–73 3rd in Group C
Czech Republic Opava 87–82 88–72
Russia Parma 75–92 52–67
Notes
  1. ^ a b c
    Heroes Den Bosch points are listed first.
  2. ^ a b c d
    Despite losing, Heroes qualified for the regular season as "Lucky Loser".

List of head coaches
Coach Nationality Tenure Honours
Bill Sheridan United States1976–1977
Ton Boot Netherlands1978–19802× Dutch Basketball League
Bill Sheridan United States1980–19821× Dutch Basketball League
Ton Boot Netherlands1982–19852× Dutch Basketball League
Charis Saideris  Netherlands 1989
Toon van Helfteren Netherlands1997–1998
Toon van Helfteren Netherlands2001–2005
Randy Wiel Netherlands2005–20092× Dutch Basketball League, 2× NBB Cup
Don Beck United States2009–2010
Maarten van Gent (interim) Netherlands1 April 2010 – 1 July 2010
Raoul Korner Austria2010–20131× Dutch Basketball League, 1× NBB Cup
Sam Jones Netherlands2013–20161× Dutch Basketball League, 1× NBB Cup, 1× Supercup
Sander van der Holst Netherlands2016–2017
Silvano Poropat Croatia2017 – August 2018
Ivica Skelin Croatia3 September 2018 – 22 June 2019
Jean-Marc Jaumin Belgium23 June 2019 – 31 May 2021
Erik Braal Netherlands15 June 2021 – present1× Dutch champion

References
  1. "Dukes Unlimited Den Bosch basketball, News, Roster, Rumors, Stats, Awards, Transactions, Details". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  2. Zaal en ruimtes Archived 31 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine msedb.nl
  3. "Nashua Den Bosch in the 80's – Heroes Den Bosch – Basketball". Heroes Den Bosch. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  4. "DPG Media Privacy Gate". myprivacy.dpgmedia.nl. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  5. Faillissement SPM Shoeters dreigt, basketbalclub Den Bosch heeft grote geldschulden
  6. "New Heroes is nieuwe naam en sponsor basketbalclub Shooters in Den Bosch". Omroep Brabant. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  7. NEW HEROES CONTRACTEERT SILVANO POROPAT ALS HOOFDCOACH
  8. "Kees Akerboom stopt met basketbal". BD.nl. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  9. "Den Bosch zwaait Akerboom uit". Eredivisie basketbal Nederland, basketballleague.nl (in Dutch). 23 September 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  10. "Na 15 clubnamen heten Bossche basketballers voortaan Heroes Den Bosch, geen sponsor meer in de naam". Omroep Brabant. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  11. "New Heroes – Jean-Marc Jaumin naar Den Bosch". newheroesbasketball.com. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  12. "Heroes Den Bosch verwelkomt head coach Erik Braal – Heroes Den Bosch – Basketball". Heroes Den Bosch. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  13. "Nashua Den Bosch in the 80's – Heroes Den Bosch – Basketball". Heroes Den Bosch. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  14. "Landskampioenen, bekerwinnaars en competitiewinnaars" (in Dutch). J-dus.com. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  15. "Super Cup" (in Dutch). J-dus.com. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  16. Erelijst Archived 4 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine spmshoeters.nl
  17. "Basketballer Kees Akerboom jr. pakt record: 656 wedstrijden voor Bossche club – Omroep Brabant".
  18. "Heroes Den Bosch eert de eeuwige nummer 9 Jos Kuipers, die 'zijn tijd ver vooruit was'". Brabants Dagblad. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2022.

51°43′21.64″N 5°18′55.87″E

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