History
Their first season, where they were known as the Knoxville Thunderbolts and played in the city of Knoxville, (they were originally going to be called the Knoxville Storm before changing their name due fellow ABA members the Winston-Salem Storm using the nickname). under coach Chad Smith, saw them entering the playoffs and surprising the league by winning successive games over favored teams New York Internationalz and Texas Fuel before bowing to the #1 ranked Southeast Texas Mustangs in the quarterfinals held in Nashville, Tennessee. The first-season success by the Knoxville team was even more surprising considering the fact that the ABA was a 40-team league.
The Thunderbolts were named runners-up as the Franchise of the Year at the awards ceremony after the 2008-2009 championship game. The Thunderbolts placed second to the Kentucky Bisons franchise.
Forward Gus Chase and guard Scott Williams were named to the ABA All-Star squad for the 2008-2009 season.
The 2009-2010 season is scheduled to play in Sevierville its temporary headquarters before construction of the new facilities for the 2011-2012 season.
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Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The history of the Victorian Age will never be written: we know too much about it.”
—Lytton Strachey (1880–1932)
“The principal office of history I take to be this: to prevent virtuous actions from being forgotten, and that evil words and deeds should fear an infamous reputation with posterity.”
—Tacitus (c. 55–c. 120)
“The history of the world is none other than the progress of the consciousness of freedom.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)