Ohio Captains

The **Ohio Captain** are a professional basketball team based in Piqua, Ohio. The Captains have played in the Pacific Ocean Basketball Association (POBA) since 1997. They are owned by GraniteToast1992 3.0.

## History

### Early Struggles and Successes

The Ohio Captains began play in 1997 as the **Denver Dolphins** during the POBA Expansion of 1997. Although things started out rocky in their first two seasons (2-10 and 4-8 respectively), things took a turn for the better when they drafted future Hall of Famer Scooter McGee as their third overall pick in 1999. Although things started slow (another 4-8 season), the Dolphins started to build around McGee, drafting future DPOY Harold Bayne (R1, 2001) and 2x All-Star Henry Talbon (R2, 2002), as well as acquiring Joseph Star and Larry "Lube" Paulson. The Dolphins made the playoffs for the first time in 2002-03, after being eliminated in the final game two years in a row. They were swept in the first round by the Hellhill Heat.

### 2003-04 Finals season

The 2003-04 season started rough for the Dolphins, losing Star to a career ending injury. Desperate, the Dolphins thrusted Paul Bethemoth into a starting role, where he helped turn around a 1-3 record to a 9-5 playoff-clinching record. The Dolphins were seeded #6, where they took down defending champion #3 Manchester Mermen in a crazy game seven clincher. They thene swept #2 Chicago Giants to place them into the championship round against the Cebu Elites (now known as the Manila Eagles). While they put up a fight, the Elites swept Denver in the final round.

### The Down Years

Following the runner-up season, the Dolphins could not get back into the grove they found themselves on the previous season. After Paulson retired and Tabon was traded away, the Dolphins were left scrambling to replace them with serviceable players. The Dolphins fell off to four seasons of mediocrity and early playoff exits. However, things were looking up after the 2007-08 seasons when, at 7th overall, they drafted LaMonte Curtis. There, the Dolphins' luck changed.

### Back-to-Back Championships

Coming into 2008-09, with an aging McGee, the Dolphins came in with the 3rd worst odds to win the championship. However, they went on a run where they had won 11 games in a row, and finished with the #2 seed. After beating #7 Sumatra Suns 4-1 and #3 Toon Tomahawks, they were up to face the #1 seeded Daisy Town Dandelions. After a loss in game one at Daisy Town, the Dolphins regrouped, and won the championship on their own turf with a buzzer-beater three by Curtis to end the series.

After that, the Dolphins slightly dipped but stayed a-float with the #4 seed in 2009-2010. They had swept through their first two opponents (#5 Bikini Bottom Bulldogs and #1 Cebu Elites), and they had to face the Barrier Reef Barnacles (now known as the High Flying Hooplas). The series was back and forth, with a game in Barrier Reef to decide the winner, when tragedy stuck. During game seven, Curtis had tore his ACL after running to retrieve a ball. Denver had regrouped, and won the game, but the damage had been done, as Curtis was never the same MVP-type player he was before.

### Finals Years in Denver

After Curtis' ACL tear, Denver attempted to try and build back up, but they couldn't get over the hump again. Scooter McGee retired in 2011-12, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2018. LaMonte Curtis was eventually traded in 2016 for a 2017 second round pick, which ended up becoming Benjamin Krupp. The Dolphins only made it back to the playoffs once, where they were bounced in the first round by #1 seed Toon Tomahawks. After the 2017 draft, the league went into a three year restructuring period, in which everything went dormant.

### A Fresh Start

After the 2020-21 season, in which saw them finish 6-9, the Dolphins changed their name to the Granite's Dolphins, which was shortlived when minutes later, it was announced they would move to Piqua, Ohio and become the Ohio Captains. Their first year, the 2021 season, saw them finish with the fourth overall draft pick. After the season, the Captains announced they were to remian dormant for the 2021-22 season due to internal front office problems. They announced they were going to participate again on March 29th, 2022.

## Arena

The Captains play their home games at Nationwide Arena in Ohio. They previously played in the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado before they relocated to Ohio.