GAME ON: Soaring Hawks shift focus to the Illawarra faithful

Some heavy hitters indeed. The NBL release trumpeted as much, but the rub lay eight paragraphs down:

"... under the agreement with the new owners, the team would go by the name of the 'Hawks' as they looked to expand their footprint across New South Wales and beyond."

The backlash was swift. Sponsors cut ties, fans were furious, Federal Member for Whitlam Stephen Jones took to the floor of parliament and labeled it an act of corporate theft. The only thing surprising about it all was that the NBL brass expected any different reaction.

The folly of that decision is old news - never mind the disastrous nature and eventual collapse of Simon Stratford's ownership era occurred on the NBL's watch.

The league's attempt at compromise was to set a flat-out unachievable membership target of 4379, at a time when there was no certainty about when, or if, the season would start or how many home games said memberships would be entitle the holders to.

Read more: Goorjian declares 'it's time' for Illawarra to return

Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery dubbed it "commercial blackmail" and he was right. Dropping the name seemed the first step to relocation, so why buy tickets on a bus already headed out of town?

What was so galling was the direction in which the finger was pointed. The same tired language was deployed, the oldest fanbase in the NBL once again being asked to "prove" why it "deserved" a team.

It's important to note that the ownership group did not make the call to strip the Illawarra name, but it had something to prove to the fans, not the other way around.

"Our goal and main drive are to grow the Hawks organisation and establish a respected program in the NBL," Kordahi said at the time.

"We believe we have a unique collective of experience, knowledge and networks, both in basketball and business, to deliver this."

So how has he and the ownership group delivered? Not too shabbily it has to be said. The club signed the greatest coach of all time Brian Goorjian after a decade away, a return to the NBL many predicted would never occur.

Goorj has built a roster from scratch that's now 4-0 and playing with a gritty style almost custom-made for the Illawarra faithful. He said as much following his team's win over Cairns on Thursday night.

Off the court, Kordahi has brought Pepper Money on board with what's not only the biggest sponsorship commitment in the club's history, but one of the biggest in league history.

He's also brought Multi Civil and Rail back on board as a major sponsor, something many considered unachievable when former MCR boss Tory Lavalle's strongly supported bid for ownership was passed over.

Kordahi's also brought an innovative approach to the NBL's ridiculous membership target, with corporate partners footing the bill for 1500 new memberships. The NBL aren't chuffed with the approach, but it's happening. That's a helluva lot of boxes ticked in five months in the midst of a pandemic.

Illawarra fans are naturally wary of 'white knights' given their club's recent history with private ownership. However, they also enjoyed their most successful and stable era under the sole ownership of John Carson - an era that saw the club claim its only championship.

Take it as given, the 'Illawarra' name is returning to the club logo. There's also a possible return game in Wollongong before the team heads south for the NBL Cup, though it will depend on the government relaxing restrictions. The hope is the club will get the all clear for 75 per cent capacity at the WEC.

Fans were rightly outraged when they were stripped of their identity then told it was all their fault. That's been a learning curve for club ownership as well. The finger was pointed in the wrong direction.

However, if a (possibly) 5-0 team can't get the WEC 75 per cent full in a couple of weeks time... the finger will rightfully start turning in the other direction.