HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES ANNOUNCED FOR 2019 BASKETBALL AUSTRALIA AWARDS NIGHT

The presentation of the Andrew Gaze, Robyn Maher, Sandy Blythe and Sue Hobbs medals for the best Australian Boomers, Chemist Warehouse Opals, Rollers and Gliders players will also be conducted on the night.

Induction into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame is one of the highest honours in our sport and this year, Lorraine Landon (Contributor), Bill Mildenhall and Ray Hunt (Officials) and Troy Sachs, Allison Tranquilli, Lanard Copeland, Bradley Dalton and Lauren Jackson (Players) will be inducted.

Australia’s most decorated basketballer, Lauren Jackson owns an incredible resumé at home, abroad and internationally. Born to parents that both played for Australia, Jackson carved out her own career by winning six WNBL Championships, two WNBA Championships and 3 EuroLeague Championships. She was named WNBL MVP and Grand Final MVP four times each, was a three-time MVP in the WNBA and a seven-time All-WNBA First Team nominee while clocking up 16 All-Star nominations across the WNBL, WNBA and Europe.

As a member of the Opals, Jackson was just as prolific. She claimed an Olympic bronze medal (2012), three Olympic silver medals (2000, 2004, 2008), two World Championship bronze medals (1998, 2002), a World Championship gold (2006) and a Commonwealth Games gold (2006) across 220 games for Australia while she retired as the all-time leading points scorer in Olympic women’s basketball history.

Beginning his career in the Northern Beaches area of Sydney, Brad Dalton went on to feature in 290 NBL games for the City of Sydney Astronauts, West Adelaide Bearcats (where he won the 1982 Championship), Sydney Supersonics, Geelong Supercats and Sydney Kings.

In 1983, the power forward represented Australia at the World Junior Championships and then competed at two Olympics (1984, 1988) and two World Championships (1982, 1986). Since retiring, Dalton has remained within the game as a junior coach and with the Manly Basketball Association.

Born in Atlanta, Lanard Copeland moved to Australia in 1992 after a four-year college career with Georgia State and two seasons in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Clippers. Copeland joined the Melbourne Tigers in the NBL and stayed with them until 2005, winning Championships in 1993 and 1997 (when he was also named the Grand Final MVP) while he made the All-NBL First Team in 1999 and 2002.

Leaving the Tigers in 2005, Copeland went on to play for the Brisbane Bullets and Adelaide 36ers, amassing 532 games in his career and 10,735 points- fourth most in NBL history.

Copeland was inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame on February 17 at the NBL Gala Awards evening.

Allison Tranquilli (neé Cook) achieved the exceptional feat of winning Olympic medals with the Opals eight years apart in 1996 (bronze) and 2004 (silver). She joined the Opals as a 17-year old at the 1994 World Championships and went on to compete in the 1998 and 2002 World Championships as well, playing 242 national games overall.

Domestically, Tranquilli represented the Melbourne Tigers, Dandenong Rangers and Bulleen Boomers over 227 games in the WNBL. The guard is the only player to have won Rookie of the Year twice (1992, 1993) and in 1993, she was also named MVP as she put together an incredible season at just 21 years of age. Tranquilli went on to be the league’s leading scorer in 1998 and was named to the All-Star team on six occasions, the equal-third most in history.

Troy Sachs, who deferred his induction from 2017, was a member of the Australian Rollers first gold medal at the Paralympic Games, scoring 42 points in the final at just 20 years of age to defeat Great Britain.

He went on to captain the Rollers at the next three Paralympic Games, claiming two more medals in 2004 (silver) and 2008 (gold). Sachs also achieved success at home in the National Wheelchair Basketball League where he won four consecutive MVP’s, in the USA where he was a three-time Champion as well as in Italy, Germany and Turkey.

Lorraine Landon has been a key contributor to New South Wales and Australian basketball for over 30 years. After serving her local club, Bankstown, as a player, coach and administrator, Landon became manager of the Sydney Kings and Flames in 1989 and was the first female to concurrently manage teams in the WNBL and NBL. Nationally, Landon was the Opals’ team manager at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics as well as the 1986 World Championships while also holding the position of Head of Delegation for four junior FIBA World Championships.

At the 2000 Olympics, she was appointed competition manager for basketball (both male and female) and at the 2000 Paralympics, she was the competition manager for athletes with a physical and intellectual disability. Landon has served on national and international basketball bodies for 30 years, including as Vice President of the FIBA women’s commission, board member of Basketball NSW and as General Manager, Teams and Competition for Basketball Australia.

Following an injury-interrupted playing career in the AFL, Bill Mildenhall took up basketball officiating in 1979. He was a referee in the inaugural year of the NBL and went on to officiate in the league for the next 32 years.

Mildenhall sits second for most games refereed in the league at 945 and was awarded the ‘NBL Referee of the Year’ 16 seasons in a row from 1988-2003 which is a record for both the number of awards won as well as consecutive wins. He officiated at Junior World Championships, two Olympic games (1992 and 2000) and at five World Championships before serving on the FIBA Technical Commission. He has also worked administratively as referee manager for Basketball Australia and Basketball Victoria.

Ray Hunt began refereeing at the age of 16 and joined the NBL in its inaugural season alongside Mildenhall. In 2011, he finished a 33-year career as the league’s games record holder with 949 matches officiated. A four-time Referee of the Year, Hunt featured in the NBL Finals every season between 1983-2011 while he also earned the accolade of World Championship Referee in 1986, 1990 and 1993.

Hunt officiated at the 1981 and 1985 Oceania Championships and 1988 Seoul Olympics while he has gone on to be awarded Life Membership of the Victorian Basketball Referees Association as well as the NBL.

The 2019 Australian Basketball Hall of Fame Class:

PLAYERS
Lauren Jackson AO
Troy Sachs OAM
Allison Tranquilli
Lanard Copeland
Bradley Dalton

CONTRIBUTOR
Lorraine Landon OAM

OFFICIALS
Bill Mildenhall
Ray Hunt

The post HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES ANNOUNCED FOR 2019 BASKETBALL AUSTRALIA AWARDS NIGHT appeared first on Basketball Australia.

The 2019 Basketball Australia Awards night will see eight people across the Contributor, Official and Player categories inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame on May 10 in Melbourne.

The post HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES ANNOUNCED FOR 2019 BASKETBALL AUSTRALIA AWARDS NIGHT appeared first on Basketball Australia.