Less than 10% of the public could tell you anything about any of those basketball names. They might think Tom Maher is the captain of the 36ers, but that's about it.

Basketball has a lot to learn, and there's nothing wrong with looking to the AFL for direction now and then, IMO.

Eddie P (a little help) (ironically I cannot remember his name) was one of Australia greatest basketball player from the 1970's and should be talked about in the same context as Andrew Gaze, Phil Smyth and Leroy Loggins is, but for some reason isn't.

Tom Maher - prior coach of the Opals (before Jan).

Eddie......packetofbiscuits? :)

Good topic Joe, and you are right. John Raschke I think was involved in the formation of the NBL, and as most people on here probably know the NBL Championship trophy is named after him.

Al Ramsay (Contributor)
For over forty years, Al Ramsay worked in a voluntary capacity for basketball within Australia but his impact also reached into the Oceania zone and indeed the world. He played a large role in the establishment of the Oceania Zone in 1967 and carried out the duties of Secretary-General for over thirty years from 1968-2001. In 2004, Ramsay penned a new 300-page book on the history of the sport entitled 'Dunked - Australian Basketball Revealed'.

Ivor Burge (Contributor)
Widely recognised as one of the founding fathers of the sport of basketball in Australia, the late Ivor Burge is responsible for bringing the game to our shores. Burge produced the first standardised basketball rulebook in Australia and was influential in establishing a national body for the sport. He was one of four representatives that came together in 1939 in Melbourne with the main objective of establishing a body to control the sport of basketball in Australia  the Australian Basketball Union, the predecessor to what is now known as Basketball Australia. In 1946 Burge was involved in the writing of the Constitution of Basketball Australia.

Dr. John Raschke (Contributor)
The late Dr. John Raschke's vision and drive saw the NBL become a reality in 1979. He was the NBL chairman between 1979 and 1982 and acted as commissioner until 1983. Dr. Raschke was instrumental in providing professional basketball to both players and the fans. He also enjoyed a fine record as a coach and led the Australian men's team to their first World Championship appearance in Yugoslavia in 1970.

Sid Taylor (Official)
In his 58 years of involvement in our sport, Sid Taylor has made many lifetimes worth of contributions through his work as a technical official. After receiving his FIBA badge in 1964, Taylor officiated at the Tokyo Olympics and went on to represent Australia with the whistle on numerous occasions including at the 1974 World Championships in Puerto Rico.

Ken Watson (Lifetime Achievement)
Ken Watson is widely recognised as a venerable sage of Australian basketball. He coached the first Australian Olympic team in 1956, and again in 1968 after Australia had become recognised as an emerging international basketball nation. He was secretary of the Victorian Basketball Association for 44 years and during this period he pioneered the Victoria Junior Council, The Victorian Country Council, the Victorian State Championships and the South Eastern Basketball Conference.

I heard that Eddie Palubinskas was engaged a couple of years ago to help Shaq with his foul shooting.

Top item from Google when Palubinskas entered:
...ARE THEN PURIFIED INTO A SIMPLISTIC AND PERFECT SHOOTING MOVEMENT THAT CAN BE REPEATED FOR MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY....... BEST SWISHES,. ED PALUBINSKAS ...

Boris Stankovic FIBA Secretary General 1976 until 2002

I think: Tom Maher was the coach of the Opals and also the Sydney womens team in their glory days I believe. Robyn is his wife and is regarded as one of the best Australian womens guards ever.

Robyn wasn't a guard.

Tom Maher was certainly a very good coach and took the Australian women's team to an Olympic medal; he left the Australian women's side to pursuer an opportunity to coach in the WNBA (Washington). Jan Stirling was appointed as his successor and took the opals to a silver medal in Greece.

Robyn Maher was a 3  4 player who played for a number of clubs, Nunawading spectres, Tasmania and Sydney and won a championship with all 3 clubs.

The reason I raised that question was the lack of exposure the former greats of Australian basketball receive now, it's astounding that the basketball community doesn't recognize who are the pioneers in this great game, and that should be a direction Basketball Australia looks at.

easy enough JoeM

ask people around today who Merv Harris was (Merv Harris Medal) who the Halls & Wollacott Medals are named after.

who were the pioneers who put their own money forward to help build an indoor basketball stadium at forestville.

Lorraine Eiler, australian player in the 50s who had to pay her own way to brazil to compete. and in those days they travelled by ship.

Sylvia White, Huba Nagy, Mike Dancis, Algis Ingnatvicus, Michael Ahmatt, Frank Angrove, Jeff Carey, Ian Thornton, Mal Hemmerling, Ron Mertens, Bryan Henning, Pat Rowe are all south australians who many have forgotten or who don't know what they did for basketball in this state.

Sid Taylor is also the Patron for the Australasian Police Basketball Association. He has held this position for the past 13 years.

Sid is highly respected in the Australian Basketball Community for his work in the field of referees and Rules Interpretation.

He commenced playing in 1946 with St George Basketball Association where he played A grade and District Level. In 1950 he qualified as a referee and attended his 1st National Championships in 1954. He then received his FIBA referee's folder in 1964 and represented at the Tokyo Olympics. In 1974 he attended the World Championships at Puerto Rico.

Between 1963 to 1991 Sid held the position of Australian Rules Interpreter, Chairman of he ABF Technical Commission. In this position he has attended South Pacific Games and Oceania Championships to assist with the technical side of the tournaments, along with representing Australia at International Technical Commissions Meetings and toured a number of Countries to examine their methods and organizations.

This has lead to Sid being honored with Life Membership of Sydney ABA, NSW ABA and Basketball Australia and awarded the Oceania Medal of Honor.

Since moving to Queensland he has remained with the sport helping out wherever and whenever he can. He uses part of his free time to develop Referee Education Manuals.

In 1992 Sid received an AM from the Order of Australia nominations and then in 2000 was surprised to receive the Australian Sports Medal and also Brisbane Officials awarded him Life Membership.

Eddy P. an Australian living in the USA now and has been for sum time. Played college b/ball and was the first Australian Drafted into the NBA (think it was called the ABA back then) but didn't play many if any games.

Aaaahhhhh the 70's flaired trouses platform shoes yes I can almost remember it.

Ken Watson is a legend. Isn't the rumour/myth he coached Linday AND Andrew Gaze at U12's at Melbourne Tigers?

I did witness Ken's U12 Melbourne Tigers boys blitz an Easter Carnival in Adelaide few years back, most disciplined bunch of 10 year olds I've ever seen, they ran offence better than most NBL teams. So good that they were passing up open shots, knowing a open lay up would come. And it did. I'm not kidding, at half time, they had scored 30 points, 15/15 from the field. All half court offence lay-ups through screens on the high post. Amazing.

For those of us who like the stories of someone who once sat in a seat next to the guy who nearly met the son of a celebrity.
Eddie P, was a junior in the western suburbs of melbourne. Having the same background, and being the seventies before basket ball was big our coach threw a group of in the back of his station wagon,(pre seat-belt laws too) and took us into albert park to watch australia play (cant remeber who they played but it was either and american or european college team). On the way the coach explained how much eddie would train, not only with the squads he was on but also by himself for hours,and that he had coached him as a junior. Our reaction given eddie had just come back from the olympics where he just missed out on the top score for the competition was that he (coach) had delusions of granduer.
Half way through the game eddie P . took a jump shot over the side line and landed in our coaches lap.
to which cole (the coach) replied long time since you've been there eddie, Eddie P. looks up smiles says high cole how you doin?, and runs back on the court. six of just sat with our jaws open in disbelief. seems he wasn't delusional.
Never looked at him quite the same way again.
After the game we all met him Anyway a game and event I wont forget .. ever.

Funny when you think back.. it really was nothing much
in the 70's to go and watch the Australian team play, almost like a district game or ABA game now..

Anyway back to you regular programming..

So #80424, did Ken Watson coach Andrew?

Hence why I asked a question, not stating a fact.

Second paragraph is fact, I saw that first hand at Athol Park, first paragraph was a question that obviously only a legend like yourself on first name basis with Mr. Gaze can verify or deny.

That's for confirming a story I heard years ago was indeed a myth with such a succinct and polite response, shame you listed an anonymous otherwise I would thank you in person and get your autograph.

Wanker.