BIO: Cecil Exum grew up in Dudley, North Carolina where he attended Southern Wayne High School. He went on to play collegiate basketball for coach Dean Smith at the University of North Carolina from 1980 to 1984.

FAMILY: Cecil’s son Dante Exum also played 0 games in the NBL.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Cecil Exum made his NBL debut with the North Melbourne Giants at 26 years of age. He scored six points in his first game.

Since 1986, the Giants had slowly crept closer and closer to winning their first NBL championship, with it all culminating this season. After missing the playoffs in 1986, Bruce Palmer replaced Les Riddle as coach and turned things around, coming within one game of winning the championship and come 1989, it was all business. The team added naturalised import Exum from the state league and Ray Borner (via Illawarra) to strengthen the frontcourt alongside Scott Fisher (32.1 points and 12.7 rebounds) and Tim Dillon (29.4 points and 10.0 rebounds), who delivered two of the best statistical seasons in NBL history and Exum added 10.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists as the team finished second in the regular season (17-7).

Canberra (19-5), who had defeated the Giants in the previous grand final, finished one win ahead of the Giants (18-6) and in first place. After a first-round bye, North Melbourne faced Perth in the semifinals bracket. After splitting the first two games (1-1), the Giants delivered a 55 point thrashing to the Wildcat’s (165-110) in the highest scoring playoff game in NBL history, a record which still stands today. Canberra defeated Sydney in the other semi final series, sending them into the Grand Final for the fourth time in seven years.

Fisher would be selected to the All-NBL First Team and win the league’s Most Valuable Player at seasons end.

Both North Melbourne and Canberra would receive a first round bye and automatic entry to the semi finals. There, Canberra would eliminate Sydney (2-1), while North Melbourne defeated Perth (2-1) in similar fashion.

Canberra, who would reach their fourth time in seven years, would host game one, where a combination of Fisher (37 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 steals), Dillon (24 points and 12 rebounds), Borner (18 points and 9 rebounds) and Exum (13 points and 10 rebounds) walked into the AIS Arena and come away with a six point win (111-105).

The Giants returned to Melbourne for game two, and similar to the season prior, the Glasshouse was a sell-out, with 7,200 Giants fans keen to see the North Melbourne go one step further than last year. Fisher (33 points and 12 rebounds) was relentless at the offensive end and finished as the game’s high scorer. Teammates Dillon (21 points and 15 rebounds), Borner (16 points and 7 rebounds), David Graham (16 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals), Exum (10 points and 8 rebounds) and Mark Leader (10 points and 12 rebounds) delivered a balanced offensive attack, the Giants finishing the game with six players scoring in double figures.

North Melbourne ensured that Canberra had no chance of repeating last years result by destroying the Cannons on the glass, with the team having collected 60 rebounds, compared to Canberra’s 39 at the final siren (111-97).

The Giants 1989 title was the first Grand Final won by a Victorian team in the modern era. Not since the St Kilda Saints won in 1980 during the league’s semi-professional years had a Melbourne team become champions. Fisher, who averaged 35 points and 12 rebounds in the series, was a easy choice for Grand Final MVP honours.

MELBOURNE TIGERS
1990
Off the back of the Tiger’s revamped roster, which led to their first playoff appearance ever, Melbourne re-signed its core group and looked to become a even stronger team in 1990. Although they lost naturalised swingman Eric Bailey (to Gold Coast), they were able to replace him with a even better option in Cecil Exum (via North Melbourne), who had been a big part of the Giant’s championship in 1989 and imports Dave Colbert and Dave Simmons were re-signed.

Andrew Gaze, who had spent the off-seasonplaying with Seton Hall University and narrowly missing out on a contract with the Seattle Supersonics, looked to light up the league.

Gaze (37.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.9 assists, and 2.6 steals), Colbert (31.1 points, 10.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.6 blocks) and Simmons (27.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 3.2 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.3) filled every column in the stats sheet every night, as well as combing for 96 points per game.

Melbourne hit a major speed bump when Gaze was diagnosed as having a blood clot in his right shoulder, a issue that almost ended his playing career. As a result, Gaze would miss the Tigers’ last two games of the regular season and all playoff games, but Melbourne still managed to finish in fourth place (17-9). They faced off against fifth-seed Perth in the elimination finals, where Colbert (52 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals) erupted for a career-high in Gaze’s absence, but it wasn’t enough to get past the well-balanced attack of Perth. Ricky Grace (30 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists) made 10 of his 13 shots and seemed to set up teammate David Close (25 points and 6 rebounds) for a open look whenever he didn’t score, allowing Perth to walk away victors (122-100).

In game two, Colbert (42 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks) was unstoppable again, and teammate Dave Simmons (29 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists) also delivered a big game also but Perth managed to shut down every other Tigers’ player and ended Melbourne’s season behind a ten point win (123-113). Exum appeared in 24 games and averaged 5.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists for the season.

NORTH MELBOURNE GIANTS
1991
Although the addition of Joe Hillman did contribute to North Melbourne’s success the last season, he was no Tim Dillon (who had left the team after their 1989 championship). With the Giants hoping to find another Dillon, they signed Yale University grad Paul Maley (via South Melbourne) and looked to make a run at the championship again. Exum, who had been a integral part of the championship season, returned after a season with rival club Melbourne.

Scott Fisher (30.3 points, 12.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 2.0 steals) led the team offensively once again, and Maley (27.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 2.0 steals) benefitted from playing alongside Fisher, improving his scoring from 25.8 points per game the season prior. Other standouts this season included veteran Ray Borner (14.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists) and second year talent Pat Reidy (14.7 points, 4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.3 steals) would play his way into the Giants’ regular rotation.

North Melbourne (16-10) squeezed into the playoffs as the sixth seed and faced third seed Geelong (17-9) in the Elimination Finals. Game one saw Fisher (44 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 blocks) do everything he could, but the Supercats easily accounted for the Fiants, winning by 20 points (139-119). North Melbourne would regroup and win both games two (136-116) and three (125-113), with Fisher averaging 37 points and 12 rebounds for the series.

Their semi final opponent would be Eastside Melbourne, who featured a impressive frontcourt of Bruce Bolden, Dean Uthoff, and Kent Lockhart. They were able to ‘put the handcuffs’ on Fisher, who managed only 14 points in North Melbourne’s game one loss (93-99) and 16 points in game two (104-115), ending the Giants’ season.

Exum (5.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.0 assists) returned to the club but was unable to deliver the same production as his first stint with the Giants. as a result, North Melbourne chose not to retain him at the end of the season.

GEELONG SUPERCATS
1992
While a influx of cash had seen the Supercats return to the playoffs on the back of great seasons from Shane Heal, Bobby Locke, Daren Rowe and Jim Bateman, the team had been fighting to stay alive. The club’s financial woes almost saw them out of the league if not for a interest free loan they received from the NBL to keep them in the competition. The lack of finances resulted in the club unable to re-sign the majority of it’s roster, having to replace coach Barry Barnes with former St Kilda Saints player Steve Breheny and losing five of the team’s top six scorers to other clubs. Vince Hinchen (to Perth), Shane Heal (to Brisbane), Terry Dozier (to Newcastle), John Dorge (to South East Melbourne) and Jim Bateman (to Gold Coast) all exiting.

The Supercats attempted to fill the gaps by signing naturalised import Exum (via North Melbourne), Wayne Larkins (via South East Melbourne), rookie Matthew Alexander. Import Lafester Rhodes was also signed with the team playing out the season with only eight players getting regular minutes.

Rhodes (23.5 points, 7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.7 blocks) put up impressive numbers during his stint with Geelong, but six games in and the team elected to replace him with Chris Harris (20.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 3.3 steals). Geelong was able to get productive seasons from both the returning Bobby Locke (31.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 2.5 steals) and new additions Exum (17.2 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.4 steals, and 1.5 blocks) and Larkins (12.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists). Despite this, Geelong would still plummet to the bottom of the ladder, finishing dead last (2-22). This equalled the second fewest win total in a NBL season, a record set by Geelong’s zero win season in 1988.

1993
After the team was gutted in 1992, a move which resulted in Geelong finishing with just two wins for the season, the Supercats were able to regroup and add to their wafer-thin roster of last season. Vince Hinchen (via Melbourne) would return after a season playing with the Tigers, and Ray Borner (via North Melbourne) was signed to help fill a gaping hole inside. Imports Bobby Locke and Chris Williams were replaced by Adrian Branch, who had won a NBA championship with the Lakers in 1987, and Mike Morrison, who had just finished up a stint with the NBA’s Phoenix Suns.

Six games into the season, the Supercats received a letter from coach Steve Breheny, which outlined he felt he did not have the support of the club. It was reported that he did not want Branch as part of the team, but the club chose to sign him to a two-year deal anyways. After a loss to Melbourne, Breheny brought Branch off the bench in their next game against Adelaide, feeling he cared more about stats than winning (a sentiment echoed by his former Brisbane coach Brian Kerle). Geelong would win this game (113-100), with Branch playing 36 minutes and scoring 30 points. Branch then skipped trainings, prompting Breheny to pen a letter to management asking for their support or agreeing to re-sign. The Supercats (2-4) accepted his resignation and continued the season under interim coach Terry Kealey. Jim Calvin was hired as a permanent solution shortly after.

Branch (26.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.9 steals) would go on to lead the team statistically, with Morrison (22.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 2.2 steals), Cecil Exum (16.6 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.4 steals), Borner (16.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks) and Vince Hinchen (14.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.1 steals) adding support. The team saw very little support from the bench, with its starting five all playing a minimum of 35 minutes a game and only Wayne Larkins (6.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2.2 steals) playing meaningful minutes off the bench. The team basically played with six players for the entire season.

With three rounds left, Geelong sat equal last alongside Hobart and Townsville, all three team’s sitting on four wins. Geelong, however, reeled off three wins in a row to end the season, knocking off Sydney (126–115), Gold Coast (113–108) and fourth-placed Brisbane (118–115) to end the season on a high note.

1994
In 1994, Exum averaged 14.2 points and 9.7 rebounds, as the Supercats finished the regular season with a 7-19 record.

1995
1995 saw Exum average 10.8 points and 7.8 rebounds but the Supercats only managed a 9 win season.

1996
In 1996 Exum averaged 5.3 points and 4.6 rebounds but the Supercats could only muster a 6 win season.

Cecil Exum played eight seasons across three NBL teams. This included the North Melbourne Giants, Melbourne Tigers and Geelong Supercats. He averaged 10.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 197 NBL games.

Dan Boyce (823 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.