BIO: Cameron Rigby was born in Melbourne (VIC) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Diamond Valley basketball program.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Cameron Rigby made his NBL debut with the Canberra Cannons at 23 years of age. He scored 20 points in his first game.

After a season playing in Europe, CJ Bruton signed a deal with play with Canberra, aiming to help his father and head coach Calvin turn the team around after a woeful season where the Cannons managed only three wins for the season. Coach Bruton also added players George Banks (via Perth), Brendan Mann (via Brisbane) and rookie big man Cameron Rigby to the roster.

Banks (23.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.0 assists) would lead the team in scoring while Bruton (19.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists) led the team in assists. Canberra finished the season with 12 wins and 18 losses and failed to reach the playoffs.

Rigby contributed 7.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game.

2002/03
Although Canberra entered 2002 struggling to stay afloat financially, the team added imports Mike Chappell (via Wollongong) and Reginald Poole (via Europe) to the roster and hoped a competitive team would draw enough fans to cover their costs.

With Chappell (21.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists) leading the team in scoring, alongside Dave Thomas (18.2 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.4 steals), CJ Bruton (15.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2.1 steals) and Poole (14.1 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.7 steals, and 2.2 blocks) the Cannons started the season on fire. The part of the plan that involved building a successful team worked with Canberra winning seven of their first nine games, but by December, Cannon’s ownership couldn’t afford to keep paying the bills, and the team was forced into voluntary administration just three months into the season. Back-up big man Pero Vasiljevic (5.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) and Thomas, who had both just signed two-year deals with the Cannons, exited the club to find alternative employment. A few games later, Bruton and Chappell both requested their release and signed elsewhere also.

Veterans Matthew Shanahan (14.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.9 assists) and Willie Simmons (6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks) were added mid-season to help cover the loss of their starting lineup but it wasn’t nearly enough.

In a combined attempt to raise enough money to keep the team in the league and add a few bodies to the roster, a number of NBL legends made cameo appearances with Cannons throughout the last half of the season. 41-year-old Butch Hays suited up for four games for the Cannons, and Perth Wildcats’ legend James Crawford also came out of retirement for one game. The Cannons season ended with the club going 4-17 across their remaining games, and at the end of 2003, Canberra’s licence was moved to Newcastle, where it operated as the Hunter Pirates.

Rigby would miss only one game for the entire season, averaging 9.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1 assists.

HUNTER PIRATES
2003/04
As a result of Canberra’s NBL licence moving to Newcastle, former Cannons players Brendan Mann, Matthew Shanahan and Cameron Rigby all came across to the Pirates to form the beginnings of the Pirates roster. Hunter chose not to retain Cannons coach Cal Bruton and signed Bruce Palmer as their first head coach.

Hunter signed rookie point guard Chris Harriman (via Augusta State) straight out of college and filled the remainder of the roster with low-cost imports Kevin Brooks and Chris Brown, local players Josh Morgan and Adam Melmeth, and a number of players who had been discarded by their former clubs like Geordie Cullen (via Wollongong), Michael Kingma (via Sydney) and Travis Lindstrom (via Perth) who were all unable to secure deals elsewhere.

It took six games before the Pirates won their first game, a four-point victory over Adelaide at home (103–99) and then managed to win only one more, a home win against Cairns (109–103) and ended their first season on a 15-game losing streak. Their two win season was the second worst in NBL history (outside of Geelong’s zero win season in 1988).

Initial coach Bruce Palmer was controversially fired partway into the season and was replaced by assistant coach David Simmons but that made little difference to the team’s success.

Cullen (17.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists) would lead the team in scoring and win the league’s Most Improved Player award at the end of the season. Kevin Brooks (16.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists), Matthew Shanahan (15.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 4.0 assists) and Chris Brown (10.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists) would lead the team in scoring. Starting point guard Brendan Mann (9.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.3 steals) suffered a season ending injury only three games into the season, resulting in rookie Chris Harriman (7.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4 assists) stepping into the starting lineup. Harriman would narrowly miss out of winning the Rookie of the Year award, finishing second to West Sydney’s Steven Markovic.

Injuries would keep Rigby (9.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.3 steals) out for all but three games this season.

WOLLONGONG HAWKS
2004/05
Wollongong would return with the core of their roster intact from the previous season, the only major move being import Adam Ballinger replacing Damon Lowery. With Ballinger (17.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks) providing a second scoring threat for the Hawks, the offence was able to open up a lot more than the previous season, resulting in Glen Saville (17.8 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists) delivering a career-best season. He subsequently finished fifth in 2005 NBL MVP voting and was a major factor in the Hawks’ push to the Grand Final. Darnell Mee (14.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 2.1 steals, and 1.1 blocks) would fill the stat sheet while Mat Campbell (14.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists) provided perimeter shooting and Rigby added 5.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.0 assists.

Wollongong went on to lose to crosstown rival and defending league champion Sydney Kings without winning a single game in the Grand Final series.

WEST SYDNEY RAZORBACKS
2005/06
After two shocking seasons in a row, the Razorbacks were forced to build after losing a number of players. The major blow coming from promising youngster Steven Markovic walking out on the club to play in Europe just a few weeks before the start of the season, the forced retirement of Simon Dwight due to a chronic knee injury and Sam MacKinnon heading to Brisbane. This left Scott McGregor, who was named team captain, as the sole remaining player from the Grand Final loss to Sydney (2004).

Coach Mark Watkins recruited James Harvey (via Perth) to the team to replace some of the outgoing firepower but was then forced to fill the remainder of the roster with low-budget players with financial issues beginning to impact the team.

Pero Vasiljevic and Rhys Carter, who weren’t even playing in the NBL the prior season, were added to the roster, alongside Graham Dann, Cameron Rigby and Miles Pearce, who were struggling to get minutes with other NBL team’s. Nick Horvath would return as a import player, and Jermaine Blackburn was later added as the team’s second import.

West Sydney’s season wasn’t only hampered by financial issues. Horvath sustained a knee injury in the first game, which sidelined him for the season. Harvey (21.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3 assists) led the team in scoring but managed only 11 games due to injuries, while import Jermaine Blackburn (18 points, 5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.5 steals ) was never able to fit in with the squad and was sacked midway through the season.

The team cycled through a number of low producing imports to finish the season, Casey Frank (6.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1 assists) and Joel Cornette (10.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.3 steals) among them, but the team was never competitive and finished dead last with a 5-27 record.

Rigby would appear in 32 games, averaging 8.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists.

2006/07
With the team still struggling financially, they continued to make the most of their low cost roster but were boosted by the return of a healthy James Harvey, who missed the majority of last season through injuries. Coach Mark Watkins was able to convince young big man Julian Khazzouh to turn down a college scholarship in favour of a spot in the full-time roster. He later signed Justin Bailey and Cheikh Ya Ya Dia as the team’s imports.

The updated roster did little when it came to West Sydney’ fielding a more competitive team. Behind another poor showing, the Razorbacks finished in last place (5-28) for the second straight season.

There weren’t many moments to celebrate, but West Sydney beating Wollongong and breaking their 20-game losing streak against them was one of few. Six games after that, the Razorbacks thumped crosstown rivals, the Sydney Kings (106–75) at the Pig Pen, a game which saw Kings coach Brian Goorjian make history for coaching the most games in NBL history.

It was around this time the Razorbacks team owner, Canterbury-Bankstown Rugby League Club, withdrew its financial support with Tri Media Group later taking over the running of the club, which had almost folded. It also was around this time that Watkins was axed and replaced by Cal Bruton.

Harvey (20.5 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists) would lead the team in scoring for a second year in a row while promising young forward Liam Rush (14.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists) won the league’s Most Improved Player award. Khazzouh (9.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 0.6 assists) finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting behind Joe Ingles (South Dragons), and Rigby would play in 33 games, averaging 8.2 points, 4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists.

WOLLONGONG HAWKS
2007/08
In his last NBL season, Rigby would return to Wollongong and average 8.5 points and 4.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists, as the Hawks finished with a 9-21 record.

Cameron Rigby played seven seasons across four NBL teams. This included the Canberra Cannons, Hunter Pirates, West Sydney Razorbacks and Wollongong Hawks. He averaged 7.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 193 NBL games.

Dan Boyce (815 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.