BIO: Luke Dean Schenscher was born in Hope Forest (SA) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Noarlunga basketball program. Schenscher was born in the small South Australian town of Hope Forest. He grew up on a five-acre farm. As a junior, he played basketball for the Noarlunga City Tigers. In 1999, he moved to Canberra and attended Lake Ginninderra College. Schenscher received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 1999. He spent three years year there and played for the program’s state league team (1999, 2000, 2001).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Luke Schenscher made his NBL debut with the Adelaide 36ers at 26 years of age. He scored nine points in his first game.

In 2008, unable to secure a long-term NBA deal, Schenscher returned to Australia to play with the Adelaide 36ers. There, he averaged 16.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks and was selected to the All-NBL second team. Adelaide finished in fifth place (15-15).

PERTH WILDCATS
2009/10
Following the 2008/09 season, the Wildcats came within weeks of folding unless they raised a million dollars in sponsorship. The NBL itself was also in strife; with the competition falling on tough times, there was a real possibility at the time that there would be no league in 2009-10. Collaborating with other clubs, the Wildcats helped reform the league.

Once the season was given the green light, the Wildcats hired a new coach in Rob Beveridge, who was tasked with recruiting a new-look team where Shawn Redhage, Stephen Weigh and Brad Robbins would be complimented by newly acquired proven talent Damian Martin (via Sydney), Drew Williamson (via Townsville), Luke Schenscher (via Adelaide), Martin Cattalini (via Cairns) and rookie Jesse Wagstaff to round out the bench. Import Kevin Lisch was then recruited to lead the Wildcats on the offensive end and lead the team into a new era. Just prior to the season kicking off, Paul Rogers relinquished the captaincy heading into the 2009/10 season, handing over the reins to Redhage. In what would be his final NBL season, Rogers would play two games before a injury to his elbow and triceps in the team’s second game would see him sidelined for the rest of the season. The injuries would ultimately end Rogers’ playing career, and the Wildcats signed import Galen Young as his replacement.

Lisch started out slowly over his initial weeks in the league, averaging only 11.4 points across his first five NBL games. A victory over the Melbourne Tigers (94-90) where he dropped a season-high 21 points in 27 minutes, proved to all that he would be a force in this league. By January, the Wildcats had emerged as clear frontrunners (13 wins, 8 losses) as new point guard Damian Martin (8.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.9 assists) delivered his best season to date, numbers which would earn him a Australian Boomers call-up at the end of the season. Alongside them, Schenscher would finish the season with averages of 10.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1 assists.

The team rolled through the regular season to finish in first place (17-11) before going on to the semi finals to face Gold Coast (fourth seed). Schenscher (6 points) made minimal impact as Lisch (19 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists) led the Wildcats in scoring in game one (81-68). In game two, Schenscher (11 points) had a much bigger impact, while Lisch (18 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists) backed up his opening game performance, by leading the team to victory once again (82-78), sending Perth through to a Grand Final matchup with Wollongong (making their first Grand Final series since 2003).

Perth started the series with a very comfortable win at home (75–64), with Lisch (15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 1 block) filling the box score and Schenscher (5 points) playing his role. The series then moved to Wollongong for game two, where the Hawks rebounded to defeat Perth (75-63), with both Lisch and Redhage struggling to make a impact in the game as they were held to 11 and 9 points respectively in the loss. Schenscher (4 points and 4 rebounds) was also kept relatively quiet.

After Games 1 and 2 proved to be comfortable victories for each home team, the series returned to Perth for the third and deciding game, where the Wildcats found themselves down by as many as 11 points in the second quarter. While Schenscher (3 points) had a horrible shooting night, making one from seven field goals, Lisch (29 points and 5 rebounds) would prove to be the difference-maker in the second half, carrying the team offensively, defeating Wollongong (96–72) and guiding the team to a record fifth NBL Championship. Lisch was subsequently named Finals MVP after averaging 18 points and 4 rebounds over the three-game series.

TOWNSVILLE CROCODILES
2010/11
The 2010/11 season saw Schenscher average 13.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists and earn selection to the All-NBL second team for a second time. He also played a key role in helping the Crocodiles finish in second place (17-11).

2011/12
After losing in the semifinals for three straight years under coach Trevor Gleeson, the Crocodiles chose to move in a different direction, replacing him with US coach Paul Woolpert. Townsville also chose to move on from imports Will Blalock and Rosell Ellis, replacing them with former NBA guard Eddie Gill and Elvin Mims. The team retained the majority of their local roster from the previous season, the only major change being Jacob Holmes (via Adelaide) and Townsville junior Mitchell Norton replacing Nathan Crosswell (to Adelaide) and the retiring Brad Williamson.

Just prior to the season kicking off, Russell Hinder would suffer a broken leg that would see his sidelined for the entire NBL season. Greg Vanderjagt, who was unable to make a NBL roster the season before, signed on as a late replacement.

Peter Crawford (14.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists) and import Eddie Gill (13.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists) led the way statistically, but a breakout season from Todd Blanchfield (7.2 points and 3.3 rebounds), which took him from the end of the bench to being a member of the starting unit, gave the Crocodiles a completely different look. Blanchfield saw his minutes double from 9.7 to 21.3 per game and his ability to space the floor (shooting 47% from the field) made it far easier for frontcourt players Jacob Holmes (10.4 points, 9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists), Luke Schenscher (10.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists) and Mims (9.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals) to score in the paint.

Townsville floated between third and fifth spot all season but a late season slump, where they lost the final two games of the season, dropped them to equal fourth place, equal to record to the Cairns Taipans (15-13). With Townsville and Cairns also having a 2-2 record in their head to head matchups, Townsville’s higher points percentage gave them the final playoff spot and dropped Cairns into fifth place.

Under the guidance of head coach Shawn Dennis, Townsville faced off against first seed New Zealand in the semifinals, comfortably winning game one (99-82) on the Breakers home court. Despite the Crocodiles strong form in game one, the Breakers evened the series in game two (83–94) at Townsville, before closing out the series in 17-point win in game three (97–80). New Zealand would go on to defeat Perth in the Grand Final series.

Schenscher would appear in 24 games, averaging 10.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists.

ADELAIDE 36ERS
2012/13
Adelaide and head coach Marty Clarke finished in last place for the second year in a row with a identical 8–20 record to last season. The 36ers suffered through another eight-game losing streak, equalling the losing streak from last season. After a streak of import woes due to injury or poor performance, the team decided to focus on building a Australian talent. Adelaide signed a trio of former Gold Coast Blaze players after they folded, inking Adam Gibson (who had been close to signing with Melbourne), Anthony Petrie and Jason Cadee to multi-year deals and added up and coming young forward Stephen Weigh from Perth. In order to give their young Aussie core the opportunity to develop further, the decision was made to go with only one import, local state player CJ Massingale.

Daniel Johnson (16.2 points and 8.1 rebounds) solidified his place as Adelaide’s franchise player, leading 36ers in scoring and the league in rebounds. Over the first 12 games the emergence of exciting crowd favourite Mitchell Creek (5.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 0.5 assists) gave fans hope for the future before he suffered a season ending Achilles tendon injury against Townsville (Dec 15).

Schenscher finished the season averaging 9.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists while coach Marty Clarke was not re-signed for the coming season, the 36ers securing NBL championship winning coach Joey Wright as his replacement.

2013/14
In 2013, the 36ers secured NBL championship-winning coach Joey Wright, who took the team from two consecutive wooden spoons to the Grand Final against the Perth Wildcats. The team retained its core group of Aussie talent, including Daniel Johnson (19.2 points and 6.8 rebounds), who once again led the team in scoring, and rebounding, Adam Gibson, Anthony Petrie and Jason Cadee.

The 36ers also received a boost with Mitchell Creek and Luke Schenscher back on the court after both having their previous campaigns ended prematurely due to injury. Creek overcoming a near career-ending Achilles injury, and Schenscher undergoing elbow surgery. The club also added BJ Anthony (via New Zealand) and 2011 NBL MVP Gary Ervin (via Townsville) to pair with new import Jarrid Frye in the backcourt.

After Round 7 of the season the 36ers, led by Ervin and Johnson, were sitting in second place on the NBL ladder with a 7–2 record, which also included a 5–0 run. This included the 36ers winning both of their games against the Breakers in Auckland, their first wins over the triple defending champions since 2009. Adelaide also took down the undefeated Perth Wildcats (91–86) in front of 6,585 fans at the Adelaide Arena. Perth had been sitting on a 7-0 record prior to that loss in front of the largest Adelaide home crowd since Brett Maher’s last home game in 2009.

By December, Adelaide (9-4) had already eclipsed last season’s eight-win total.

By December, Adelaide (9-4) had already eclipsed last season’s eight-win total.

In February, the 36ers released Jarrid Frye (8.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists) due to underwhelming play and a ankle injury keeping him off the court. With second-placed Adelaide eyeing a Grand Final berth local guard Rhys Carter, who had been playing as a import in Sweden, was signed as his replacement.

The 36ers finished the regular season in second place (18-10), with Schenscher averaging 6.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 0.8 assists.

The 36ers would face Melbourne in the semifinals, and with Gary Ervin (27 points and 7 assists) finishing the game high scorer, Adelaide claimed victory in game one (101-85). Game two would be played in Melbourne, where Tigers guard Chris Goulding (37 points) exploded in a game two win for the Tigers (98-87), evening the series (1-1). In game three, Adelaide responded by demolishing Melbourne (102-63), holding them to a 27-point half-time score and winning every quarter by 7 points or more.

The grand final would see second-ranked Adelaide face first-placed Perth with game one held in Perth. Wildcats star import James Ennis (30 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists) would lead Perth in points, rebounds, and assists, resulting in Perth claiming the win (92-85) and taking a 1-0 series lead.

Game two would see 8,127 36ers fans (their largest crowd of the season) rally their team to a 89-84 win behind big games from Gary Ervin (23 points) and Adam Gibson (18 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists) to even the series (1-1).

13,498 of Perth’s ‘red army’ would show up to see the Wildcat’s defeat Adelaide and win their sixth NBL title, with James Ennis subdued by foul trouble Perth’s most experienced duo, Shawn Redhage and Damian Martin were relied on to pick up the slack. Redhage scored 10 of his 16 points in the first term to help his team settle into the contest, while Martin produced a superb defensive effort on 36ers star Gary Ervin, limiting the game two hero to just 4 points while adding 14 points and six rebounds of his own. Greg Hire (9 rebounds, 5 assists) and Jermaine Beal (15 points) provided key contributions of their own to help Perth bury the demons of successive grand final defeats in the past two seasons.

Anthony Petrie (20 points) never stopped trying for the 36ers but lacked support from fellow starters Adam Gibson (8 points) and Daniel Johnson (9 points), both of whom had been influential in the first two games of the series.

Daniel Johnson won his third straight club MVP award and was also named to the All-NBL First Team.

2014/15
The 36ers’ need for more production at the point guard spot saw the exits of Gary Ervin (to Wollongong), Jason Cadee (to Sydney) and Rhys Carter (to Europe) and import guards Jamar Wilson (via Cairns) and Daequon Montreal (via Europe) signed to bolster the backcourt. Young Adelaide forward Brock Motum, a member of the national team, was signed to be the main focal point of the offence.

Wilson (20 points, 5 rebounds, and 3.1 assists) would lead the team in scoring, earning NBL player of the week honours twice over the course of the season. The awards coming his way after a game-high 22 points against Melbourne (Jan 10) and another after racking up a game-high 25 points against Townsville (Feb 1).

Motum (17.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 0.8 assists) led the team in rebounds and Creek (11.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists) delivered a breakout season, becoming the team’s third-leading scorer, increasing his scoring from 7.7 points per game the season prior. while Schenscher would add 6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists.

The 36ers would finish in third place (17-11) before being eliminated in the semifinals by eventual champions New Zealand in two straight games. Wilson’s play would earn him the Mark Davis Trophy (club MVP) and All-NBL second team honours.

TOWNSVILLE CROCODILES
2015/16
Front office changes and financial limitations saw the Crocodiles struggling to gain clarity on their future in the competition, resulting in player recruitment becoming extremely challenging for Townsville. The first impact of this saw Todd Blanchfield, who earned the NBL Most Improved Player the season prior, relocate to Melbourne and sign with the re-branded Melbourne United. Coach Shawn Dennis would sign Nicholas Kay, who was returning home after four years at Metro State College of Denver and then rounded out the rest of the roster by signing players happy to play for near league minimum contracts, mostly young talent unable to latch on with other team’s or veteran players other team’s had given up on. Luke Schenscher (via Adelaide), Corey Maynard and Mitchell Young (both via Cairns) were clear examples of that.

NBL MVP Brian Conklin was re-signed and appointed team captain and paired with incoming import Jordair Jett.

The season began with two consecutive losses to Melbourne United (84-99) at home and New Zealand (81-89) in New Zealand. But then, in surprising fashion, Townsville, who had won a total of three away games the previous season, defeated Sydney (80-77) and Perth (66-63) on their home floor in back-to-back rounds.

Townsville’s season quickly turned sour after that, highlighted by their 31-point defeat at the hands of Melbourne in late October and having the worst record in the league (2-9) after the first few months of the season. Then, when the team faced the Perth Wildcats at home, Conklin was involved in a ugly on-court incident involving Perth Wildcats guard Damian Martin Martin. During the fourth quarter of the Crocodiles win over the Wildcat’s (89–77), Conklin’s errant elbow collided with and broke Martin’s jaw. Despite a call from Australian basketball legend Andrew Gaze for Conklin to be suspended for at least six weeks, the NBL cleared Conklin of any wrongdoing. A similar situation arose during a brutal loss to Adelaide (65-89) less than two weeks after the Martin encounter, where Conklin (21 points and 12 rebounds) was in the spotlight again for another elbow incident, this time for striking 36ers forward Mitch Creek in a similar manner. He subsequently received a three-match suspension, with two of those games suspended for the rest of the season.

By the end of November, sitting at the bottom of the ladder (4–10), Townsville terminated Conklin’s contract due to what the club claimed was a number of ‘sub-par performances’. Conklin (13.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game) later took to social media to share his version of the truth, which pointed the finger at Townsville wanting to reduce costs as the reason for his release. The Crocs would bring in a former college teammate of Patty Mills, Omar Samhan (13 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.1 blocks), as Conklin’s replacement a week later.

Schenscher (4.1 points and 3.1 rebounds) also struggled with injuries and with nine games remaining, Townsville chose to add Harry Froling (1.6 points and 0.8 rebounds), a member of Townsville’s junior program, as an injury replacement player for him.

While Jett (15.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.1 steals) struggled in the team’s early games, he would explode during the second half of the season, leading the team in scoring with Mirko Djeric (5.3 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.9 assists) delivering his best season to date. With Townsville now firmly focused as a team, their work was rewarded in the second half of the season, winning half of their remaining games (7-7). This included a upset victory over Adelaide will go down in Townsville history as perhaps the most exciting finish to a game. The win showcased the fighting qualities instilled in the Crocs and even in the most unlikely circumstances, a team must play to the final buzzer.

Despite again finishing with a winning record at home (8-6) but only three road wins for the season, Townsville would finish second last on the ladder (11-17) with Jett being awarded the Kevin Sugars Medal (club MVP). Schenscher struggled through injuries and was only able to appear in 13 games, averaging 4.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 0.3 assists.

Despite the hardships Townsville was viewed as overachievers for the most part and coach Shawn Dennis was rewarded by the league with the NBL’s coach of the year trophy. The Croc’s cleaned up on awards night with Nicholas Kay (10.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists) also winning Rookie of the Year and Clint Steindl (12.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.1 assists) earning Most Improved Player.

Although Townsville had a verbal commitment from the league they would be able to continue playing with their support, the inability to raise enough money from the community saw their eventual demise. Kay and Norton both signed deals with Illawarra and while Young found a spot with Brisbane. Unable to find deals in Australia, Steindl and Djeric both ventured overseas, coach Shawn Dennis would end up coaching in the Japanese national league. With his contract voided due to the demise of the Townsville Crocodiles, and multiple back and ankle injuries limiting his mobility, Schenscher retired.

Luke Schenscher played eight seasons across three NBL teams. This included the Adelaide 36ers, Perth Wildcats and Townsville Crocodiles. He averaged 10.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 216 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.