NICKNAME/S: Sav

BIO: Glen Saville was born in Bendigo (VIC) and began playing basketball with the Bendigo Braves as a junior. Saville received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 1993. He spent two years year there and played for the program’s state league team (1993, 1994).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Glen Saville made his NBL debut with the Illawarra Hawks at 19 years of age. He scored 11 points in his first game.

After three consecutive years of being eliminated in the first round of the NBL playoffs, head coach Alan Black knew his job was on the line if the team was unable to advance past the Quarterfinals. Black was able to re-sign star import Melvin Thomas and have veterans Chuck Harmison, Mick Corkeron and Dene MacDonald return but lost Butch Hays and Craig Adams, who both signed with Newcastle. Black bolstered his roster by replacing Hays with pass-first point guard Andre LaFleur, who had connected on more assists than any other player in the league over the prior three seasons, former Perth Wildcats star Kendal Pinder, young talent Glen Saville and Illawarra junior Terry Johnson.

Five games into the season, offcourt issues arose surrounding Pinder (9.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists), who was released from the team after facing criminal charges. However, with his absence and injuries to Mick Corkeron (9.7 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 0.7 assists), the Hawks witnessed the explosion of young point guard Terry Johnson. Johnson, who had failed to make his with the Giants two years earlier. Off court issues saw the Giants question Johnson’s commitment to the sport which resulted in him spending a year playing with Cairns in the state league. Johnson (11.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists) respnded by tripling his numbers from 1993 to finish as the competition’s leading three point shooter at 48 percent (34 of 71) and runner-up to Tonny Jensen (Newcastle) for the Most Improved Player award.

Melvin Thomas led the team in almost every category, posting 27 points, 10 rebounds, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.8 blocks and formed quite the duo with LaFleur, who finished with averages of 21.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 1.9 steals. Saville finished his rookie season with averages of 5.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 0.5 assists.

Illawarra (14-12) finished seventh and faced off against second-placed South East Melbourne in the Quarterfinals. In game one, the Hawks delivered a upset, defeating the Magic behind a 29 point outburst from 37 year old veteran Chuck Harmison (12.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.9 assists). The Hawk’s flying start was stemmed once the series moved to Melbourne. There, the Magic claimed victory in both games two (92-89) and three (93-75) to deliver a fourth straight Quarterfinals exit for Illawarra in as many years.

At season’s end, Black was not re-signed by Illawarra and promptly took up a role with rival club Sydney for the 1996 season, taking Hawks star Melvin Thomas along with him.

1996
After losing both coach Alan Black and their leading scorer and rebounder from the past four seasons in Melvin Thomas the Hawks looked to rebuild in 1996. Although many felt the void left by Thomas and Black heading to NSW rivals Sydney would be difficult to replace, incoming coach Brendan Joyce had just the player in mind. New arrival Marcus Timmons surprised everyone by being one of the premier forwards in the competition, proving to be a more than adequate replacement for Thomas. Timmons led the team in points (21.9 ppg), rebounds, (12.3 rpg), steals (2.3 spg) and blocks (1.0 bpg) but still the Hawks struggled to find wins during the year and finished in 10th place behind a 9-17 record.

Import point guard Andre LaFleur in his sixth season had begun to show clear signs of slowing down, averaging 18.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 6.9 assists, all career lows. Hawks legend Greg Hubbard also struggled to overcome a back injury which saw him average 6 points in 16 minutes per game (lowest minutes of career) and retire at the end of the season.

Saville would continue to improve in his second season averagaing 6.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game.

1997
After another season missing out on the NBL playoffs in 1996, the Hawks were unable to retain their scoring and rebounding leader Marcus Timmons (who would end up leading the Melbourne Tigers to the championship that season) and were forced to move into a rebuilding phase for this season. Illawarra would focus on the continued development of Hawks big man Matt Zauner, who was named team captain at the start of the season, and young stars Glen Saville and Mat Campbell. Eric Cooks, who had played under head coach Brendan Joyce, and alongside Campbell and Saville with the Ballarat Miners in state league competition, was added for veteran leadership. The Hawks then decided not to re-sign 31-year-old Andre LaFleur and signed two young imports in guard Bryan Edwards and big man Clayton Ritter to replace the scoring and rebounding of Timmons.

Saville contributed 13.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists during the 1997 season but with Edwards not being the fit needed at point guard and off-court issues between Zauner and Joyce stemming from a contract dispute the Hawks struggled. Edwards was replaced by Dylan Rigdon mid-season and the Hawks (7-23) failed to make the playoffs yet again.

1998
In 1998, the team was renamed the Wollongong Hawks and moved into WIN Entertainment Centre, known as the Sandpit. The Hawks re-signed star Clayton Ritter and paired him with defensive minded guard Elliot Hatcher. Alongside the talented import duo Saville contributed 10.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists and helped the Hawks double their wins from the previous year, improving from seven wins to 14 wins and finishing in sixth place.

In the elimination finals the Hawks would go on to face the Perth Wildcats, losing back to back games before being eliminated from the playoffs in the first round.

1998/99
Coinciding with the NBL’s move to summer, the Hawks shifted base to the Wollongong Entertainment Centre and swapped their Illawarra prefix to Wollongong. Coming off a 14 win season that saw the Hawks reach the postseason, the Hawks were able to retain almost their entire and add CJ Bruton (via Brisbane) who immediately became Wollongong’s starting point guard and primary offensive weapon. With the addition of Bruton, there was no need for import guard Elliot Hatcher and they replaced him with Theron Wilson. Also, talented big man David Andersen was recruited from the AIS to replace the outgoing Matt Zauner.

Bruton (20.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists) would be given the ‘green light’ as he boosted his scoring from 15.4 points to 20.8 points per game in 46 minutes per game. Clayton Ritter (17.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.4 assists 1.1 steals) and Mat Campbell (15.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists) also finished among the team’s high scorers.

The Hawks finished the season winning two more games than the year prior, improving upon their previous record for the third year in a row and finishing in third place (16-10).

A disappointing postseason first saw the Hawks lose to the Victoria Titans in two straight games during the Qualifying Finals, but thanks to the league’s of the ‘lucky loser’ rule, which allowed the highest placed loser from the Qualifying Finals to proceed to the next round. There, a matchup with Adelaide saw Illawarra eliminated in two straight games, ending their season for good this time.

Saville appeared in all 30 games and averaged 12.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4.7 assists.

1999/00
After a playoff campaign where the Hawks lost four playoff games in a row, Wollongong came into the season with a point to prove. Although promising big man David Andersen was lost to a deal in Europe, Wollongong was able to veteran players to the team in Mike McKay (via Canberra) and Darren Perry. Perry had spent the last five years playing in the state league, before being offered a lifeline by coach Brendan Joyce who encouraged Perry to return to the NBL and provide some leadership to his young, up and coming squad. The team chose not to re-sign imports Theron Wilson (to Europe) and Clayton Ritter (to Canberra) and instead looked for new imports to better complement the style of Bruton and signed former NBA lottery pick Todd Mundt (via Newcastle) as well as former Hawks MVP, Melvin Thomas, who had spent the past four seasons playing with Sydney and Canberra. Another change saw Mat Campbell (14.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.9 assists) take on the role of team captain, a role he maintained for more than a decade.

With high-scoring guard CJ Bruton (22.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists) settling into his second season with the team, many felt the Hawks would have one of the stronger rosters clubs, but the Hawks just couldn’t seem to get victories over any of the league’s top team’s. A key factor was the lack of production the team were able to get from Mundt (8.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 0.8 assists), who struggled to play big minutes and with nine games left in the season, he was released. Matt Garrison (17.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.7 steals) entered the team as his replacement, and although his presence delivered a immediate improvement, the move was too little too late. Wollongong limped home to a eighth-place finish (11-17) with the Hawk’s dismal season viewed to be a result of Bruton being tasked with too much.

Melvin Thomas (19.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.2 steals) and Glen Saville (14.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.9 steals) both delivered great seasons and were voted as the Hawks co-MVP’s as a result.

2000/01
Prior to the start of the 2000/01 season, coach Brendan Joyce turned over almost half his roster, adding Axel Dench, Charles Thomas, Damon Lowery, Grant Kruger, Matt Shanahan and veteran Ray Borner.

Saville averaged 15.5 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 4.4 assists for the season as the team finished fourth in the regular season with a club-best 21 wins from 28 games.

The team went on to finish in fourth place during the regular season with a club-best 21 wins from 28 games.

In the playoffs Wollongong would upset Perth in game one of the qualifying finals behind a 22 point, 13 rebound effort from Melvin Thomas, a 19 point effort from Damon Lowery and 10 points and 5 rebounds from Campbell to win at home 97–90

The Hawks fell short in game two in Perth, 95–106 with Dench struggling to get going offensively, he finished with only 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks. This set up a Game 3, held in Perth, where the Hawks won a major upset thanks to a 26 point, 16 rebound performance from Glen Saville and 20 point game from Lowery. Campbell also added 6 points and 3 rebounds with the Hawks winning 98–88.

This set up a semi-final matchup with the Adelaide 36ers and their stars Darnell Mee and Kevin Brooks. Campbell added 10 points and big games from Hawks stars Melvin Thomas (18 points and 13 rebounds) and Charles Thomas (17 points and 6 rebounds) saw the team able to squeak out a narrow 84-83 game win in the series opener. The Hawks would return to Wollongong but lose game two 100–111 with Campbell contributing 14 points in the loss. Then, in the deciding game the Hawks would win game three in a nail biter at Wollongong’s WIN Entertainment Centre when Damon Lowery sunk three free throws with no time on the clock, propelling the team into the 2001 NBL Grand Final to face the Townsville Crocodiles. Dench also added 10 points and 3 rebounds in the deciding game

The Hawks went on to face the Townsville Crocodiles in the 2001 NBL Grand Final, winning game one at home 104-101 with Melvin Thomas continuing to lead the way, contributing 24 points, 14 rebounds, and 2 assists. Campbell also added 19 points. Then, the series would shift to Townsville for games two and three and the Crocodiles rebounded at home winning the second game 114–97 after shutting down the Hawks offensively with Campbell only able to score four points. game three was a gruelling matchup, played the very next day where the blue-collar Hawks snuck out the three-point victory 97-94, Charles Thomas top scoring with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists, Melvin Thomas scoring 18 points and hauling in 12 rebounds, and Glen Saville collecting 18 points and 12 rebounds to claim the NBL Finals MVP. Campbell was also a big part of the win, scoring 10 points and grabbing 3 rebounds. The Hawks 2–1 victory saw them become the first New South Wales club to win a NBL championship.

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2001/02
In 2001/02, Saville averaged 15.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists as the Hawks finished in fourth place (64-14) during the regular season.

2002/03
In 2002/03, Saville averaged 15.9 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 3.8 assists, playing a key role in the Hawks rotation, helping the team finish in fourth place (18-12).

2003/04
The 2003/04 season saw Saville average 16.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 4.4 assists and play a key role in helping the Hawks to a second place finish in the regular season (25-8).

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.

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

2005/06
During the 2005/06 season, Saville averaged 15.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 4.5 assists and was a part of the Hawks squad which finished in third place (19-13).

2006/07
In 2006/07 Saville averaged 16.3 points and 8.8 rebounds, and helped guide the Hawks to a ninth-place finish during the regular season with a 11-22 record.

SYDNEY KINGS
2007/08
The Kings had been drifting further and further away from the championship since completing a three-peat in 2005. A grand final loss in 2006, a semi-final exit in 2005 and losing veteran Brad Sheridan to retirement and their second-leading scorer David Barlow prompted Sydney to re-tool their roster. The Kings would start by making a huge offer to Illawarra Hawks star Glen Saville, one which he couldn’t refuse. Imports Jerome Beasley and Ed Scott were replaced with Dontaye Draper and Isiah Victor and the Kings started the season off on fire.

Sydney won their first five games until they suffered a upset loss to rival club West Sydney, but backed this up by winning the next seven games in a row.

Mark Worthington (17.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 steals) delivered his best season to date, leading the Kings in both scoring and rebounds. Draper (13.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.8 steals), who led the team in assists and steals, provided the leadership needed at the point as the Kings delivered a balanced attack with six players averaging double figures, including Jason Smith (12.9 ppg), Luke Kendall (11.3 ppg), Victor (10.8 ppg) and Saville averaging 10.6 points, 6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game.

The Kings would finish the regular season with a 27-3 record, losing only one home game all season and ending the season on a eight game winning streak. Sydney clinched top spot on the ladder (five games ahead of Melbourne) after winning their last eight games of the season. With the league’s top eight team’s advancing to the playoffs, Sydney and Melbourne (22-8), would automatically advance to the semi finals. There they would face Perth and Brisbane respectively. Sydney would defeat Perth in three games, while Melbourne eliminated Brisbane to face each other in the best-of-five Grand Final series.

Worthington would erupt for 35 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in game one in front of the home crowd, with the Kings convincingly winning Game one, 95-74. The key to the victory being the defensive efforts from Ian Crosswhite (11 points, 9 rebounds), Russell Hinder (4 points, 3 rebounds and Worthington, who held NBL MVP Chris Anstey to a mere 12 points

game two shifted to Melbourne and behind former King David Barlow (24 points), Sean Lampley (21 points) and a resurgent Anstey (21 points and 9 rebounds) the Tigers defeated Sydney 104-93.

game three saw Melbourne survive a fierce final quarter comeback behind a 89-87 victory, witnessed by 6,009 Kings fans at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. Melbourne had allowed a 78-66 three-quarter-time lead to disappear by the fourth quarter, where they trailed by four points with just under four minutes to play. However, they outscored Sydney 7-1 in the game’s remaining moments, which saw import forward Sean Lampley clinching the game with a three-pointer to make it 89-87 victory with just 12 seconds remaining. With Sydney unable to respond, Anstey finished with 27 points and 15 rebounds for the Tigers, while Kings star Mark Worthington top-scored again for Sydney with 22 points.

The Kings made sure the same result wouldn’t happen in game four, thanks to inspired performances by injured guard Dontaye Draper (8 points, 4 assists and 2 steals) and forward Isiah Victor (23 points, 9 rebounds), the Sydney Kings came back from the dead to extend the series to a fifth game. To win, the Kings staged the biggest last-quarter comeback ever in a NBL Grand Final, trailing by as much as 18 points (72-54) late in the third quarter. Draper, who was not expected to play because of a hamstring injury, sat on the bench for almost all of the first three quarters. But, after coming on late in the third term, he scored eight points in the final quarter, including two crucial three-pointers, to help lift his side to a 90-87 victory, culminating with Kings coach Brian Goorjian running laps around our court with a clenched fist. Isiah Victor led the Kings with 23 points and 9 rebounds, while Chris Anstey led the Tigers, recording his second-highest score of the season, adding 33 points and eight rebounds in the losing effort.

Many expected the Tigers to roll over after the emotional game four loss, especially with game five being played a mere 48 hours later. The game was played in front of a sellout crowd of 10,244 (the King’s first sellout since 2003), and although Sydney finished the first quarter in front, the Tigers outscored them (28-19) in the second and at the end of the third, the Tigers held a 61-63 lead. In the series thus far, Sydney had outscored Melbourne 97-59 in the four previous fourth quarters, but with Tigers duo Chris Anstey and Dave Thomas both delivering 21 point games, Melbourne rebounded to defeat Sydney 85-73. Anstey, who had averaged 22.8 points and 10.4 rebounds over the five games, was fittingly named Finals MVP and in doing so, became only the second player ever (Sam MacKinnon had achieved the feat in 2007) to win a NBL championship, the season MVP, Grand Final MVP and Best Defensive Player all in the same season.

Mark Worthington led the Kings with 17 points while Jason Smith and Luke Kendall both finished with 7 points each, unable to get the types of shots they generally made.

On 24 March 2008, coach Brian Goorjian quit the club after a mutual agreement, and on 12 June 2008, the NBL terminated the Sydney team’s licence as Firepower collapsed and the Kings were unable to pay player salaries.

WOLLONGONG HAWKS
2008/09
After the Kings folded following the 2007/08 season, Saville returned the following season as a result of the Kings financial collapse and withdrawal from the league. Other key player movements saw Cam Rigby, Aaron Trahair and Ben Castle exit the club with Anthony Petrie, Rhys Martin and Dusty Rychart sigining as their replacements.

Saville (15.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks) was a monster in his first season back in Wollongong, finishing fourth in the NBL in defensive rebounds, tenth in total rebounds, and fifth in steals. New addition Dusty Rychart (15.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 1.6 assists) would lead the team in scoring but the roster shuffle saw Mat Campbell (9.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.4 assists), Lindsay Tait (8.4 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists) and Larry Davidson (6.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks) all saw their scoring production drop by 3-4 points each resulting in the Hawks struggling to compete offensively against the top team’s.

Saville averaged 15.1 points and 7.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists while the Hawks limped home to a seventh place finish (11-19).
After Wollongong limped home to a seventh place finish (11-19), in a unusual move the club retired the jersey of Glen Saville despite giving no indications he would stop playing. In fact, while his iconic No. 12 singlet was placed in the rafters, he continued playing until 2013. He is one of only five Hawks players to have had their jersey retired.

2009/10
In his first season as Hawks head coach Gordie McLeod led the team through one of the closest season’s in NBL history, a three-way tie for second place occurred with Wollongong, Townsville and Gold Coast all finishing the regular season with the same record (16-12). Head to head victories saw the Hawks (5-3) claim the second seed, Crocodiles (4-4) finish third, and Gold Coast Blaze (3-5) take the final playoff spot.

Wollongong suffered a huge blow mid-season when star import Tywain Mckee (17.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals) was shut down after suffering two stress fractures in his lower back. Illawarra (11-10) then signed journeyman guard Luke Martin for the remaining 13 games of the season. In McKee’s absence, McLeod was forced to rely on the Hawk’s local talent for their playoff run. The team was led by Cam Tragadh (14.7 points, 5.4 rebounds), Glen Saville (10.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.3 steals), team captain Mat Campbell (10.3 points and 3.0) and the blue-collar Larry Davidson (9.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.3 steals) who would also win the Hawks club MVP.

Facing off against third-placed Townsville, Saville (11 points) helped Illawarra come away with a home victory in game one (87-68), but Townsville would even the series win a 29-point demolition of Illawarra in game two (82-53), with Saville struggling to find the basket (4 points and 6 rebounds).<,p>With the series heading back to Wollongong, the Hawks led game three from start to finish, with Saville (12 points and 8 rebounds) having his best game of the series, and the Hawks game three win (88-76) sending the Hawks into the Grand Final for the first time since 2001.

With the series heading back to Wollongong, the Hawks led game three from start to finish and behind a 12-point win (88-76), they were heading back to the Grand Final for the first time since 2001.

Illawarra faced off against first-placed Perth (17-11), and thanks to Saville (5 points) being a non-factor and a brilliants all-round performance from guard Kevin Lisch (15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 1 block), the Wildcat’s came away with the win (75-64). In game two, the Hawks evened the series (1-1), locking Lisch down (11 points) and riding a huge offensive effort from Cam Tragardh (28 points), who barely missed, hitting 12 of his 20 shots, while Saville added 5 points and collected 10 rebounds.

The deciding game three would return to Perth, where the Wildcats found themselves down by as many as 11 points in the second quarter. Another huge game from Lisch (29 points, including 5 of 9 from three) allowed the Wildcat’s to defeat the Hawks comfortably (96-72), delivering the Wildcats’ their fifth NBL Championship. Saville (13 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists) did what he could in the final game, while Kevin Lisch was named Finals MVP after averaging 18 points and 4 rebounds over the three games.

2010/11
In 2010/11, Saville averaged 9.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.1 assists as Wollongong finished with a record of 15-13. The Hawks finished in fifth place and failed to qualfiy for the playoffs. The team was led by import Gary Ervin who after averaging 20.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 4.5 assists was subsequently named MVP of the league, becoming the first Hawk to win the award since Mike Jones in 1981.

2011/12
The 2011/12 season saw Saville average 6.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists and play a key role in helping the Hawks to a eighth place finish in the regular season with a 9-19 record.

2012/13
During the 2012/13 season Saville averaged 8.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.2 assists and helped the Hawks finish with a record of 13-15 and end the regular season in third place.

Glen Saville played nineteen seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Illawarra Hawks and the Wollongong Hawks. He averaged 12.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 563 NBL games.

CAREER RANKINGS:
– 4th in total games played.
– 22nd in total points
– 5th in total rebounds
– 9th in total assists
– 5th in total steals
– 11th in total blocks

HIGHLIGHTS:

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.