BIO: Andre LaFleur was born in Los Angeles, California (USA).

LaFleur arrived in Australia in 1989 as a import for state league team Mount Gambier. At the end of the season, he was given a try-out with the Brisbane Bullets but ultimately beaten to the spot by Derek Rucker. LaFleur would spend another season playing for Mount Gambier, waiting for a second chance at the NBL, which came in 1991 when he was signed by the Gold Coast Rollers.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Andre LaFleur made his NBL debut with the Gold Coast Rollers at 26 years of age. He scored 27 points in his first game.

In 1991, Gold Coast re-branded themselves from the Cougars to the Rollers and under new head coach Dave Claxton they recorded their best team result ever, finishing with 14 wins and 12 losses. The team was headlined by import stars Mike Mitchell (29 points per game) and Andre LaFleur (22 points per game) but despite the winning record the Rollers would not qualify for the post season. LaFleur contributed 22.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 7.9 assists in what would be the most successful year of the franchise’s six years of existance.

1992
After narrowly missing out on the playoffs in 1991, the Gold Coast re-signed stars Mike Mitchell and Andre LaFleur and looked to take things one step further. Nine games into the season, however, the Rollers suffered a huge blow when they lost Mitchell on May 31, 1992, after he suffered a horrific injury after a loss in Illawarra. Mitchell had punched a wire-reinforced glass panel of a locker-room door after Gold Coast narrowly lost to the Illawarra Hawks, which saw his arm almost severed, and his muscle cut from the bone. Mitchell was found slumped on the floor in a pool of blood by Rollers teammate Ron Radliff. Doubt was initially cast over whether Mitchell would ever play again, miraculously he recovered, making his return to the court the following season.

Mitchell had averaged 26.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3 assists prior to the injury and left a huge hole at both ends of the court. Willie Jennette, who had averaged 37.3 points over three seasons in the state league (SEABL) was signed as his replacement. LaFleur stepped up in Mitchell’s absence, he averaged 22.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 9.6 assists for the season but the Rollers were unable to cover Mitchell’s loss. The team struggled to generate wins against any of the top team’s and finished in 10th place, with a record of 11-13.

1993
In 1993, LaFleur averaged 20.8 points, 3 rebounds, and 9.1 assists during a season where the Rollers struggled to generate wins, finishing with a 12-14 record and their second consecutive tenth place finish.

1994
No sooner had the NBL season resumed than Gold Coast captain Andre LaFleur walked out on the Rollers after feeling he had been set up as the scapegoat for the club’s crash from playoff contention.

1994 was the third season in a row where the Rollers finished in 10th place, although they had won fewer and fewer games each year. LaFleur averaged 19.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 8 assists this season, which would end in a major revamp at the end of the year with the team not re-signing import duo Mike Mitchell and Andre LaFleur.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS
1995
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. LaFleur finished the season with averages of 21.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 7.4 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

In 1996, the Hawks lost head coach Alan Black and Melvin Thomas, their leading scorer and rebounder from the past four seasons to the deeper wallets of rivals Sydney. Although many felt the void left by Thomas would be a difficult one to replace, new import Marcus Timmons surprised everyone by being one of the premier forwards in the competition. He led the team in almost every category, leading the team in points (21.9 ppg), rebounds, (12.3 rpg), steals (2.3 spg) and blocks (1.0 bpg). His import partner Andre LaFleur however started to show signs of slowing down, his numbers dropping to 18.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 6.9 assists per game.

Under new head coach Brendan Joyce, The Hawks would struggle to find wins during the year and finished in 10th place with a record of 9-17.

Andre LaFleur played six seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Gold Coast Rollers and the Illawarra Hawks. He averaged 21 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 8.1 assists in 150 NBL games.

CAREER RANKINGS:
– 32nd in total assists
– 2nd in assists per game.
– 30th in steals per game.

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.