NICKNAME/S: Pep

BIO: Ben Pepper was born in Geraldton (WA) and attended John Willcock Senior High. He was a very promising junior cricketer and golfer and only started playing basketball in his mid teens after being talked into playing by his mates and a coach at the Geraldton Amateur Basketball Association to give it a go.

Shortly after he was spotted by Newcastle Falcons coach Shawn Dennis who invited him to join his team and a tour with them, this quickly led to Ben signing his first professional contract and moving to the Hunter Valley.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Ben Pepper made his NBL debut with the Newcastle Falcons at 20 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

In 1996, Pepper averaged 4.6 points, 4 rebounds, and 0.5 assists as a rookie, while the Falcons finished in ninth place (11-15).

1997
In Ben’s second NBL season, he averaged 10 points, and 5.9 rebounds as the Falcons finished tenth with a record of 12-18 during the regular season. At the end of the season he was awarded both the NBL Most Improved Player and Sixth Man award.

NORTH MELBOURNE GIANTS
1998
With the Giants again facing financial difficulties, the team struggled to remain competitive in 1998 and after finishing the season with a record of 9 wins and 21 losses, North Melbourne merged with the South East Melbourne Magic. Pepper would average 13.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 0.9 assists during the North Melbourne Giants’ last season.

VICTORIA TITANS
1998/99
After the NBL’s move to summer, interest in the league had declined, and financially, it had become difficult for Melbourne to sustain three separate clubs. In a effort to boost sponsorship and membership numbers, the South East Melbourne Magic merged with the North Melbourne Giants, who had struggled financially for a number of years.

The team was re-branded to the Victorian Titans and with the majority of the front office being former Magic owners, a decision was made to retain Brian Goorjian, leaving Giants coach Brett Brown without a job (Brown would later sign on to coach the Sydney Kings).

Selecting a team generated its criticism as Goorjian’s appointment coincided with team’s deciding not to offer Pat Reidy, then a member of the Australian national team, a spot on the roster. The Titans would complete their roster by signing four players from the Giants roster, Darryl McDonald, Ben Pepper, David Smith and Paul Maley and five players from the Magic’s roster, Jason Smith, Frank Drmic, Brett Wheeler, Mike Kelly and Tony Ronaldson.

As a testament to the strength in depth that this newly possessed the Titans became immediate favourites to lift the title in April. To kick-start the season, Victoria faced long-time rivals of the Magic and Giants, the Melbourne Tigers. The 80-99 loss inflicted by the Tigers wasn’t the result many expected and clearly showed the lack of cohesion that combining two team’s had created.

Although it took a little while before the Titans found their rhythm, starting the year with a 2-2 record, a few weeks into the season and they quickly proved they were championship contenders.

Ronaldson (16.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists) was named team captain and responded by leading the team in scoring and earning the club MVP at the end of the season. Ben Pepper (12.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks) finished second in scoring and led the team in rebounds and blocks, while Darryl McDonald (11.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 8.2 assists, and 2.4 steals) led both the Titans and the league in steals and assists.

The team would deliver a balanced attack with seven of its players scoring in double figures and finishing the year in fourth place. The team would deliver a balanced attack with seven of its players scoring in double figures and finishing the year in fourth place. The Titans were clearly a different team come playoffs than the team which lost by 19 points to the Tigers in round one, having lost only three games at home (10-3) and finishing the regular season on a four-game winning streak. Victoria destroyed Wollongong at home in game one of the Qualifying Finals (96-65) and in game two, delivered the knockout punch, eliminating the Hawks in two straight games.

in the semifinals, the Titans would face the aforementioned Tigers, who led by star import Marcus Timmnons (31 points and 9 rebounds), and were able to grind out a three point win (80-77). Ronaldson (17 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists) led the team in scoring, and Paul Maley (16 points) delivered a incredibly efficient game off the bench, nailing seven of nine shots in 22 minutes.

In game two, Mike Kelly (19 points and 7 rebounds) and Ben Pepper (15 points, 13 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks) led Victoria in scoring as the Titans led the Tigers in all four quarters and came away with the win (94-87). The win would set up a grand final series between Victoria and Adelaide, who defeated Brian Goorjian’s squad the previous season when they were known as the Magic.

The opening matchup delivered a battle of the point guards with McDonald (23 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals) and 36ers import Darnell Mee (25 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks) led both team’s in scoring. Mee was able to come out on top in this one, with Adelaide winning the game (104-94) and Mee also forcing McDonald into making 8 turnovers.

Brett Maher (25 points) came out firing for Adelaide in game two, but the Titans’ defence saw the remainder of the 36ers struggle, with no one else able to score more than 12 points and the team shooting 39% from the field. Victoria would rely on Tony Ronaldson (22 points), Brett Wheeler (18 points, 9 rebounds) and McDonald (12 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists) to get the win (88-82), evening the series.

With the 36ers finishing in first place during the regular season the deciding game would be held in Adelaide where more than 7,000 Sixers fans willed the team over the line to become back-to-back NBL champions. Martin Cattalini (19 points and 9 rebounds) led the 36ers in scoring while Brett Maher (15 points and 7 rebounds) was named Grand Final MVP. Ben Pepper (15 points) top scored for the Titans who shot a woeful 26/78 from the field (38%) in the deciding game.

1999/00
After falling short in the Grand Final for the second year in a row (Magic ’98, Titans ’99) Brian Goorjian looked to add local youth to his roster in a attempt to go one step further… a common Goorjian strategy. This saw veteran import players Paul Maley and Mike Kelly shown the door and replaced with 23 year old big man Nathan Taylor, who had previously played for the team when they were the North Melbourne Giants, and elevated 20 year old development player Glen Siegle elevated into the full roster. The remainder of the Titans roster all returned, as the team looked to go one step further than last season and win the NBL championship. The remainder of the Titans roster all returned, as the team looked to go one step further than last season and win the NBL championship.

In their second as the Titans, Victoria finished the season strong thanks to a breakout season from Jason Smith, who boosted his numbers from 11.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.7 steals in 29 minutes to 17.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.8 steals in 40 minutes per game and named the Titan’s club MVP at the end of the season. In addition to Smith leading the team in scoring, Victoria would deliver a well-balanced offensive attack, with six players scoring in double figures. Captain Tony Ronaldson (16.0 points and 5.4 rebounds) and Darryl McDonald (13.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 7.8 assists, and 3.1 steals), who led the league in steals and assists were key contributors, while Pepper added 10.4 points, 6 rebounds, and 0.2 assists.

Once again, the Titans built their season around a strong home record (11-3) and finished the season in fourth place. This saw Victoria (20-8) and Melbourne (14-14) face off in the elimination finals where the Tigers took game one (101-94). The Titans evened the series (78-70) in game two, setting up a third and deciding game. In game three, Victoria overcome a offensive explosion from Melbourne’s Andrew Gaze (30 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists), but again, the Titans defence proved highly successful in generating turnovers (Gaze himself had 7), and Victoria closed out the series (2-1). MacDonald (29 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steal) led the Titans in scoring in the win (105-96).

This set-up a rematch with the aforemention Adelaide, who had picked up the discarded Paul Maley (12.3 points and 6.1 rebounds) midseason, to see him become a valuable bench contributor. Adelaide, who had finished the season in first place (and had the wood of the Titan’s it was believed) and entered the in the semifinals as favourites. Ronaldson (26 points and 5 rebounds) and MacDonald (24 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks) would lead the Titans to a game one win in Melbourne (101-86), before the series moved to Adelaide for games two and three.

Game two saw the 36ers return to the same high-scoring offence that had proven unstoppable during the past two seasons. Martin Cattalini (24 points and 7 rebounds) and Darnell Mee (22 points,7 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals) delivered big games, allowing the 36ers to even the series with a win (95-72). With many expecting Victoria to come up short against Adelaide yet again, the team rallied behind MacDonald (24 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals), who again impacted the game from every angle. While his counterpart Mee (22 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals) filled the stat sheet, his 36ers teammates struggled to score through the impenetrable Titans defence. This resulted in Victoria winning the game three (93-89) and finally overcoming the 36ers, igniting a Titans celebration on court, which some felt was premature considering the grand final series was still to come.

Not surprisingly, Victoria had nothing left for Perth in the Grand Final, and the Wildcat’s defeated the Titans in two straight contests, a six-point win in game one (84-78) followed up with a similar outcome in game two (83-76). Perth were led by league MVP Paul Rogers (24 points and 20 rebounds), who connected on 10 of 16 shots and racked up a 20/20 game in game one. Marcus Timmons (27 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals) couldn’t miss in game two, going 9/15 from the field and being voted the NBL Finals MVP.

2000/01
After three years in the NBA, Chris Anstey returned to play for Brian Goorjian and the Titans. Although Anstey’s signature was a major coup, Victoria also suffered a major loss with Frank Drmic signing with Brisbane. In a surprise move, however, Smith would exercise a European out clause before the start of the season and head overseas before backflipping, returning to Australia and inking a deal with the Sydney Kings. To fit Anstey in, Victoria released Nathan Taylor (to Melbourne), replaced David Smith with Jason Smith’s older brother Darren and signed Kiwi guard Mark Dickel to replace Drmic. Dickel, who just graduated from UNLV, was signed as a import player as New Zealand players weren’t considered local players in the NBL until 2003.

Dickel (13.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 5.1 assists) and Jason Smith (20.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists) formed quite a duo, with Smith leading the team in scoring while having a career-high scoring season himself.

Anstey (16.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks) returned a vastly improved player from the NBA, but coach Goorjian surprised many by bringing Anstey off the bench this season, favouring Brett Wheeler (13 points and 8 rebounds) in the starting lineup as he looked to replicate the success of the double-headed centre that was Anstey and John Dorge during the Magic’s 1996 championship run. Pepper would also play a key role for the Titans this season, averaging 4.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 0 assists.

Later, young players Marcus Wright and Pero Vasiljevic, originally signed as development players, were elevated into the roster during the season as a result of mid-season injuries to Ben Pepper, and the Titans finished the year in first place with a franchise-best record of 22-6. Anstey, who was named Titans MVP that season and the fact he did it all from the bench, made him a easy choice for the league’s Sixth Man of the Year.

This saw them face off against long-time rivals, the sixth-placed Adelaide 36ers and behind a season high scoring performance from Anstey (27 points and collected 16 rebounds) took out game one (101-96). The Sixers, behind star duo Darnell Mee and Kevin Brooks, would then rebound to win games two (96-83) and three (115-103). Mee (22 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists) and Brooks (25 points and 7 rebounds) put up big numbers over the three-game series.

As a result of finishing first, the Titans being the highest placed loser in the Qualifying Finals allowed them to proceed to the semi finals. There they would face the Townsville Crocodiles, led by 37 year old Robert Rose, who had just become the league’s oldest winner of the NBL’s MVP award. Thanks to veteran players Tony Ronaldson (22 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists) and Darryl McDonald (20 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists) stepped up and delivered a game one win for Victoria (106-97). a injury to Anstey in the early moments of game two saw him miss the remainder of the series, which saw the Titans lose both game two (98-82) and three (101-97). A major factor was Anstey suffering a injury in the early moments of game two which kept him out of both games.

In a twist of fate, the Crocodiles roster was made up of a number of players discarded by Brian Goorjian in recent years. In addition to Rose, both Pat Reidy and Mike Kelly were Titans cast-offs, both playing huge roles in eliminating the Titans. Reidy (19 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists) was a equal game high scorer (with Rose and Andrew Goodwin) in game two, while Kelly (17 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists) was the clear difference maker in the deciding game three.

The Titans falling short of the Grand Final was also the first time a Brian Goorjian team hadn’t reached a NBL Grand Final since 1996 (seven years).

WOLLONGONG HAWKS
2001/02
After the Hawks lost Matt Garrison to Cairns for the 2001-02 season, they replaced him by signing Ben Pepper (12.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 0.7) who played a key role in helping the Hawks to a fourth place finish (16-14) during the regular season.

2002/03
During the 2002/03 season, Pepper averaged 7.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 0.3 assists and helped the Hawks finish the regular season in fourth place (18-12).

VICTORIA GIANTS
2003/04
During the 2003/04 season, Pepper averaged 17.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 0.9 assists and was a part of the Giants squad which finished with a record of 11-22.

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS
2004/05
The Breakers entered their second NBL season looking to improve on their tenth-place finish in their first year during their debut season. The Breakers moved Frank Arsego, who had replaced Jeff Green mid-season, into a permanent position as the team’s head coach. The next move was locking in the Breakers’ leading scorer and MVP from the previous season, Mike Chappell, and replacing import Casey Frank with Shawn Redhage, who had been dominating the state league (SEABL).

Ben Melmeth would return to his hometown of Newcastle to play for the Hunter Pirates. He was replaced with fellow Aussie big man Ben Pepper, whose former team, the Victoria Giants, had vacated the league due to financial issues.

To begin the season, Paul Henare was made co-captain, alongside last year’s ‘skipper’ Pero Cameron, and despite falling short in their opening game (a re-match of the team’s first ever game against Adelaide, which they lost 94-106) they started the season by splitting the first games six games and sit within the middle of the were pack with a 3-3 record.

Although Redhage (12.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists) made a impressive start to the season, a form slump in November, which saw the team lose six of its seven games, led to Redhage’s court time being reduced and eventually his release after 13 games.

While Redhage would go on to sign with Perth and become one of the NBL’s all-time greats, his replacement came in the form of Marcus Timmons (9.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.5 steals). A clear mistake had been made there, however, as shortly after taking the court, it was clear Timmons was no longer the player he was back when he joined the Melbourne Tigers mid-season in 1997 and led them to a championship.

Chappell (18 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists) would lead the team in scoring for a second consecutive season, while Aaron Olson would boost his scoring from 10.8 points per game to 15.5 points per game and win the club’s MVP award at the end of the season.

Pepper appeared in 31 games and averaged 14.9 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 0.8 assists, while the Breakers finished in eleventh place (9-23), failing to improve on their debut season.

2005/06
With the Breakers still searching for their first winning season, they chose not to re-sign Mike Chappell, the Breakers’ leading scorer from the past two seasons and appointed a new head coach Andrej Lemanis. Lemanis had played in the NBL during the 1980s and 1990s and spent the previous five seasons as a assistant coach with the Townsville Crocodiles.

Lemanis inherited a Breakers squad who had seen both its national team players, Pero Cameron (Gold Coast) and Dillon Boucher (Perth), leave for better opportunities on other NBL team’s.

Lemanis looked to build around its young turning core group, which included Aaron Olsen, Ben Pepper, Lindsay Tait and Paul Henare, who was named team captain with the departure of co-captain Pero Cameron.

Rugged defender Ben Thompson and New Zealand born Adrian Majstrovich (both via Perth) were added to the roster, as was the import duo of Rich Melzer and Brant Bailey.

The Breakers started the season poorly (1-5) and quickly made the decision to replace Bailey (18.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists) with Brian Green (18.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.5 steals).

Melzer (18.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists) would lead New Zealand in scoring while the Breakers continued to see strong development from young gun Aaron Olson (17.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists) and Ben Pepper (14.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks) was a force inside the paint. Pepper averaged 14.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists, appearing in 32 of the Breakers’ games.

Lemanis’ first season in charge was not particularly memorable. During the season, the Breakers endured a team-worst eleven straight losses, but after making the personnel changes, the team split their final twelve games of the season and finished the regular season tenth out of eleven team’s (9-23).

2006/07
Pepper averaged 15.9 points and 7.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists during a lacklustre season where the Breakers limped home to a a tenth place finish (11-22).

TOWNSVILLE CROCODILES
2007/08
Pepper ended his career with a season playing for Townsville where he averaged 10.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 0.6 assists while the Crocodiles finished in fifth place (17-13).

Ben Pepper played thirteen seasons across six NBL teams. This included the Newcastle Falcons, North Melbourne Giants, Victoria Titans, Victoria Giants, Wollongong Hawks, New Zealand Breakers and Townsville Crocodiles. He averaged 11.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 0.6 assists in 384 NBL games.

CAREER RANKINGS:
– 23rd in total rebounds
– 13rd in total blocks

Dan Boyce (798 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.