BIO: Christopher Cedar was born in Townsville (QLD) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Townsville basketball program.

FAMILY: Christopher’s brother, Michael Cedar also played 219 games in the NBL.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Christopher Cedar made his NBL debut with the Townsville Crocodiles at 19 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

In 2007/08, Chris Cedar would join the Crocodiles as a rookie, getting the chance to play alongside his brother Michael. He went on to average 1.3 points, 0.3 rebounds, and 0.1 assists as the Crocodiles finished in fifth place (17-13).

2009/10
The 2009/10 season saw Cedar average 1.3 points, 0.4 rebounds, and 0.6 assists while getting limited opportunities to play. The Crocodiles would finish in second place finish in the regular season (16-12).

2010/11
During the 2010/11 season Cedar averaged 0.7 points, 1 rebounds, and 0.2 assists assists while continuing to see minimal playing time. The Crocodiles finished the regular season in second place (17-11) for the second year in a row.

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.

Cedar would deliver his most productive season to date, playing in all of the Crocodiles 31 games and averaging 4.6 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists.

2012/13
With Paul Woolpert returning for his second year as head coach, the Townsville Crocodiles entered the 2012/13 NBL season aiming to reset their roster following a semi-final appearance the year before. The club parted ways with longtime bigs Luke Schenscher and Greg Vanderjagt and allowed imports Eddie Gill and Elvin Mims to depart. Townsville filled the void with American duo Jason Forte and Curtis Withers, but both were cut after underwhelming displays during the NBL Pre-season Tournament in Melbourne. CEO Ian Smythe made the rare early-season call to release both players, explaining, “This time, we made the hard decision.”

In response, the Crocs quickly added 2011 NBL MVP Gary Ervin just a week before the season tipped off and brought back former import Larry Abney. However, Townsville opened the year with ten consecutive defeats, slipping to the bottom of the ladder at 0–10. Abney was released after nine games, averaging just 4.4 points and 3.4 rebounds, and was replaced by former NBA prospect Luke Nevill, who had recently completed preseason with the Indiana Pacers. Nevill made an immediate impact in Round 9 against Adelaide, guiding Townsville to their first win and helping ignite a five-game winning streak.

Gary Ervin (16.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.1 steals) was the engine behind the team’s resurgence, ranking third in the league for both scoring and assists. Luke Nevill (13.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks) gave the Crocs a much-needed interior scoring option and rim protection, while Todd Blanchfield continued his growth with (9.4 points and 4.1 rebounds) across 28 games. Veteran guard Peter Crawford (12 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists) remained a dependable perimeter scorer, and Russell Hinder added experience and averaged (5.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists).

Christopher Cedar (1.8 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 0.7 assists) featured in 26 games, offering depth in the backcourt alongside Ervin, Mitch Norton, and older brother Michael. While used sparingly, Cedar contributed as a role-playing guard during stretches of the season when foul trouble or injury hit the rotation.

Despite a strong mid-season revival, the Crocodiles dropped their final two games and fell short of the postseason, finishing second last with a 10–18 record. Ervin’s standout play earned him a spot on the All-NBL Second Team, capping off a turbulent but eventful campaign in Townsville.

At the end of the season, both Chris and his brother Michael left the club to purse a career outside of basketball.

2015/16
With Townsville reeling from injuries, Chris Cedar was called back into the lineup to help fill the gaps. He appeared in two games and score a total of three points.

2015/16
After finishing sixth with an 11-17 record in 2014/15, Townsville entered the off-season with its future uncertain after going into voluntary administration before eventually being cleared to continue in the NBL. Todd Blanchfield (to Melbourne), Steven Markovic (to Sydney), Mickell Gladness, Jacob Holmes (retired) and Greg Vanderjagt (retired) departed, with Vanderjagt moving onto Shawn Dennis’ coaching staff. Brian Conklin, Clint Steindl, Mitchell Norton, Leon Henry and Mirko Djeric returned, while Dennis added Jordair Jett, Nicholas Kay (via Metro State), Luke Schenscher (via Adelaide), Corey Maynard (via Cairns) and Mitchell Young (via Cairns). Conklin was re-signed and appointed captain.

Schenscher (4.1 points and 3.1 rebounds across 13 games) ruptured a ligament in his left ankle during the opening weeks and continued to deal with ankle and back problems. Townsville turned to Harry Froling (via Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence) as an injury replacement for Schenscher. Froling (1.6 points across 9 games) had already made a brief appearance earlier in the season as a development player before receiving further opportunities while Schenscher was unavailable.

Townsville was 4-10 when the Crocodiles terminated Conklin’s contract on November 30 after citing a number of “sub-par performances.” Conklin (13.5 points and 6.6 rebounds across 13 games) had missed one game after receiving a three-match suspension, with two games suspended for the remainder of the season, following his elbow on Mitch Creek. “Unfortunately the club has terminated my contract and I will no longer be able to captain this club. All the best to the boys and coaches going forward,” Conklin said.
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Omar Samhan was subsequently signed for the remainder of the season to replace Conklin. Samhan (13.3 points and 8.9 rebounds across 12 games) appeared in every one of Townsville’s remaining games.

On December 31, assistant coach Vanderjagt contacted former Crocodile Christopher Cedar, who had captained Mackay to the 2015 QBL championship, about returning to Townsville as an injury replacement for Maynard (6.1 points across 25 games), who had been sidelined by an ankle injury. Cedar (1.5 points across 2 games) accepted a two-game contract, giving him his first NBL opportunity since leaving Townsville following the 2012/13 season.

Cedar’s best game came against Cairns on January 8, where Cedar (3 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist) played 13:24 in his first NBL appearance since March 2013 as the Taipans defeated Townsville 75-61. Djeric (15 points) and Samhan (12 points and 8 rebounds) led the Crocodiles, while Cameron Gliddon (25 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists) led Cairns.

Eight days later, Cedar (0 points) played 8:42 in the second and final game of his short-term deal as Adelaide defeated Townsville 108-103. Jett (29 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists) and Norton (21 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists) led the Crocodiles, while Jerome Randle (34 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists) was Adelaide’s best. Maynard returned to the lineup against New Zealand on January 21, ending Cedar’s injury-replacement stint.

Jett (15.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.3 assists across 28 games) appeared in every game and led Townsville in scoring, winning the Kevin Sugars Medal as club MVP. Steindl (12.7 points and 3.5 rebounds across 28 games) was named the NBL’s Most Improved Player, while Kay (10.7 points and 6.6 rebounds across 28 games) won Rookie of the Year. Norton (8.8 points across 28 games) provided another consistent presence, while Djeric (5.3 points across 24 games) produced his best NBL season. Dennis was named NBL Coach of the Year as Townsville recovered to go 7-7 during the second half of the season.

Cedar did not play in Townsville’s final game on February 13, where Samhan (25 points and 13 rebounds) and Steindl (25 points and 3 rebounds) led the Crocodiles to a 126-123 double-overtime victory over Sydney, while Jason Cadee (32 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists) led the Kings. Townsville finished seventh with an 11-17 record after going 8-6 at home and winning only three games on the road.

The victory proved to be the Crocodiles’ final NBL game, with Townsville withdrawing from the 2016/17 competition after the club concluded it was not financially viable to continue.

Christopher Cedar played six seasons with the Townsville Crocodiles. He averaged 2.5 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in 88 NBL games.