NICKNAME/S: Daz, DC

BIO: Daryl Corletto was born in Melbourne (VIC) and grew up in Altona Meadows, playing for the Werribee Devils. Corletto’s basketball abilities really started to develop after he joined the Melbourne Tigers junior squad at 16 years of age. Corletto was a member of the Victorian Championship State Team in 1996 and 1998, and was selected to join the all-Australian youth team in 1998 and 2000.

FAMILY: In 2009, Corletto married Australian netballer Julie Prendergast.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Daryl Corletto made his NBL debut with the Melbourne Tigers at 20 years of age. He scored seven points in his first game.

This season, Marcus Timmons would return to play for the Tigers, replacing the outgoing Phil Handy (to West Sydney). Timmons (16.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.0 blocks) would slot right back into the team, his presence catapulting the Tigers back to the top of the ladder. Lanard Copeland (25.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.1 steals) was also in amazing form this season, hoping to earn selection to the Boomers squad after being recently naturalised.

With Melburne sitting on 9 wins and 5 losses, they would lose Gaze after he succumbed to a ankle injury three minutes into a game against Townsville. The Tigers would then lose this game by two points (98-100) and Gaze (19.1 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists) would miss twelve games with an ankle injury. This saw Melbourne drop from top of the ladder to fifth spot, recording 7 wins and 9 losses in Gaze’s absence. Mark Bradtke (22.6 points, 13.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.3 blocks) would step up during this time, leading the league in rebounding for a sixth time and being selected as the NBL MVP at the end of the season.

Although not fully healed, Gaze would return to the court to help the Tigers (16-14) in their Qualifying Final matchup against crosstown rivals, the Victoria Titans (21-9).

Victoria had finished the season in first place and entered the series as clear favourites. However, after the Titans secured game one (107-113), the Tigers would bounce back with Copeland (41 points, 5 assists and 2 steals), who shot a impressive 14 from 27 shots (52%), and Timmons (19 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists) having big games to deliver a Tigers win in game two (107-105). Copeland (37 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists) and Timmons (21 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocks) backed that performance in game three (103-97) to move onto the semi finals and face West Sydney. Gaze struggled through the series, playing in all three games but scoring total of 11 points.

Melbourne would face the fifth placed West Sydney Razorbacks (16-14) at home and behind Timmons (36 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals) and Bradtke (21 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals), come away victorious (114-93). Once the series moved to Sydney the Tigers lost games two (109-125) and three (103-115) with Gaze still not back to full health.

This season marked the first time Gaze failed to lead the Tigers in scoring since they entered the league in 1984, yet he still managed to lead the league in free throw shooting (88.4%). As a development player, Corletto would appear in only 11 games and average 1.5 points, 0.3 rebounds, and 0.4 assists.

2002/03
After coming close to a NBL Grand Final berth the prior season, which many feel they would have if not for a ankle injury that derailed Andrew Gaze for the playoffs, the Tigers underwent some small roster changes in 2002. Moving on were Daniel Egan (to Brisbane) and Warrick Giddey (retired), while Neil Mottram (via Perth), Greg Blake and import Matt Rueter, who had both been playing in the state league, were also added to the roster.

Melbourne (15-15) would make the playoffs but were swiftly eliminated by Sydney (22-8) in the Qualifying Finals. Corletto would play in only two games, scoring a total of two points for the season.

2003/04
Over his first two NBL seasons, Corletto appeared in only 13 games. In his third season he became a regularly utilised option in the Tigers guard rotation, playing in 27 games, however being stuck behind future NBL Hall Of Famers Andrew Gaze and Lanard Copeland he struggled for minutes and opportunities and averaged a meagre 2.1 points per game.

The Tigers hobbled to a fifth-place spot (20-13) before losing a first-round elimination series to the Brisbane Bullets.

2004/05
2004/05 was a breakout season for Corletto who appeared in all 34 games for the Tigers, averaging 7 points, 1 rebounds, and 0.6 assists. With Melbourne’s roster aging rapidly, import Rashad Tucker was added mid-season. Tucker, who had begun the season with Perth Wildcats was released due to poor attitude, but upon arriving in Melbourne didn’t show any signs of this.

In a reduced role, Tucker (5.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.3 assists) would play alongside Corletto in the team’s second unit.

Melbourne would finish in sixth place (17-15) and once into the postseason, they would defeat Perth (108-88), but then lose to Townsville in their second playoff elimination game (100-112). This game would be the last for Tigers legends Andrew Gaze and his father, Lindsey, who had decided to retire together at season’s end.

Melbourne had finished their season with the best record in franchise history (25-7) which also included a near unbeatable home record (15-1).

Melbourne would still manage only second place however, with Sydney also being unstoppable at home (15-1) and finishing with the top spot (26-6).

2006/07
The Melbourne Tigers season began under mild controversy when the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) announced Melbourne’s Rashad Tucker and Perth’s David Bailey had returned positive tests from in-competition samples. Both were fined $5,000, and Bailey was axed by the Wildcat’s shortly after. The Tigers instead chose to stand him the US guard, with Melbourne Tigers majority owner Seamus McPeake stating, ‘We’ve given him a severe warning, and we have notified him of a breach of contract, but I think he’s had his punishment. A second offence is a automatic two-year suspension, so if he wants to continue his career, he can’t offend again’. With Tucker onboard, the team also saw its core group of Chris Anstey, Dave Thomas, Stephen Hoare, Darryl McDonald, Darryl Corletto, David Stiff and Tommy Greer all return. The only roster changes saw Nathan Crosswell, Alex Dench and Liam Norton replace exiting bench players Neil Mottram, Braith Cox and Gerard Leonard.

The Tigers started the season strong (5-1) and looked set to repeat as champions in 2007 and likely would have if not for a incredible off-seasonrecruitment drive from Brisbane. The Bullets, who had finished sixth the season prior (17-15), added CJ Bruton, Ebi Ere, Dusty Rychart and Dillon Boucher to play alongside Anstey’s former teammates, Sam MacKinnon and Mark Bradtke, on a roster considered by many to be the greatest in NBL history.

Another dominant season from Chris Anstey (19.4 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.8 blocks) saw him lead the team in scoring and rebounds and the entire league in block shots. The Tigers also got quality production from Dave Thomas (16.7 points and 6.7 rebounds), Tucker (14.2 points and 8.0 rebounds), Stephen Hoare (12.5 points and 6.7 rebounds), Darryl McDonald (10.6 points and 5.2 assists) and Darryl Corletto (10.4 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.8 assists), who all scored in double figures for the season, creating a nightmare for opposition team’s thanks to any of the six players able to carry the team in scoring on any given night.

Brisbane and Melbourne were clear title favourites from start to finish, and it didn’t surprise any to see both team’s finish first and second respectively at season’s end. Brisbane finished in first place (28-5) before eliminating Sydney Kings (2-0), while Melbourne finished second (25-8) and eliminated Cairns Taipans (2-0) to meet them in the Grand Final.

Melbourne had defeated Cairns thanks to a unlikely hero in game one (100-87), with Axel Dench (18 points) leading the team in scoring as Anstey (5 points) struggled to find the basket and stay out of foul trouble. In game two (95-87), the Tigers withstood a huge game from Taipans’ import Darnell Mee ( 23 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 blocks), who racked up 13 points in the third quarter behind a balanced attack that saw six players, including Anstey (16 points and 9 rebounds), Hoare (15 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists), Tucker (15 points and 12 rebounds), Corletto (15 points), McDonald (10 points) and Nathan Crosswell (10 points) all notching up double-figure scoring nights.

The Grand Final series started with Tigers duo Thomas (19 points) and Anstey (21 points and 9 rebounds) finishing with big numbers, but the Bullets proved too strong, finishing the game with a three-point win (98-95). Stephen Black (24 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists) led the victors in scoring, while Sam MacKinnon (18 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists) narrowly missed out on recording a triple-double. In game two, Anstey (31 points and 8 rebounds) made sure the Tigers evened the series before it shifted back to Brisbane, where 7,539 Bullets fans watched the Bullets claim game three (113-93), thanks to big games from Stephen Black (22 points), Sam MacKinnon (19 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists and 3 steals) and Brisbane’s frontline keeping reigning MVP Anstey (9 points) off the scoreboard.

Game Four was ‘do or die’ for Melbourne, and at the halfway mark, the Tigers had a slight lead (52-51). However, it was all over by final term after the Bullets reeled off a 15-27 run in the third quarter. Brisbane went on to defeat Melbourne (103-94) and win the 2007 championship.

Darryl McDonald (17 points and 4 assists) and Rashad Tucker (17 points and 12 rebounds) were best for the Tigers, while CJ Bruton (22 points and 7 assists) and Dustry Rychart (21 points) came up big in the final game. Sam MacKinnon was named Finals MVP, making history as the first player ever to win a NBL championship, season MVP, Grand Final MVP and Best Defensive Player all in the same year.

2007/08
In 2007/08, Corletto averaged 9.0 points and 1.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists, as the Tigers finished in a second place (22-8).

2008/09
In 2008, Ebi Ere joined the Tigers after being forced to leave Brisbane after their financial demise, and then after committing to play for the South Dragons, he exited his deal for a shot at the NBA and returned to Australia with the Dragons having signed replaced him with Tremmell Darden. Ere (20.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists), then joined stars David Barlow (14.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists) and Chris Anstey (18.6 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.6 blocks), who led Melbourne to the Grand Final for the fourth straight year. The Tigers finished in second place (20-10) and would battle the Dragons (22-8) in a ‘all-Melbourne’ Grand Final series to determine the 2009 championship.

In game one, the Dragons defeated the Tigers by double digits (93–81) after holding Melbourne to 36 points in the second half. Mark Worthington (23 points) top-scored for the Dragons, while Anstey (21 points and 9 rebounds) led the way for the Tigers.

After leading by 14 points midway through the final quarter of game two, the Tigers fought off a late comeback by the Dragons to win on the Tigers home court (88-83). Barlow (26 points) and Anstey (21 points and 9 rebounds) finished as the Tigers’ best, and import Donta Smith (18 points and 6 rebounds) top-scored for the Dragons.

In game three, the series became front-page news after a clash between Anstey and Dragons backup point guard Rhys Carter. a incident that saw the Tigers star big man charged with ‘striking – with elbow’ after the altercation with Carter in the third quarter of the grand final series before being ejected from the match (along with Dragons forward Mika Vukona, who was involved in the subsequent on-court melee). The game was a bloodbath after Anstey’s ejection, with the Dragons hammering the defending champions 84-67 at Hisense Arena. The Dragons were led by Donta Smith (18 points), who scored 10 points in the final period.

After the NBL tribunal decided they wouldn’t suspend any players for the melee, game four saw Carter (17 points), who copped the brunt of Anstey’s anger In game three, came back with a big game but Anstey (31 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 assists) also erupted for his team in game four, propelling Melbourne to victory (108-95) and setting up a fifth and final game to decide the NBL championship.

Game five saw 9,000 fans packed Hisense Arena to witness the Dragons beat the Tigers by 21 points (102-81) and become NBL champions. Tremmell Darden (31 points) was the key for the Dragons in this game, scoring 21 points in the final quarter, and Donta Smith (21 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists) did the rest, almost notching up a triple-double. Worthington and Mika Vukona were able to limit the impact of limit Anstey (12 points and 3 rebounds) yet again, with Ebi Ere and David Barlow (16 points each) the only Tigers’ players able to make a impact.

Donta Smith was named MVP of the Finals after averaging 18.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assists over the five-game series.

Corletto would play in 36 games for the Tigers this season, averaging 7 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1 assists.

2009/10
Thanks to the demise of the South Dragons in 2009, Mark Worthington, who found himself without a team, joined Melbourne to pair with Boomers teammate Chris Anstey in the frontcourt. Anstey (9.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in 23.5 minutes per game), however, would struggle to stay on the court and delivered his worst numbers since his breakout season with the Magic back in 1996.

Anstey’s absence did create extra opportunities for rising star Daniel Johnson, who would win the Most Improved Player award after improving his numbers from 2.7 points and 1.9 rebounds to 10.6 points and 4.3 rebounds, including a career-high 17 points against Adelaide.

It was a disappointing season with the Tigers’ injury woes not limited to just Anstey. New addition Ben Knight (4.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists) managed only four games before his season ended after he jumped to get a loose ball against Gold Coast Blaze big man Pero Cameron and was later diagnosed as rupturing a quad tendon in his right knee. Co-captain Nathan Crosswell (8.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.4 assists) was sidelined with a fractured finger for three weeks, which forced small forward Julius Hodge (17.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.2 steals) to run the offence, a role he never quite seemed comfortable in.

Prior to Crosswell’s injury, the Tigers had just won their first set of back-to-back games for the year and, despite being last on the ladder, hoped to win seven of the team’s last nine games.

Corletto (9.8 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.9 assists) and Worthington (16.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.1 steals) were the only two players to appear in all 28 of the Tigers games, then propelled Melbourne to three-game winning streak, only to then fell well short of their seven win goal. The Tigers lost their next four games to end the season in sixth place (11-17).

After failing to make the playoffs, Long-time teammates Anstey and MacKinnon (8.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.8 assists) announced their retirements together at the end of the season.

2010/11
The 2010/11 season saw the Tigers finish with their worst record since 1987. This would be the first time the Tigers took the court without Andrew Gaze or Chris Anstey on the roster during what was clearly a rebuilding phase for the team.

With Anstey and Sam MacKinnon having retired the season prior Westover recruited import guards Eric Devendorf and TJ Campbell for scoring punch as well as (unusually) three centers in Luke Nevill, Cam Tragardh and Matt Burston.

The Tigers started the season with a home loss to Sydney (68–84) and remained winless until over a month later when they claimed their first victory over the Gold Coast Blaze (85-82). Melbourne’s slow start (0-4) saw the diminutive TJ Campbell (11.8 points and 2.8 assists) released as the Tigers looked to replace him with either Donta Smith or Corey Williams who coach Westover had been actively trying to sign during pre-season, before he chose to play in Greece. Ultimately they went with the reigning NBL MVP Williams.

Later in the season, the Tigers struggles spilled over into the media when owner Seamus McPeake stormed into the locker-room and threaten to not pay his players due to their poor performance. Melbourne responded by winning only 6 of their next 14 games, resulting Devendorf (14.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists) being axed in a cost-cutting move, and the same thing happening to coach Al Westover shortly after. Assistant coach Darryl McDonald was appointed interim coach of the Tigers for the remainder of the season.

Amidst the turmoil, starting centre Luke Nevill (12.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks) also asked for his release in order to finish the season with BC Triumph Lyubertsy (Russia).

The Tigers slow start resulted in them sitting on the bottom of the ladder for the first seven weeks of the season before they strung together a small run of wins against lower ranked team’s like Sydney, Adelaide and Gold Coast (again). With Corey Williams (17.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 6.1 per game) leading the team in scoring, the Tigers finished in seventh place (10-18). Their 18 losses set a record for the most a Tigers team had suffered in a season since 1987.

Corletto would be one of the few consistents among the team, playing in 28 games, averaging 10.1 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.8 assists.

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS
2011/12
Corletto entered the 2011/12 season season as a contracted player for the Melbourne Tigers until the NBA lock-out occured and Patty Mills suddenly became available as a free agent. Mills was signed by Melbourne who could only fit him in by releasing Corletto, resulting in him moving to New Zealand and signing with the Breakers on a one year deal.

After winning their first NBL championship, the Breakers suffered two major losses, the first being leading scorer Kirk Penney’s decision to play in Europe and a off-seasonAchilles injury to Kevin Braswell that saw him still unable to play at the beginning of the 2011/12 season. Coach Andrej Lemanis would replace him with Cedric Jackson and then finalised their roster by adding Daryl Corletto, who the Melbourne Tigers had just released to make room for NBA star Patty Mills.

Jackson (12.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 2.2 steals) would lead the league in both assists and steals and ensure the Breakers didn’t skip a beat as the defending champs. Gary Wilkinson (16.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) and Thomas Abercrombie (15.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists) both boosting their offensive output in the absence of Penney, propelling New Zealand to a first-place finish (21-7) for the second consecutive season.

New Zealand would meet Townsville in the semifinals where they would lose the opening contest (82-99) behind big games from Crocodiles stars Peter Crawford (26 points) and Eddie Gill (21 points and 4 steals).

The Breakers re-grouped with CJ Bruton (18 points) top scoring in a game two win (94-83) that saw five New Zealand players all score in double figures. Bruton (20 points) continued to lead the way offensively in game three (97-80), winning the series for New Zealand and propelling them into the Grand Final.

On 9 March 2012, with the 2011/12 NBL Finals still in progress, the Breakers confirmed the re-signing of Corletto on a two-year contract. Corletto earned a third NBL championship with New Zealand in 2012/13, a season where he averaged nine points per game.

New Zealand would go on to face Perth, winning the opening game in a overtime victory at home (104–98). Bruton (20 points and 3 assists) and Jackson (25 points and 8 assists) led the way in scoring, while Corletto added 16 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists, and 2 steals.

Despite Wilkinson (28 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists) delivering his best game of the season, the Wildcats would rebound from the loss and claim a narrow victory in their second meeting (87-86). Jesse Wagstaff (15 points) and Kevin Lisch (15 points and 5 rebounds) led the way for Perth, while six other Wildcats players also scored in double figures. This set up a third game back in Auckland, where the Wildcat’s built up a slight lead in the second quarter through some brilliant play from Matthew Knight (17 points and 6 rebounds), who had 11 points in the quarter. With centre Luke Nevill (4 points and 3 rebounds in 9 mins) getting into foul trouble and the Breakers defence all but neutralising Shawn Redhage (18 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists), the Breakers clinched back-to-back titles with a six-point victory (79–73) in front of 9,000 fans.

After Perth levelled the score with seven minutes to go, Abercrombie (12 points and 4 rebounds) pulled in a offensive rebound and set up Bruton (16 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals), who nailed a three-point dagger to extend the lead to seven with less than two minutes to play. Gary Wilkinson (23 points) led all scorers, while Alex Pledger (13 points on 4-of-6 shooting) made huge contributions from the bench. The Breakers became the first side to win consecutive titles since Sydney in 2002-2005, a championship team that Bruton was also a part of. Bruton finished 4-of-7 from downtown and was awarded the Larry Sengstock Medal for the Most Valuable Player of the series.

This season, Lemanis was recognised as Coach of the Year, Jackson and Abercrombie were selected to the All-NBL First Team, and Wilkinson gained All-NBL Second Team recognition as well. Corletto appeared in 33 games for the season and averaged 9.8 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists.

2012/13
In 2012, the Breakers looked to become the second team in league history to record a three-peat. While Cedric Jackson, Leon Henry, Thomas Abercrombie, Dillon Boucher, Mika Vukona, CJ Bruton, and Daryl Corletto all re-signed, a major decision made this off-season was to not re-sign leading scorer Gary Wilkinson (to Europe) in favour of elevating promising Kiwi centre Alex Pledger into the starting lineup. Import forward Will Hudson (via Gold Coast) signed as his replacement, while Corey Webster, who had sat out the previous season due to a 12-month suspension for the use of banned substances.

The Breakers recorded a number of historic moments this season, beginning with Jackson recording his first career triple-double with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against the Melbourne Tigers (November 30, 2012). It was only the second triple-double recorded since the NBL went to 40-minute games at the start of the 2009/10 season.

By February, the Breakers extended their longest winning streak record to 11, a record that by mid-March had been extended to fifteen straight games.

New Zealand (24-4) finished on top of the ladder for a second consecutive season with Jackson (14.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 2.8 steals) leading the league in assists and steals for the second straight season. Jackson was a obvious choice for the league’s Most Valuable Player and was also selected to the All-NBL First Team for the second consecutive season. Mika Vukona and Thomas Abercrombie were selected to the All-NBL Second and Third team’s, respectively, and Andrej Lemanis was voted the Coach of the Year.

New Zealand faced Sydney in the semifinals and swiftly eliminated them in two games. Abercrombie (15 points and 3 rebounds) and Jackson (11 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals) leading the Breakers in game one (81-64) and Bruton (21 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists) and Pledger (18 points and 12 rebounds) taking charge in game two (99-88).

New Zealand progressed to the Grand Final series, where they would face off against Perth in a Grand Final re-match of the previous year. The Wildcats entered the series shorthanded, having lost starting guard Damian Martin to a Achilles injury prior to the playoffs. Brad Robbins came out of retirement to cover the loss, but with the team missing Martin, the Breakers defeated Perth easily in two straight games. Game one (79-67) saw Corletto (19 points on 7-10 shooting) catch fire and in game two (70-66), the Breakers were led by Bruton (16 points) and Jackson (14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals). Jackson was subsequently named Grand Final MVP as the team delivered a historic three-peat win.

Corletto would play in 32 games, averaging 9.6 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 1 assists.

2013/14
After winning three consecutive championships with New Zealand, Lemanis was named head coach of the Australian men’s national basketball team. His departure saw assistant Dean Vickerman elevated to head coach and tasked with extending the Breakers championship streak.

Vickerman was taking over a Breakers squad that had lost star import Cedric Jackson (Europe) and Dillon Boucher through retirement and, as a result, started the season poorly, losing three out of their first four games. The poor start led to Vickerman sending out a SOS to former Breakers favourite and two-time champion Gary Wilkinson (15.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists), who joined the team in late October. Then in December, perhaps motivated by the team’s sluggish start, veteran CJ Bruton (6.1 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists) let it be known he would retire at the end of the season just prior to playing the 500th game of his career. By January, the Breakers made a second move and brought in Casey Frank (5.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists) to replace the injured Alex Pledger (10.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks), who had multiple stints on the sidelines and only managed to appear in 13 games.

American guard Kerron Johnson (12.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.1 steals), who had signed as a replacement for Jackson, struggled to fill the large void left at the point guard spot, and Thomas Abercrombie (15.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists) had to shoulder the load for much of the season, finding himself with a lack of space due to Johnson’s lacklustre range. After not being able to put more than two consecutive wins together all year, they ended their season in seventh place (11–17).

The positives for the season came in the form of career-high scoring efforts from young guard duo Corey Webster (8.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.2 assists) and Reuben Te Rangi (5.4 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 0.6 assists) whose improving play showed promise for the Breakers future.

On 21 March 2014, Bruton played his final NBL game in front of a huge Breakers’ crowd at Vector Arena in a loss to Cairns (83-95). With his family and friends in attendance, he recorded 11 points, 3 assists and 1 rebound in what was his 516th NBL game.

Daryl Corletto averaged 7.8 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 0.9 assists across 27 games.

2014/15
2014/15 – TIGERS BECOME UNITED
On 20 May 2014, the franchise was re-branded as Melbourne United. The change was a attempt to move away from the Melbourne Tigers junior program which was a team synonymous with ‘poaching’ young talent from other junior programs in Victoria and had negative connotations with much of Victoria’s basketball community. The name, attempting to symbolise a connection to all of Victorian basketball was a decision made by owner Larry Kestelman.

The team retained head coach Chris Anstey and added Tigers legend Daryl Corletto who had spent three years with the New Zealand Breakers. Australian Boomers players David Barlow, who had spent the past five years in Europe and Daniel Kickert signed on with the club as long time captain of the club Tommy Greer retired.

The team retained their Tigers core of Mark Worthington, Lucas Walker and Nate Tomlinson who were all chosen to share the captaincy this season and their last move was to complement the squad by signing their import talent, adding Jordan McRae and Stephen Dennis.

Adam Ballinger, who had signed a two-year deal the previous season, was a part of the team up until the week before the season when United chose to release him. a unfavorable situation for Ballinger as every other NBL team had completed their rosters, leaving Ballinger nowhere to negotiate. He was eventually signed by Illawarra and played the remainder of the season with the Hawks.

United’s inaugural season began with a loss to Cairns (89–61) which saw coach Chris Anstey resign and replaced by his assistant Darryl McDonald. Corletto would finish his career playing for Melbourne, averaging 6.4 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists as United went on to finish the season in fifth place (13–15), missing out on the playoffs.

Daryl Corletto played fourteen seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Melbourne Tigers and the Melbourne United. He averaged 8.2 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 397 NBL games.

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.