NICKNAME/S: Rose

BIO: David Close was born in Portsmouth (VIC) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Bulleen basketball program. Close received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 1989. He spent three years year there and played for the program’s state league team (1989).

NBL EXPERIENCE

David Close made his NBL debut with the Perth Wildcats at 19 years of age. He scored 15 points in his first game.

After Perth’s season ended with semi final losses to the North Melbourne Giants in both the 1988 and 1989 seasons, prominent West Australian businessman Kerry Stokes became co-owner of the franchise and looked to change the direction of the team immediately. His first move was moving the team into the iconic 8,000-seat Perth Entertainment Centre.

Perth also received a boost with the naturalisation of both James Crawford and Tiny Pinder at the end of 1989 allowing the Wildcats to sign two additional import players. Cal Bruton, who had retired as a player following the 1989 season and became the Wildcats’ general manager in 1990, was tasked with recruiting the new talent.

Eager for the team to win its first NBL Championship, Bruton looked to create a roster at Perth that echoed the makeup of the Adelaide 36ers team’s of the mid-80s. Oklahoma guard Ricky Grace was signed to play a ‘Al Green’ type role, and he was teamed up with Mike Ellis, who would replicate the Darryl Pearce/shooting guard role. Young talent Trevor Torrance and David Close would be able to space the floor as Mike McKay did, and Crawford, Pinder, and the newly signed import Jeff Allen would replicate the scoring and rebounding that Mark Davis and Bill Jones brought to the 36ers.

The 1990 season began with turmoil as coach Alan Black was controversially fired after only two games and replaced by Cal Bruton. Bruton’s appointment was met with negativity from both the players and the fans, who booed the Wildcats’ new coach whenever he was introduced at tip-off. In fact, with a record of 6-4 and in the middle of a game against the Sydney Kings, these issues boiled over, resulting in Arnold and Pinder laying hands on each other during halftime. Later, Bruton would get himself ejected from the game, and a players-only meeting was held afterwards, with the primary topic being giving the boot to ‘Coach Cal’.

The players were told by management to come together as a team as they wouldn’t be removing Bruton as coach mid-season but gave Bruton notice that his job was up for review at season’s end.

The season ended with Kendal Pinder (20.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.1 steals) earning the Wildcats club MVP and James Crawford (23.3 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.1 blocks) and Ricky Grace (21.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 2.6 steals, and 1.0 blocks) leading the team in scoring as Perth headed into the playoffs as the fifth seed (17-9). The team got lucky by facing a Melbourne Tigers unit who were without leading scorer Andrew Gaze, who had been hospitalised with a blood clot in his shoulder. In game one, Tigers forward David Colbert (52 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals) erupted for a career-high in Gaze’s absence, but it wasn’t enough to get past the well-balanced attack of Perth. Ricky Grace (30 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists) made 10 of his 13 shots and seemed to set up teammate David Close (25 points and 6 rebounds) for a open look whenever he didn’t score, allowing Perth to walk away victors (122-100).

In game two, Colbert (42 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks) was unstoppable again, and teammate Dave Simmons (29 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists) also delivered a big game also but Perth managed to shut down every other Tigers’ player and ended Melbourne’s season behind a ten point win (123-113). Kendal Pinder (29 points and 7 rebounds) was the star game two, but on the eve of facing the North Melbourne in the semifinals, Pinder was arrested and spent the night in jail the night prior to the first game of the series.

With the team unaware of the events from the evening prior, Pinder (20 points and 14 rebounds) and Ricky Grace (39 points and 5 rebounds) led the Wildcats to a win over the Giants in the opening game (121-11). Scott Fisher (27 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists) would top score for the Giants in the loss.

In game two, Perth still couldn’t find a answer for Fisher (35 points and 14 rebounds) who was unstoppable and led North Melbourne over Perth (131-110) to even the series. The Wildcats barely made it out of the semi finals, with Fisher (32 points, 21 rebounds and 4 assists) doing everything he could to win the game, but in the final seconds, Perth were able to hold off the Giants to win by two points (112-110) behind some stellar play from Pinder (28 points and 13 rebounds) once again.

After defeating the Giants, Perth moved forward face a tough Brisbane Bullets squad featuring Leroy Loggins, Derek Rucker and Andre Moore in the Grand Final series. Tens of thousands of people across Western Australia tuned in to the live coverage to see the Wildcat’s triumph 112–106 in Game one of the Grand Final series in front of a sold-out crowd of 8,200 at the Perth Entertainment Centre. Brisbane tied the series (1–1) after winning game two at home in convincing fashion (106–90). In the deciding game, the Wildcat’s blew the game wide open in the third quarter, creating a 20 point buffer before coming home easily in the fourth quarter (109-86). The win would mark the first time a team from Western Australian had won the national championship.

Ricky Grace was recognised as Grand Final MVP, averaging 25 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists over the three-game series, and while Cal Bruton hoped to return as head coach in 1991, his attempt to repeat was denied with the team deciding to replace him with Murray Arnold and return Bruton to his position of General Manager.

As a rookie, Close appear in 33 games, averaging 9.1 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists.

1991
In controversial circumstances, Cal Bruton was not retained as coach despite leading the Wildcats to a championship in 1990. He was replaced by Murray Arnold, a former assistant coach with the Chicago Bulls. Arnold’s style of game was focused on defence which was a significant change from the high scoring and entertaining style previously implemented under Cal Bruton. In pursuit of back-to-back championships, the Wildcats strengthened their roster considerably in the off-season with the addition of future WA basketball legend Andrew Vlahov and Peter Hansen, a American who arrived via Venezuela, Spain and the Perry Lakes Hawks.

Arnold’s Wildcats were a highly successful team, as they finished the regular season in first place (22-4). Ricky Grace (22.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 2.5 steals) delivered another ‘amazing’ season, alongside James Crawford (20.1 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 1.9 assists), Hansen (16.2 points and 9.5 rebounds) and Vlahov (15.0 points and 8.3 rebounds) and Close averaged 7.9 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists.

After another successful regular season, Perth entered the finals brimming with confidence. The Wildcats easily accounted for long-term rivals the Adelaide 36ers in the semifinals to then find themselves against the highly-rated Eastside Melbourne Spectres in the Grand Final. The Wildcats had a unique opportunity to win back-to-back titles, a feat only achieved by two other team’s to that point in the history of the NBL. Everything looked on track when the Wildcats were able to defeat the Spectres in game one in Melbourne by 26 points (109–83). After another successful regular season, Perth entered the finals brimming with confidence. The Wildcats easily accounted for long-term rivals the Adelaide 36ers in the semifinals to then find themselves against the highly-rated Eastside Melbourne Spectres in the Grand Final. The Wildcats had a unique opportunity to win back-to-back titles, a feat only achieved by two other team’s to that point in the history of the NBL. Everything looked on track when the Wildcats were able to defeat the Spectres in game one in Melbourne by 26 points (109–83). Perth had hit a fever pitch and delivered another sold-out crowd awaited the Wildcat’s for game two back at home. However, with their backs against the wall, the Spectres performed with a never-say-die attitude and upset the favourites at home by five points (86–81).

With game two being played on a Friday night and game three scheduled for Sunday, The Wildcats had little time to formulate a new strategy. However, in front of a electric Perth crowd, the Wildcats were victorious in the deciding third game by 10 points (90–80) and became the third team in history to win back-to-back NBL Championships. Hansen was named MVP of the Grand Final series after averaging 17.3 points per game over the three games Wildcats for game two back at home. However, with their backs against the wall, the Spectres performed with a never-say-die attitude and upset the favourites at home by five points (86–81). game two was played on a Friday night and game three was scheduled for Sunday, leaving the Wildcat’s little time to formulate a new strategy. However, in front of a electric Perth crowd, the Wildcats were victorious in the deciding third game by 10 points (90–80) and became the third team in history to win back-to-back NBL Championships. Hansen was named MVP of the Grand Final series after averaging 17.3 points per game over the three games.

Close would play in 27 games, averaging 7.9 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists.

HOBART DEVILS
1992
The 1992 season saw Close average 9.7 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2 assists and play a key role in helping the Devils to a first place finish with a 9-15 record.

1993
During the 1993 season Close averaged 13.2 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 2.9 assists and helped the Devils finish the regular season in third place (6-20).

CANBERRA CANNONS
1994
During the 1994 season, Close averaged 7.6 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists and was a part of the Cannons squad which finished in a second place (7-19).

1995
In 1995 Close averaged 15 points and 3.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists, and helped guide the Cannons to a ninth place finish in the regular season with a 12-14 record.

1996
Canberra again restructured their roster as they looked to find success, moving on from import duo Jervaughn Scales and Fred Cofield, and adding Robert Rose (via Adelaide) and Darnell Mee, who had previously played with the Denver Nuggets NBA. Chris Blakemore (via Adelaide) and rookie Brendan Mann, who had just won a gold medal with the Australian Junior team, were signed to replace the outgoing Lachlan Armfield (to Newcastle) and Matt Witkowski (to Gold Coast).

Although Rose (27.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 2.1 steals) had been told he was getting ‘too old’ when released by the 36ers, he delivered a incredible season, being selected to the All-NBL First Team and coming close to winning the MVP award. Mee (15.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 2.7 steals, 1.5 blocks) showcased that he could do it all in this league, while also battling through a serious knee injury that limited his game all season.

The Cannons were able to return to the playoffs this season, finishing in fourth place (16-10).

Close appeared in all 32 games for the Cannons, averaging 11.0 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists, as the team returned to the playoffs finishing in fourth place (16-10).

Canberra then met the Sydney Kings (16-10), who finished as the fifth seed behind high-scoring duo Shane Heal and Issac Burton. In game one, Sydney surprised everyone with Stephen Whitehead (24 points and 5 rebounds) leading the team in scoring and equalling a season high to give the Kings a 24 point victory (113-89). The Cannons would get a huge boost from their supporting cast in game two, with Jamie Pearlman (29 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists), David Close (25 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists) and Ray Borner (21 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals) as well as Darnell Mee (29 points, 7 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks) all scoring over 20 points. Rose (11 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists) finished just shy of a triple-double with Canberra defeating Sydney by 47 points (146-99). The deciding game saw the stars of the series come out firing, with Canberra’s Rose (23 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists) and Mee (20 points, 3 rebounds, and 8 assists) going head-to-head with Sydney’s Heal (21 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists) and Burton (25 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 steals) but it was the team’s supporting casts the made the difference. Outside of Heal and Bruton, the Kings managed to score a mere 43 points, while the Cannons remaining roster tallied 58 points, with Borner (18 points and 7 rebounds), Blakemore (17 points and 6 rebounds), and Pearlman (17 points and 3 assists) all having big games. Canberra closed out the series with the win (101-89) and headed into a semi final against Melbourne.

Canberra got a huge effort from Simon Dwight (20 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 blocks) to win the opening game (98-87), combining with Rose (22 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists), Mee (23 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists) to score a combined 65 points. Andrew Gaze (28 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists) finished as the game’s high scorer. Game two saw a very different Melbourne team on the defensive end, forcing Canberra to shoot 35% from the field (30/86) and Rose (17 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists) the only player to score over 13 points. The Tigers trio of Gaze (30 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists), Copeland (23 points and 6 rebounds) and Bradtke (20 points and 7 rebounds) evened the series with a 18 point win (100-82). In the deciding game, the defence efforts from Rose (21 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals) and Mee (18 points and 4 assists) locked down Copeland (6 points and 5 rebounds). Still, it wasn’t enough to stop the Tigers’ other two big guns in Gaze (29 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks) and Bradtke (26 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks), who combined to score half of the Melbourne’s points. The Tigers eliminated the Cannons in a tightly fought four-point contest (91-87) and moved on to the Grand Final series.

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. Close would average 6.1 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 0.8 assists during the North Melbourne Giants’ last season.

David Close played eight seasons across four NBL teams. This included the Perth Wildcats, Hobart Devils, Canberra Cannons and North Melbourne Giants. He averaged 9.8 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 219 NBL games.

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.