NICKNAME/S: The Croatian Sensation

BIO: Frank Drmic was born in Melbourne (VIC) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Dandenong basketball program. Drmic received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 1994. He spent two years year there and played for the program’s state league team (1994, 1995).

FAMILY: Frank’s brother, Anthony Drmic also played 238 games in the NBL.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Frank Drmic made his NBL debut with the South East Melbourne Magic at 18 years of age. He scored nine points in his first game.

Entering the NBL Frank Drmic had already received comparisons to Andrew Gaze despite being only 18 and yet to play his first professional game. He played 22 games during his rookie season, averaging 2.6 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.8 assists and despite receiving minimal game time during the playoffs, he was a part of the Magic’s 1996 championship winning team.

In 1997 Drmic played for the Australian junior team and won a gold medal alongside Magic teammates Sam MacKinnon and Chris Anstey. He showed a much improved skill-set during the tournament, something he continued to display during his second year with the Magic.

Drmic averaged 8.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in 1997 and helped guide South East Melbourne to a first place finish in the regular season with a 22-8 record. The Magic received a first round bye in the play-offs before meeting the Perth Wildcats in the semifinals. The Magic would defeat Perth 92-82 in game one before a convincing 96-69 victory in game two to set them up to face Andrew Gaze and the Melbourne Tigers for the third NBL Grand Final matchup between these team’s in six years. That season Gaze, Lanard Copeland, Mark Bradtke and mid-season acquisition Marcus Timmons were a part of the Tiger’s all-time franchise record streak of 16 consecutive wins that saw them capture the 1997 title, defeating the South East Melbourne Magic in three games. Lanard Copeland was named Finals MVP after averaging 27.6 points and 3.3 rebounds over the the game series.

1998 saw Frank Drmic average 14.4 points and 6.6 rebounds and play a key role in helping the Magic to a first place finish in the regular season with a 26-4 record. The Magic received a first round bye in the play-offs before meeting the Brisbane Bullets in the semifinals. The Magic would defeat Brisbane 106-98 in game one and 90-84 in game two to see them reach the NBL Grand Final. The Magic would face the Adelaide 36ers in the championship deciding series and lose a narrow game one 93-100 before the 36ers dominated them in game two 90-62 to win the title.

In 1999 Drmic averaged 10.8 points and 5.2 rebounds, and helped guide the Titans to a third place finish in the regular season with a 16-1 record.

In 2000 Drmic averaged 13.3 points and 5.6 rebounds, and helped guide the Titans to a fourth place finish in the regular season with a 20-8 record.

In 2001 Drmic averaged 14.6 points and 6.8 rebounds, and helped guide the Kings to a fifth place finish in the regular season with a 17-1 record.

Frank Drmic played eight seasons across four NBL teams. This included the South East Melbourne Magic, Victoria Titans, Sydney Kings and South Dragons. He averaged 11.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 255 NBL games.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Dan Boyce (828 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.