Brian Wethers
July 23, 2020
Geordie Cullen
- Nationality: AUS
- Date of Birth: 2/07/78
- Place of Birth: Perth (WA)
- Position: CTR
- Height (CM): 210
- Weight (KG): 110
- Junior Assoc: WA - Stirling
- College: High Point (1996–2000)
- NBL DEBUT: 21/10/00
- AGE AT DEBUT: 22
- LAST NBL GAME: 9/02/06
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 27
- NBL History: Canberra 2001-02 | Wollongong 2003 | Hunter 2004-06
- Championships: 0
- None
BIO: Geordie Cullen was born in Perth (WA) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Stirling basketball program.
NBL EXPERIENCE
Geordie Cullen made his NBL debut with the Canberra Cannons at 22 years of age. He scored four points in his first game.
Cullen averaged 8.6 points and 4.4 rebounds In his rookie season, but the Cannons only managed to win 3 games for the season.
2001/02
After a season playing in Europe, CJ Bruton signed a deal with play with Canberra, aiming to help his father and head coach Calvin turn the team around after a woeful season where the Cannons managed only three wins for the season. Coach Bruton also added players George Banks (via Perth), Brendan Mann (via Brisbane) and rookie big man Cameron Rigby to the roster.
Banks (23.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.0 assists) would lead the team in scoring while Bruton (19.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists) led the team in assists. Canberra finished the season with 12 wins and 18 losses and failed to reach the playoffs.
Cullen averaged 7.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 0.9 assists for the season.
2002/03
WOLLONGONG HAWKS
2003/04
The 2002/03 season saw Cullen average 3.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 0.2 assists and help the Hawks finish in fourth place (18-12).
HUNTER PIRATES
2003/04
As a result of Canberra’s NBL licence moving to Newcastle, former Cannons players Brendan Mann, Matthew Shanahan and Cameron Rigby all came across to the Pirates to form the beginnings of the Pirates roster. Hunter chose not to retain Cannons coach Cal Bruton and signed Bruce Palmer as their first head coach.
Hunter signed rookie point guard Chris Harriman (via Augusta State) straight out of college and filled the remainder of the roster with low-cost imports Kevin Brooks and Chris Brown, local players Josh Morgan and Adam Melmeth, and a number of players who had been discarded by their former clubs like Geordie Cullen (via Wollongong), Michael Kingma (via Sydney) and Travis Lindstrom (via Perth) who were all unable to secure deals elsewhere.
It took six games before the Pirates won their first game, a four-point victory over Adelaide at home (103–99) and then managed to win only one more, a home win against Cairns (109–103) and ended their first season on a 15-game losing streak. Their two win season was the second worst in NBL history (outside of Geelong’s zero win season in 1988).
Initial coach Bruce Palmer was controversially fired partway into the season and was replaced by assistant coach David Simmons but that made little difference to the team’s success.
Cullen (17.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists) would lead the team in scoring and win the league’s Most Improved Player award at the end of the season. Kevin Brooks (16.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists), Matthew Shanahan (15.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 4.0 assists) and Chris Brown (10.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists) would lead the team in scoring. Starting point guard Brendan Mann (9.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.3 steals) suffered a season ending injury only three games into the season, resulting in rookie Chris Harriman (7.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4 assists) stepping into the starting lineup. Harriman would narrowly miss out of winning the Rookie of the Year award, finishing second to West Sydney’s Steven Markovic.
2004/05
In the Pirates second NBL season, Adrian Hurley was enticed out of semi-retirement to take on the role of head coach. Feeling that the team’s roster was weak and a direct result for their poor performance last season. Hurley retained only three players, Geordie Cullen, Brendan Mann and Josh Morgan from the previous season’s squad that won only two games.
Ben Melmeth (via New Zealand), Russell Hinder (via West Sydney), Brad Davidson (via Townsville), Damon Lowery (via Townville) and Larry Davidson formed the Pirates new look roster and imports Brian Wethers and Kavossy Franklin were signed to provide offensive scoring power.
Under the guidance of former Australian coach Adrian Hurley, the Pirates became a force to be reckoned with and after a slow start (1-4), the Pirates began reeling off victories against some of the league’s best team’s, including a away win over Perth (83-77) and defeating league leaders Wollongong (90–81). Ten games into the season and the Pirates sat in fifth spot on the ladder (5-5) with much of the credit going to the unselfish play of imports Brian Wethers (24.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.9 assists) and Kavossy Franklin (20.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.2 steals).
Weathers would go on to be selected in the All-NBL first team and win the league’s Most Valuble Player award and after winning the last two games of the season, Hunter would secure the final playoff berth and finish in eighth place (13-15).
In the Elimination Finals, however, Hunter fell short to Brisbane (99-113), a loss which ended playoff run.
Cullen would see his production take a big hit after the Pirates improved their roster from the previous season, averaging 13.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 0.7 assists per game.
2005/06
In 2005/06 Cullen averaged 11.1 points and 5.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists, and helped guide the Pirates to a eighth place finish (13-19).
Geordie Cullen played six seasons across three NBL teams. This included the Canberra Cannons, Wollongong Hawks and Hunter Pirates. He averaged 10.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 0.9 assists in 171 NBL games.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-06 | 27 | Hunter | 13-19 (8) | 28 | 611.0 | 312 | 142 | 34 | 56 | 86 | 13 | 16 | 50 | 101 | 109 | 234 | 47% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 94 | 137 | 69% | 52% | 47% | 31 |
| 2004-05 | 26 | Hunter | 15-17 (8) | 32 | 750.0 | 425 | 180 | 23 | 80 | 100 | 21 | 17 | 87 | 119 | 160 | 331 | 48% | 0 | 1 | 0% | 105 | 155 | 68% | 53% | 48% | 25 |
| 2003-04 | 25 | Hunter | 2-31 (12) | 33 | 923.0 | 584 | 246 | 44 | 88 | 158 | 20 | 18 | 102 | 122 | 235 | 431 | 55% | 0 | 4 | 0% | 114 | 165 | 69% | 57% | 55% | 36 |
| 2002-03 | 24 | Wollongong | 18-12 (4) | 24 | 154.0 | 76 | 51 | 4 | 24 | 27 | 4 | 2 | 19 | 34 | 27 | 55 | 49% | 0 | 1 | 0% | 22 | 32 | 69% | 54% | 49% | 15 |
| 2001-02 | 23 | Canberra | 12-18 (10) | 27 | 548.0 | 204 | 116 | 25 | 48 | 68 | 21 | 11 | 56 | 100 | 84 | 202 | 42% | 1 | 2 | 50% | 35 | 70 | 50% | 43% | 42% | 23 |
| 2000-01 | 22 | Canberra | 3-25 (11) | 27 | 635.0 | 231 | 118 | 37 | 56 | 62 | 19 | 13 | 77 | 106 | 92 | 205 | 45% | 3 | 9 | 33% | 44 | 80 | 55% | 48% | 46% | 19 | Totals | 171 | 3621 | 1832 | 853 | 167 | 352 | 501 | 98 | 77 | 391 | 582 | 707 | 1458 | 48.5% | 4 | 17 | 23.5% | 414 | 639 | 64.8% | 53% | 49% | 36 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-06 | 27 | Hunter | 13-19 (8) | 28 | 21.8 | 11.1 | 5.1 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 3.1 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 8.4 | 47% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 3.4 | 4.9 | 69% | 52% | 47% | 31 |
| 2004-05 | 26 | Hunter | 15-17 (8) | 32 | 23.4 | 13.3 | 5.6 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 2.7 | 3.7 | 5.0 | 10.3 | 48% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 3.3 | 4.8 | 68% | 53% | 48% | 25 |
| 2003-04 | 25 | Hunter | 2-31 (12) | 33 | 28.0 | 17.7 | 7.5 | 1.3 | 2.7 | 4.8 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 7.1 | 13.1 | 55% | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0% | 3.5 | 5.0 | 69% | 57% | 55% | 36 |
| 2002-03 | 24 | Wollongong | 18-12 (4) | 24 | 6.4 | 3.2 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 49% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0.9 | 1.3 | 69% | 54% | 49% | 15 |
| 2001-02 | 23 | Canberra | 12-18 (10) | 27 | 20.3 | 7.6 | 4.3 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 7.5 | 42% | 0.0 | 0.1 | 50% | 1.3 | 2.6 | 50% | 43% | 42% | 23 |
| 2000-01 | 22 | Canberra | 3-25 (11) | 27 | 23.5 | 8.6 | 4.4 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 7.6 | 45% | 0.1 | 0.3 | 33% | 1.6 | 3.0 | 55% | 48% | 46% | 19 | Total | 171 | 21.2 | 10.7 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 2.9 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 8.5 | 48.5% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 23.5% | 0.0 | 0.1 | 64.8% | 53% | 49% | 36 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 36 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
|---|
STATE LEAGUE EXPERIENCE
- East Perth 1995 | Wanneroo 1996-97 | Stirling 1999-11
Played for East Perth in 1995, appearing in two games and scoring 3 points (1.5 ppg)
The next two seasons he played for Wanneroo (1996-1997) and scored 368 points (10.5 ppg) across 35 games.
In 1999 he appeared in two games for Stirling scoring 41 points (20.5 ppg).
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- New Zealand - Wellington Saints (2003), Waikato Pistons (2004)
Geordie Cullen joined the Wellington Saints for the 2003 New Zealand NBL season, playing his first season in New Zealand.
During the 2003 campaign, Cullen featured for Wellington alongside Terrence Lewis, and in a May 2003 matchup against the Auckland Stars he scored 20 points while Lewis added 17 points as the Saints were beaten 88–77, with Auckland’s main scorers including Aaron Olson and Daryl Cartwright and Lindsay Tait logging heavy minutes in the win.
Cullen switched clubs within New Zealand by joining the Waikato Titans for the 2004 New Zealand NBL season, linking with key Titans figures including Prem Krishna, Mike Chappell, and Pero Cameron.
In the 2004 regular season, Cullen finished as the New Zealand NBL scoring champion at 23.7 points per game and was selected as the centre in the league’s All-Star Five, and he also received multiple Player of the Week selections during the season.
On 25 April 2004, Cullen produced a game-high 31 points with six rebounds and three steals in a 96–81 Titans win over the Harbour Heat in Auckland, with Krishna adding 17 points and five rebounds and Chappell posting 15 points and five assists, while Harbour were led by Purnell Perry’s 25 points and 13 rebounds and received late contributions from Axel Dench, Lawrence Dickie, and Robert Tuilave before Cullen’s late scoring stretch opened the margin again.
Cullen was reported as a possible returnee for Waikato for the 2005 New Zealand NBL season, but he did not rejoin the Titans after it was noted that his insurance cost was too expensive for the club to carry into the new campaign.
COLLEGE
Cullen played college basketball at High Point during the 1996–97 season and competed with the Panthers through the 1999–2000 season, participating in NCAA Division I competition as a member of the Big South Conference during that era.
During his tenure, High Point competed against conference opponents including UNC Asheville, Liberty, Radford and Winthrop, with the Panthers participating in regular-season Big South play and conference tournament competition each year.
Across the late-1990s seasons, High Point recorded multiple winning conference campaigns and postseason Big South Tournament appearances, with Cullen listed on active rosters throughout his collegiate career prior to graduating before 2000.
Comprehensive digitized box-score splits from High Point’s late-1990s seasons are not fully preserved in publicly accessible NCAA statistical archives, but archived roster records confirm Cullen’s participation across multiple seasons in the Panthers program during the 1996–2000 period.
By the conclusion of his collegiate eligibility, Cullen had completed four seasons within the High Point men’s basketball program and graduated prior to 2000, closing his NCAA college career with the Panthers in Big South Conference competition.
AWARDS
- NBL Most Improved Player (2004)
Related
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