Grant Kruger

Nationality: AUS
Date of Birth: 27/02/71
Place of Birth: Sydney (NSW)
Position: FRD
Height (CM): 200
Weight (KG): 106
Junior Assoc: NSW - Murwillumbah
College: None

NBL DEBUT: 21/04/89
AGE AT DEBUT: 18
LAST NBL GAME: 27/02/04
AGE AT LAST GAME: 33
NBL History: Newcastle 1989-95, 1999 | Townsville 1996-98, 2004 | Cairns 2000 | Wollongong 2001
Championships: 1
Wollongong (2001)

BIO: Grant Kruger was born in Sydney (NSW) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Murwillumbah basketball program. Kruger received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 1987. He spent two years year there and played for the program’s state league team (1987, 1988).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Grant Kruger made his NBL debut with the Newcastle Falcons at 18 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

In 1996 Kruger averaged 5.8 points and 2.7 rebounds for the Townsville Suns who struggled to remain competitive and finished the regular season with a 9-17 record.

Townsville had not reached the playoffs during its first six seasons in the league but In 1997, the team came ‘oh so close’ to removing the monkey from their back. Needing only one win from their final six games to ensure a historic playoff appearance, the Suns went 0–6 after centre Clarence Tyson suffered a season-ending knee injury in Canberra. Kruger would average 6.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 0.7 assists for the season and the team finished in eighth place with a record of 14-16.

1998 saw Kruger average 7.3 points and 4.7 rebounds and play a key role in helping the Crocodiles to a ninth-place finish during the regular season with a 12-18 record.

The 2000/01 season marked history for the Hawks as they won their maiden NBL Championship. Prior to the start of the season, coach Brendan Joyce changed almost half his roster, adding Kruger, Charles Thomas, Damon Lowery, Matt Shanahan and Axel Dench. Kruger would average 1.9 points that season, playing the role of “enforcer” behind Melvin Thomas and Matt Garrison.

After finishing the regular season in fourth with a club-best 21 wins from 28 games, Wollongong upset Perth in game one of the Qualifying Final to win at home 97–90. Kruger played 19 minutes but failed to score. The Wildcats turned things around in game two and defeated the Hawks 95-106. Kruger played 11 minutes and some terrific defence but again failed to score. This set up a game three in Perth where the Hawks won in a major upset thanks to a 26 point, 16 rebounds performance from Glen Saville and a 20 point game from Damon Lowery to win 98–88. Kruger played 12 minutes and scored two points in the win.

This set up a semi-final matchup with the Adelaide 36ers and their stars Darnell Mee and Kevin Brooks. Kruger played 11 minutes In game one, was instrumental on defence but did not score a basket yet the Hawks squeaked out a narrow 84-83 game win over the 36ers. The Hawks would return to Wollongong but lose Game 2, 100–111 Kruger added two points and three rebounds, and then in the deciding game the Hawks won game three in a nail biter at Wollongong’s WIN Entertainment Centre when Damon Lowery sunk three free throws with no time on the clock, propelling the team into the 2001 NBL Grand Final to face the Townsville Crocodiles.

There the Hawks would win game one against the Townsville Crocodiles at home 104-101, lose game two 97-114 and the set-up a deciding game for the 2001 championship. game three was a gruelling matchup, played the very next day where the blue-collar Hawks snuck out the three-point victory 97-94, Charles Thomas top scoring with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. Glen Saville would add 18 points and 12 rebounds, and claim the NBL Finals MVP. Kruger played in all three Grand Final games but received minimal playing time taking the court for a total of 13 minutes over the series. The Hawks 2–1 victory saw them become the first New South Wales club to win a NBL championship.

Grant Kruger played fifteen seasons across four NBL teams. This included the Newcastle Falcons, Townsville Suns, Wollongong Hawks, Cairns Taipans and Townsville Crocodiles. He averaged 5.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 0.6 assists in 368 NBL games.

Dan Boyce (832 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.

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
2003-04	33	Townsville	13-20 (9)	8	85.0	12	7	2	2	5	0	0	4	12	3	8	38%	0	0	0%	6	8	75%	51%	0%	7
2001-02	31	Wollongong	16-14 (4)	32	255.0	62	47	11	19	28	5	2	20	60	22	49	45%	0	0	0%	18	25	72%	51%	45%	8
2000-01	30	Wollongong	21-7 (4)	36	394.0	69	64	16	27	37	9	4	26	83	29	71	41%	1	1	100%	10	19	53%	43%	42%	9
1999-00	29	Cairns	2-26 (11)	28	673.0	192	109	29	46	63	11	11	42	88	78	181	43%	0	1	0%	36	59	61%	46%	43%	20
1998-99	28	Newcastle	9-17 (9)	1	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0%	0	0	0%	0	0	0%	0%	0%	0
1998	27	Townsville	12-18 (9)	30	719.0	218	140	24	61	79	15	7	38	106	83	167	50%	0	2	0%	52	87	60%	52%	50%	20
1997	26	Townsville	14-16 (7)	29	604.0	189	113	20	57	56	13	7	45	97	67	145	46%	1	2	50%	54	75	72%	52%	47%	15
1996	25	Townsville	9-17 (11)	26	495.0	150	71	21	30	41	6	4	49	98	55	120	46%	0	0	0%	40	69	58%	49%	46%	16
1995	24	Newcastle	17-9 (8)	29	730.0	224	152	36	57	95	26	23	64	123	90	180	50%	0	1	0%	44	78	56%	52%	50%	16
1994	23	Newcastle	13-13 (8)	25	592.0	179	114	22	44	70	10	20	45	108	71	129	55%	0	0	0%	37	62	60%	56%	55%	15
1993	22	Newcastle	15-11 (5)	28	755.0	251	132	23	50	82	17	30	71	130	104	218	48%	0	0	0%	43	75	57%	49%	48%	18
1992	21	Newcastle	9-15 (12)	24	558.0	133	121	25	41	80	13	14	58	109	56	117	48%	0	0	0%	21	51	41%	47%	48%	19
1991	20	Newcastle	5-21 (14)	26	639.0	162	88	14	30	58	11	11	46	121	67	139	48%	0	0	0%	28	54	52%	49%	48%	13
1990	19	Newcastle	4-22 (13)	24	364.0	113	64	4	32	32	16	1	18	68	49	81	60%	0	0	0%	15	35	43%	58%	60%	19
1989	18	Newcastle	6-18 (12)	22	275.0	51	51	5	22	29	4	2	12	63	20	37	54%	1	1	100%	10	18	56%	56%	55%	8
Totals				368	7139	2005	1273	252	518	755	156	136	538	1266	794	1642	48.4%	3	8	37.5%	414	715	57.9%	51%	48%	20

NBL PER GAME STATISTICS

SEASON	AGE	TEAM	TEAM RECORD	GP	MINS	PTS	REB	AST	OR	DR	STL	BLK	TO	PF	FGM	FGA	FG%	3PA	3P%	FTM	FTA	FT%	TS%	EFG%	HS
2003-04	33	Townsville	13-20 (9)	8	10.6	1.5	0.9	0.3	0.3	0.6	0.0	0.0	0.5	1.5	0.4	1.0	38%	0.0	0%	0.8	1.0	75%	51%	0%	7
2001-02	31	Wollongong	16-14 (4)	32	8.0	1.9	1.5	0.3	0.6	0.9	0.2	0.1	0.6	1.9	0.7	1.5	45%	0.0	0%	0.6	0.8	72%	51%	45%	8
2000-01	30	Wollongong	21-7 (4)	36	10.9	1.9	1.8	0.4	0.8	1.0	0.3	0.1	0.7	2.3	0.8	2.0	41%	0.0	100%	0.3	0.5	53%	43%	42%	9
1999-00	29	Cairns	2-26 (11)	28	24.0	6.9	3.9	1.0	1.6	2.3	0.4	0.4	1.5	3.1	2.8	6.5	43%	0.0	0%	1.3	2.1	61%	46%	43%	20
1998-99	28	Newcastle	9-17 (9)	1	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0%	0.0	0%	0.0	0.0	0%	0%	0%	0
1998	27	Townsville	12-18 (9)	30	24.0	7.3	4.7	0.8	2.0	2.6	0.5	0.2	1.3	3.5	2.8	5.6	50%	0.1	0%	1.7	2.9	60%	52%	50%	20
1997	26	Townsville	14-16 (7)	29	20.8	6.5	3.9	0.7	2.0	1.9	0.4	0.2	1.6	3.3	2.3	5.0	46%	0.1	50%	1.9	2.6	72%	52%	47%	15
1996	25	Townsville	9-17 (11)	26	19.0	5.8	2.7	0.8	1.2	1.6	0.2	0.2	1.9	3.8	2.1	4.6	46%	0.0	0%	1.5	2.7	58%	49%	46%	16
1995	24	Newcastle	17-9 (8)	29	25.2	7.7	5.2	1.2	2.0	3.3	0.9	0.8	2.2	4.2	3.1	6.2	50%	0.0	0%	1.5	2.7	56%	52%	50%	16
1994	23	Newcastle	13-13 (8)	25	23.7	7.2	4.6	0.9	1.8	2.8	0.4	0.8	1.8	4.3	2.8	5.2	55%	0.0	0%	1.5	2.5	60%	56%	55%	15
1993	22	Newcastle	15-11 (5)	28	27.0	9.0	4.7	0.8	1.8	2.9	0.6	1.1	2.5	4.6	3.7	7.8	48%	0.0	0%	1.5	2.7	57%	49%	48%	18
1992	21	Newcastle	9-15 (12)	24	23.3	5.5	5.0	1.0	1.7	3.3	0.5	0.6	2.4	4.5	2.3	4.9	48%	0.0	0%	0.9	2.1	41%	47%	48%	19
1991	20	Newcastle	5-21 (14)	26	24.6	6.2	3.4	0.5	1.2	2.2	0.4	0.4	1.8	4.7	2.6	5.3	48%	0.0	0%	1.1	2.1	52%	49%	48%	13
1990	19	Newcastle	4-22 (13)	24	15.2	4.7	2.7	0.2	1.3	1.3	0.7	0.0	0.8	2.8	2.0	3.4	60%	0.0	0%	0.6	1.5	43%	58%	60%	19
1989	18	Newcastle	6-18 (12)	22	12.5	2.3	2.3	0.2	1.0	1.3	0.2	0.1	0.5	2.9	0.9	1.7	54%	0.0	100%	0.5	0.8	56%	56%	55%	8
Total				368	19.4	5.4	3.5	0.7	1.4	2.1	0.4	0.4	1.5	3.4	2.2	4.5	48.4%	0.0	37.5%	0.0	0.0	57.9%	51%	48%	20

CAREER HIGHS

POINTS	REBOUNDS	ASSISTS	STEALS	BLOCKS	TURNOVERS	TRIPLE DOUBLES
20	13	5	5	3	7	0

STATE LEAGUE EXPERIENCE

AIS 1987-88 | Mackay 2012

Season	Team	PTS	AST	STL	BLK	FGM	FGA	FG%	3PM	3PA	3P%
1	0	50%	46%	53%	76%
2	0	20	5	5	3
Total						794	1642	48.4%	3	8	37.5%

NBA TOTAL STATISTICS

YEAR	AGE	TEAM	POS	GP	GS	MINS	PTS	TRB	AST	ORB	DRB	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	TS%	EFG%
2003-04	33	Townsville	13-20 (9)	8	85.0	12	7	2	2	5	0	0	4	12	3	8	38%	0	0	0%	6	8	75%	51%	0%	7
2001-02	31	Wollongong	16-14 (4)	32	255.0	62	47	11	19	28	5	2	20	60	22	49	45%	0	0	0%	18	25	72%	51%	45%	8
2000-01	30	Wollongong	21-7 (4)	36	394.0	69	64	16	27	37	9	4	26	83	29	71	41%	1	1	100%	10	19	53%	43%	42%	9
1999-00	29	Cairns	2-26 (11)	28	673.0	192	109	29	46	63	11	11	42	88	78	181	43%	0	1	0%	36	59	61%	46%	43%	20
1998-99	28	Newcastle	9-17 (9)	1	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0%	0	0	0%	0	0	0%	0%	0%	0
1998	27	Townsville	12-18 (9)	30	719.0	218	140	24	61	79	15	7	38	106	83	167	50%	0	2	0%	52	87	60%	52%	50%	20
1997	26	Townsville	14-16 (7)	29	604.0	189	113	20	57	56	13	7	45	97	67	145	46%	1	2	50%	54	75	72%	52%	47%	15
1996	25	Townsville	9-17 (11)	26	495.0	150	71	21	30	41	6	4	49	98	55	120	46%	0	0	0%	40	69	58%	49%	46%	16
1995	24	Newcastle	17-9 (8)	29	730.0	224	152	36	57	95	26	23	64	123	90	180	50%	0	1	0%	44	78	56%	52%	50%	16
1994	23	Newcastle	13-13 (8)	25	592.0	179	114	22	44	70	10	20	45	108	71	129	55%	0	0	0%	37	62	60%	56%	55%	15
1993	22	Newcastle	15-11 (5)	28	755.0	251	132	23	50	82	17	30	71	130	104	218	48%	0	0	0%	43	75	57%	49%	48%	18
1992	21	Newcastle	9-15 (12)	24	558.0	133	121	25	41	80	13	14	58	109	56	117	48%	0	0	0%	21	51	41%	47%	48%	19
1991	20	Newcastle	5-21 (14)	26	639.0	162	88	14	30	58	11	11	46	121	67	139	48%	0	0	0%	28	54	52%	49%	48%	13
1990	19	Newcastle	4-22 (13)	24	364.0	113	64	4	32	32	16	1	18	68	49	81	60%	0	0	0%	15	35	43%	58%	60%	19
1989	18	Newcastle	6-18 (12)	22	275.0	51	51	5	22	29	4	2	12	63	20	37	54%	1	1	100%	10	18	56%	56%	55%	8
Total				0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0		0	0

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