The Greatest Seasons In NBL History, as PER the numbers
November 18, 2020
Kent Lockhart
- Nationality: USA
- Date of Birth: 25/04/63
- Place of Birth: Palo Alto, California (USA)
- Position: G/F
- Height (CM): 194
- Weight (KG): 92
- Junior Assoc:
- College: Texas at El Paso (1981-1985)
- NBL DEBUT: 22/04/89
- AGE AT DEBUT: 26
- LAST NBL GAME: 27/10/91
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 28
- NBL History: Eastside Melb 1989-90 | South East Melbourne 1991
- Championships: 0
- None
NICKNAME/S: Lock Nest Monster
BIO: Kent Lockhart was born in Palo Alto, California (USA) where he attended Gunn High School.
NBL EXPERIENCE
Kent Lockhart made his NBL debut with the Eastside Melbourne Spectres at 26 years of age. He scored 31 points in his first game.
After a import merry-go-round and lacklustre season in coach Brian Goorjian’s first year, he looked to create some stability within the franchise. He re-signed import Arne Duncan, last year’s leading scorer and paired him with import Ben Tower, a Michigan native who had been drafted by the Detroit Pistons five years earlier.
The Spectres retained the core group of last season’s roster, team captain Warren Pink, Dean Uthoff, the league’s leading rebounder and the league’s most improved player Darren Lucas. The rest of the roster was built around a bunch of young talent, with Shane Froling, Paul Hotchin and Steve Lunardon all returning with one more season of experienced, 17-year-old Spectres junior player Rupert Sapwell and 24-year-old Wayne Larkins from Westside Melbourne.
During the pre-season, Duncan suffered a injury that saw him miss the first half of the regular season.
The Spectres then signed Kent Lockhart, who had been playing in the state league for Sandringham, as an injury replacement for Duncan. Goorjian, who had been playing pickup basketball games against state league players during the offseason, was impressed by his ability to play both sides of the ball.
Lockhart (28.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists) led the team in scoring, and made such a impact on the team that when Duncan returned from injury, the team released Ben Tower and signed Lockhart to the full-time roster. With Duncan putting up big numbers again (28.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.6 assists), Dean Uthoff (18.6 points, 17.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists) leading the league in rebounding for a second consecutive year, the Specres finished the year on a four-game winning streak. Lockhart, who posted a incredible 47 points against the Newcastle Falcons in Round 18, was named to the All-NBL First Team, and with Eastside Melbourne improved from a 11-13 to 14-12 record, leaving Spectres’ fans very optimistic for next season.
1990
Eastside had been slowly improving each season since Brian Goorjian was appointed head coach in 1988, and by 1990 many of the core group that had been a part of the roster when Goorjian took over had developed from junior talent to highly productive NBL players.
The only changes to the local roster were the exits of veterans Paul Hotchins and Warren Pink, who were then replaced with Darren Perry (Brisbane) and Nunawading junior Tony Ronaldson, who had just completed a year at the Australian Institute of Sport. The departure of import Arne Duncan then made room for the return of former Spectre Bruce Bolden.
To kick off the season, Eastside was tipped to be the big improvers of 1990 after finishing ‘best of the rest’ the year prior. The team started off by winning its first three games on the schedule, but over the course of the season, the team never seemed to be able to beat the league’s best. While they knocked off the majority of the league, losses they couldn’t see to deliver wins against elite team’s like Perth, Brisbane and North Melbourne. In Round 21, Eastside turned things around with a win over crosstown rivals North Melbourne (118-111), but then followed that up with a 3-2 run home.
Despite this, Eastside still managed to finish second on the ladder thanks to a impressive 10-3 home record. Lockhart (27.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.3 steals) returned a better player in his second year in the league, leading the team in scoring and being selected to the All-NBL Second Team. Bolden (26.4 points, 11.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.2 blocks) filled the stat sheet most games and Uthoff (17.9 points and 13.6 rebounds) led the team in rebounding once again. Perry (10.7 points, 2.4 rebounds and 5.6 assists) running the point guard spot was a big part of the Spectres improvement from 14-10 last season, to 16-8 in 1990. Lockhart also contributed 27 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game.
Due to finishing in second place, Eastside received a first-round bye then met Brisbane, who eliminated Sydney in the elimination finals, in the semi final. This was the first time a Goorjian coached team had reached the semi finals but they were eliminated by the Bullets amidst little fanfare in two straight games.
1991
After making the playoffs for the first time in three years, coach Brian Goorjian was able to bring back almost the entire squad for another shot at the championship, the team’s only key loss being bruising forward Shane Froling, who was replaced with Scott Ninnis.
Behind Eastside’s formidable frontcourt, led by Bruce Bolden (27.2 points and 10.4 rebounds), Kent Lockhart (18.6 points and 5.7 rebounds) and Dean Uthoff (16.8 points and 13.6 rebounds) the Spectres finished the season with a 17-9 record. Lockhart contributed 18.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists as Eastside finished in second place, earning them a first-round bye in the playoffs. Eastside would then eliminate North Melbourne, 2–0 in the semifinals before facing off against the Perth Wildcats, who had finished the season in first place (22-4) and eliminated the Adelaide 36ers in their semi-final matchup. The Grand Final series would see Perth come away victorious with a 109-83 win in game one before the Spectres evened things up with a 86-81 win in game two. Behind the stellar play from Perth imports Ricky Grace and Pete Hanson, who would be awarded the Grand Final MVP, Perth defeated Eastside in the deciding game, 90-80.
Kent Lockhart played three seasons in the NBL. He averaged 24.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 81 NBL games.
CAREER RANKINGS:
– 45th in points per game.
HIGHLIGHTS:
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 28 | Eastside Melbourne | 17-9 (2) | 31 | 1,283 | 578 | 177 | 133 | 62 | 115 | 57 | 24 | 75 | 95 | 225 | 481 | 47% | 50 | 157 | 32% | 78 | 98 | 80% | 55% | 52% | 32 |
| 1990 | 27 | Eastside Melbourne | 18-8 (2) | 26 | 1,147 | 701 | 197 | 117 | 66 | 131 | 33 | 16 | 64 | 72 | 289 | 559 | 52% | 59 | 151 | 39% | 64 | 90 | 71% | 58% | 57% | 39 |
| 1989 | 26 | Eastside Melbourne | 14-10 (7) | 24 | 901 | 692 | 159 | 57 | 63 | 96 | 35 | 12 | 55 | 72 | 281 | 541 | 52% | 52 | 116 | 45% | 78 | 103 | 76% | 59% | 57% | 47 | Totals | 81 | 3331 | 1971 | 533 | 307 | 191 | 342 | 125 | 52 | 194 | 239 | 795 | 1581 | 50.3% | 161 | 424 | 38.0% | 220 | 291 | 75.6% | 58% | 55% | 47 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 28 | Eastside Melbourne | 17-9 (2) | 31 | 41.4 | 18.6 | 5.7 | 4.3 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 7.3 | 15.5 | 47% | 1.6 | 5.1 | 32% | 2.5 | 3.2 | 80% | 55% | 52% | 32 |
| 1990 | 27 | Eastside Melbourne | 18-8 (2) | 26 | 44.1 | 27.0 | 7.6 | 4.5 | 2.5 | 5.0 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 11.1 | 21.5 | 52% | 2.3 | 5.8 | 39% | 2.5 | 3.5 | 71% | 58% | 57% | 39 |
| 1989 | 26 | Eastside Melbourne | 14-10 (7) | 24 | 37.5 | 28.8 | 6.6 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 4.0 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 11.7 | 22.5 | 52% | 2.2 | 4.8 | 45% | 3.3 | 4.3 | 76% | 59% | 57% | 47 | Total | 81 | 41.1 | 24.3 | 6.6 | 3.8 | 2.4 | 4.2 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 9.8 | 19.5 | 50.3% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 38.0% | 2.0 | 5.2 | 75.6% | 58% | 55% | 47 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 47 | 14 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
|---|
STATE LEAGUE EXPERIENCE
- Sandringham 1989-90 | Dandenong 1993-98
Lockhart moved to Australia and played for the Sandringham Sabres in the Victorian Basketball Association. In 1989 Lockhart scored 62 in a game against Ballarat, and led the team to a 26-2 record before losing in the semifinals.
Lockhart finished 2nd in the state league in scoring with 31.6 points and 3rd in rebounding with 10.8 rebounds per game while playing for Sandringham. Lockhart was then named as the VBA All-Star Forward.
Lockhart repeated these feats in 1990, averaging 31.4 points per game, making the VBA All-Star Five and being awarded the Sabres team MVP for the second time (1989 and 1990).
After his time in the NBL, he played a number of seasons with the Dandenong Rangers.
NBA EXPERIENCE
Kent Lockhart was drafted by the New York Knicks with pick #119 in the 1985 NBA Draft.
After being drafted, he went on to play in the USBL with New Jersey and then played four games for the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) during the 1985–86 season.
COLLEGE
Kent Lockhart suited up for the University of Texas at El Paso from the 1981-82 season through the 1984-85 campaign, playing under head coach Don Haskins and appearing in 120 games across his collegiate career. Over that span, he averaged 8.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game while serving primarily in the backcourt for the Miners.
As a freshman in 1981-82, Lockhart entered a UTEP program competing in the Western Athletic Conference and began establishing himself as a rotation guard, contributing scoring and playmaking minutes as the Miners posted a winning overall record. He continued to expand his role during the 1982-83 season, increasing his offensive involvement and perimeter production while helping UTEP remain competitive within conference play.
During the 1983-84 season, Lockhart and UTEP qualified for the NCAA Tournament. The Miners finished the year with a 19-10 overall record and earned an at-large bid to the national tournament. In their NCAA Tournament appearance, UTEP was eliminated by UNLV, 60-73, with Lockhart recording 13 points in the contest, providing a significant portion of the team’s backcourt scoring in postseason play.
In his senior season of 1984-85, Lockhart helped guide UTEP back to the NCAA Tournament as the Miners compiled a 26-7 overall record and remained among the stronger programs in the WAC. In 1985 UTEP returned to the NCAA tournament, defeating Tulsa, 79-95 (Lockhart recorded 16 points) and then losing to North Carolina State, 73-86 (Lockhart contributing 10 points). His 16-point performance against Tulsa marked one of his top scoring outputs in NCAA Tournament competition, and he followed it with a double-figure effort against NC State in the second round.
Across his four collegiate seasons, Lockhart’s 120-game career reflected consistent availability and steady backcourt production, combining perimeter scoring with ball distribution and rebounding from the guard position. His career averages of 8.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game came during a period in which UTEP reached the NCAA Tournament twice and maintained multiple 19-plus win seasons under Haskins, solidifying Lockhart’s role as a contributing guard on competitive tournament-caliber teams.
AWARDS
- 1x All-NBL First Team
- 1x All-NBL Second Team
LIFE AFTER BASKETBALL
Passed away on the 29th of January, 2023. He was 59 years old.
Related
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