NBL EXPERIENCE

Oliver Tams made his NBL debut with the Illawarra Hawks on 8/4/1979. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

When the NBL was launched in 1979, Illawarra entered the competition with a roster primarily made up of players local to Wollongong, including Tams, who appeared in one game. US import Jim Slacke (23.8 ppg), led the Hawks in scoring while the team also featured talented point guard Gordie McLeod (10.1 ppg) and Bob Kubbinga (8.1 ppg) was appointed as the Hawk’s first team captain. Illawarra managed 5 wins, 13 losses during the inaugural season of the NBL, finishing eighth out of ten team’s.

To crown the first champions of the national league, the first and second team’s would play off in a single game Grand Final clash. This saw St Kilda (1st) defeating Canberra (2nd), 94–93, to become the league’s first champions.

1981
After missing the 1980 season, Tams return to the roster coincided with the Hawks moving venues, beginning their tenure of playing out of Beaton Park Stadium, commonly known as ‘The Snakepit’. The Hawks also recruited two new import players for the season, Mike Jones (30.5 ppg), who led the Hawks in scoring and was named NBL Most Valuable Player that season, and Benny Lewis (20.5 ppg). Tams (1.7 ppg) appeared in 11 games, alongside Hawks veterans Jim Slacke (12.7 ppg) and team captain Gordie McLeod (7.5 ppg) as the team failed finished with a record of 9-13.

1984
Tams would sit out the 1983 season but return to the club in 1984, coincidently the same time Gordie McLeod returned from a one season stint with the Sydney Supersonics. McLeod would regain the club captaincy from import Michael Jones who would not return this season, the club instead bringing in US talent Jerry Steurer (23.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.9 steals) and David Mcguire (16 points, 9 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks).

10 games into the season it was felt Mcguire wasn’t the right fit for the Hawks and he was replaced by Marlon Redmond (29.1 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.6 steals) who would lead the Hawks in scoring over the last 15 games of the season.

The local talent on the team really stepped up this season. Wollongong born talent players McLeod (15.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 8.7 assists, and 2.4 steals) and forward Tim Morrissey (18.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.1 steals) both delivered the best season of their careers and were a huge reason the Hawks were able to make the NBL playoffs for the first time in the club’s history. The Hawks finished with a record of 13-12, their first winning season in Hawks history, before losing the Elimination Final 101–108 to the Newcastle Falcons.

Tams saw limited playing time during the Hawks campaign, managing only 8 points across 16 games.

Oliver Tams played three seasons the Illawarra Hawks..

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.