BIO: Paul Bauer was born in Adelaide (SA) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Sturt basketball program.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Paul Bauer made his NBL debut with the Adelaide 36ers on 29/5/1998. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

Bauer joined Adelaide as a rookie after the 36ers had replaced head coach Dave Claxton. Claxton, who was only signed by the club at the last moment due to unexpectedly losing Mike Dunlap, was only signed for one season and following the 1997 season was replaced by rookie coach and former player Phil Smyth. Smyth had been hired without any head coaching experience, in fact, his only previous coaching experience being a specialist coach at the Australian Institute of Sport during his playing days in Canberra.

Smyth then recruited 205 cm centre Paul Rees (via North Melbourne) and after former Denver Nuggets Darnell Mee (who previously played with Canberra) signed on to play for the team, he recommended his former teammate Kevin Brooks to the 36ers and they signed the former NBA forward to a two-year deal.

Alongside Brooks ( 19.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists), Brett Maher (17.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists) and Mee (14.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 4 assists) provided the additional scoring punch. The 36ers gamble on Smyth’s playing experience translating into coaching success also paid off, with Adelaide recording the most wins since 1988 and finished in second place (19–11). Bauer appeared in only two games, scoring a total of three points.

Adelaide went on to collect their first NBL championship since 1986 and Kevin Brooks was named Grand Final MVP in what was the last winter season for the National Basketball League.

1998/99
The NBL’s move to summer didn’t stop the defending champions, Adelaide, as they finished the 1998-99 regular season with their first minor premiership since 1988 with a 18–8 record. Adelaide was able to return with almost their entire championship team from 1998, the only key change being John Rillie, who left for more playing opportunities in West Sydney. The team replaced Rillie with David Stiff, who was able to pair with Mark Davis as the team’s ‘two-headed’ centre.

Captain Brett Maher (19.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 steals) led the team in most categories, alongside high scoring forward Martin Cattalini (14.9 points and 7.0 rebounds) and import duo Kevin Brooks (17.3 points and 6.1 rebounds) and Darnell Mee (14.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals), who both elevated their games in the second season.

Again, Bauer saw limited playing opportunities with the 36ers. Although he appeared in 23 games, he managed only 2 points, 1 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game.

The 36ers made their way into the grand final undefeated in the postseason, eliminating Perth in the Qualifying Finals and Wollongong in the semifinals, both in two straight games. Once into the Grand Final, Adelaide faced off against the Victoria Titans, a team comprised mostly from the roster of the South East Melbourne Magic roster whom they defeated in the previous year’s grand final.

After defeating the Magic, Adelaide became three-time NBL champions and the first team to win back-to-back titles since Perth in 1990 and 1991. Captain Brett Maher was voted the Grand Final MVP, and coach Phil Smyth claimed his second championship win in just two years of coaching in the NBL.

1999/00
Coming off winning back-to-back championships, Adelaide seemed primed for a NBL dynasty and bolstered their roster by signing Paul Maley. Maley, who had contemplated retiring after his experience with the Victoria Titans, was thought to be everything the team needed to achieve a three-peat, but then, economic factors impacted the 36ers’ season in a way no one could have predicted.

The The NBL wasn’t in as good a financial shape as the 36ers, and in a cost-cutting move aimed at assisting struggling NBL clubs, the league reduced the league salary cup from $70,000 to $625,000. This reduction in cap resulted in the team being unable to re-sign star Kevin Brooks for the same money without breaching the cap, considering it also had added Maley only a few weeks earlier. Although the league applied for consideration on this, it was denied, and Brooks was forced to make a move to Sydney to play with the Kings.

Days later, high-scoring forward Martin Cattalini agreed to play in France for ASVEL Villeranne, which would have been ‘double whammy’, but prior to the season tipping off, he backflipped and re-signed with Adelaide in the hopes that a big year would result in being selected for the 2000 Olympics to be held in Sydney.

The season kicked off the season with a 109–89 win over Perth at home, with the 36ers fielding a starting lineup of team captain Brett Maher (20.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists), team leading scorer Martin Cattalini (20.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists), Darnell Mee (13.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.2 blocks) who filled almost every category on the stat sheet and veterans Paul Rees (7.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists) and Maley (12.3 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists).

As a result of winning the 1999 NBL championship, the 36ers were again invited to participate in the McDonald’s Cup, held at the 12,000 seat Fila Forum in Milan, Italy which was scheduled during the first month of the regular season. After losing their first game 90–79 to Brazilian side CR Vasco da Gama (who went all the way to meet the San Antonio Spurs in the final), the team won the 5–6 place playoff 91–84 over Lebanese team Hekmeh BC.

After returning to Australia, Adelaide never skipped a beat. They won three straight games before heading to Townsville, a game where Maher nailed five from five threes, scored 15 points in the first quarter, and finished with a career-high 40 points as Adelaide lost its first game of the season in overtime.

Maley missed a number of games due to a recurring back injury which saw David Stiff enter the starting lineup, where he responded with a career-high 35-point game (70% from the field) in a 111-103 win over Wollongong.

On 6 February 2000, the 36ers participated in the league’s first ‘open air’ game where 10318 fans gathered to see the Titans deliver a rare loss (83-75) at Melbourne Park.

Bauer finished the season appearing in 21 games and averaging 1.2 points, 0.4 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game as Adelaide finished minor premiers again with a 22–6 record.

Bauer failed to appear in any playoff games but was a part of the team which lost to the Victoria Titans in the semifinals.

Paul Bauer played three seasons the Adelaide 36ers. He averaged 1.5 points, 0.6 rebounds, and 1 assists in 46 NBL games.

Dan Boyce (817 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.