BIO: Samuel Short was born in Ballarat (VIC) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Ballarat basketball program.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Samuel Short made his NBL debut with the Melbourne United at 19 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

2017 saw the beginning of the ‘Dean Vickerman’ era with the Sydney assistant coach replacing Dean Demopoulos, who had struggled to fit in with the playing group during his tenure. Vickerman signed on for two seasons and shortly after, the team re-signed David Barlow and imports Josh Boone and Casper Ware. Vickerman brought with him forward Craig Moller (via Sydney) as a replacement for the departing Todd Blanchfield (to Illawarra) and added Casey Prather (via Perth) as the team’s third import.

Melbourne won their season opener against Adelaide (99–97) with Prather (20 points) leading the team offensively. Despite United’s hot start, they would win only five of their first ten games.

On December 16, Prather went down with a dislocated elbow in the second quarter of Melbourne’s win over Illawarra (84–78) and was subsequently ruled out for a minimum of eight weeks. While United looked for a injury replacement, development player Felix Von Hofe was elevated into the team until they signed former NBA talent Carrick Felix. Felix joined the team in December and with his addition, the team sparked a strong run home, finishing 15-3 for the remainder of the season.

Short was signed as a developmental player but saw limited playing opportunities with United. He managed to appear in only five games, failed to score a basket. United would finish the season on top of the ladder and defeat the Adelaide 36ers in the Grand Final series (3-2). The win being Melbourne’s first since rebranding from the Melbourne Tigers.

2019/20
After not being re-signed by Melbourne after the team’s championship run in 2018, Short gained a second chance when he signed a second development player deal prior to the 2019/20 season. Melbourne United began the season with a complete rehaul of its roster. The team chose not to re-sign imports Casper Ware and Josh Boone, released Daniel Trist and lost young forward Craig Moller when he signed with Sydney as a free agent.

United then signed Jo Lual-Acuil, Shea Ili (who played under Dean Vickerman during his time at the Breakers) and Jack Purchase as the team’s development player. Vickerman then added import duo Melo Trimble from Cairns and Shawn Long via New Zealand who were friends, having played together for the USA National Team. Rounded out the squad David Barlow, Alex Pledger, Tohi Smith-Milner and Casey Prather re-signed with the club.

Casey Prather would agree to a two-year deal, seeing the import forward return to the team for a second stint but after Prather missed the first seven games of the season due to injury, question marks were raised upon the signing. Once he returned to the court he could only muster averages of 9.3 points and 3.3 rebounds, far below his career numbers. He underwent another knee clean-out shortly after and managed to play in six of the next eight games before being ruled out for the rest of the season due to a right hamstring tear. United would sign former NBA talent Stanton Kidd as his injury replacement.

This resulted in United losing four of their first five games of the season and with reports of a rift between players, a coach under pressure and frustrated supporters, the club looked completely rattled. By late-November however, United sat third on the ladder (7-4) behind six consecutive wins were the highest scoring team in the competition (99.7 points-per-game). Melo Trimble (19.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.2 steals) would lead United in scoring, alongside Long (18.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks) and Captain Chris Goulding (17.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists).

Short finished the season averaging 0.8 points, 0.3 rebounds, and 0.3 assists while Melbourne finished the season in fourth place (15-13) and face Sydney in the semifinals.

Long (23 points, 10 rebounds, and 1 block) controlled the inside while Trimble (34 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals) came off the bench to finish as the game’s leading scorer. It wasn’t enough however, with United losing game one (80-86) with Xavier Cooks (21 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists) and Jae’Sean Tate (19 points and 5 rebounds) doing most of the damage for the Kings.

They returned to Melbourne for game two where United would even the series, thanks to a combined effort from their import trio, with Long (26 points and 11 rebounds), Trimble (21 points and 2 steals) and Kidd (18 points and 4 rebounds) all delivering when it counted. Tate (18 points and 6 rebounds) kept the scoreboard ticking over for Sydney but the damage was done during the second quarter, where United outscored the Kings 32-7, a lead that allowed them to win by 45 points at full-time (125-80). The series decider was played at Qudos Bank Arena in a game that came down to the final seconds. Goulding (19 points and 3 assists) led Melbourne in scoring, but Tate (20 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists) and the Kings were able to come away with a two-point win and proceed to the Grand Final, ending United’s season.

2020/21
After multiple seasons trying to get import Casey Prather back onto the court, both United and Prather mutually agreed to terminate the second season of his contract. Melbourne would then rejig their roster by adding Jack White (via Duke University) and Japanese star Yudai Baba (one-year deal), who signed with the team on an NBL Special Restricted Player contract. The team also re-signed team captain Chris Goulding (three-year deal), David Barlow (one year deal), Mason Peatling (three year deal) and Sam McDaniel (one year deal). United would rely on their local talent this season, signing Scotty Hopson (via Europe) as their lone import for the season and, as their last move, was able to sign Australian Boomers forward Jock Landale (one-year deal) mere weeks prior to the season tip-off, after his Lithuania contracted was voided due to Covid Travel Restrictions.

During the first month of the season, United lost rookie Jack White (9.1 points and 5.9 rebounds), who was a strong pick for the rookie of the year award, when he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury against Cairns. With White requiring 12 months of rehabilitation, retired centre David Andersen was signed as an injury replacement player.

Another injury hit when Chris Goulding (15.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2 assists) was ruled out for the majority of February 2021. As United battled through the injury bug, Jock Landale (16.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.5 blocks) would lead Melbourne in scoring as the team finished in first place (28-8). Melbourne would then face Victorian rivals, the South East Melbourne Phoenix as their semi finals opponents but with the Victorian lockdown keeping both team’s out of the state, their semi finals series began in empty arenas in held in Sydney.

The two Melbourne team’s split the first two games playing at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena before returning to Melbourne to play the deciding game three with the winner going on to face the Perth Wildcats in the Grand Final. After trailing 32-15 early in the second quarter, Melbourne’s defence locked in to hold South East Melbourne to just 42 points the rest of the night while scoring 69 themselves. With Landale (27 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks) equalling his season-high for points, shooting 11-13 from the floor and a perfect 3/3 from beyond, United came away with the victory (84-74).

In the same game, Goulding (14 points) notched up his 350th game while Mitch McCarron (11 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists), Scotty Hopson (9 points and 6 boards), and Jo Lual-Acuil (8 points and 3 rebounds) all played important roles in the win. Reuben Te Rangi (22 points) and Mitch Creek (19 points) were key contributors for the Phoenix.

Due to the border restrictions by the Western Australian state government the Perth Wildcats (the lower seed) hosted the first two games of the Grand Final series. While the Wildcat’s remained competitive without their injured superstar Bryce Cotton United would win both games in Perth and return to Melbourne to host the third game (United would have also hosted the fourth and fifth games had they not already won the series by the third game).

A sold-out 5,000-strong crowd at John Cain Arena (the maximum allowed within Covid restrictions) witnessed United defeat Perth (81-76) in what would be Melbourne’s sixth championship and their second under the United branding. Landale (15 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks) continued to rack up stats in every category, making him a obvious choice for the Finals MVP.

Short would become a regular rotation player this season, appearing in 18 games and averaging 1.1 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 0.4 assists.

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS
2021/22
After a season where the Breakers played 29 of 36 games in Australia, things only continued to get worse for the Breakers, with the team unable to play any home games during NBL22 and finishing dead last during the regular season.

After playing the previous season with a trio of Corey Webster, Tai Webster, and William McDowell-White at point guard, the team decided they would build around the younger of the three and move Corey to the bench. The Breakers then allowed him to exit his contract with him choosing to play in Europe instead. Not long after, as a result of the NBL requiring players to be vaccinated for COVID-19, Tai Webster chose to exit his contract as well and play overseas.

While losing the Webster brothers, the team gained the signatures of Kiwi Yanni Wetzell (via South East Melbourne) and import players Peyton Siva, Hugo Besson and Jeremiah Martin. Additionally, the team signed French prodigy Ousmane Dieng under the league’s Next Star program.

The team immediately faced adversity, losing Siva and Thomas Abercrombie to injury and having to absorb a COVID outbreak on the eve of the season. The team signed Chasson Randle (7.8 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.9 assists) as a replacement player for Siva, and the team began the season with a 0–6 start.

Siva was able to return to the team a few weeks later which then saw Jeremiah Martin (12.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.2 steals) and the Breakers agree to a mutual release, the move came as a result of high-level play from Randle, who they chose to retain instead of Martin once Peyton Siva (11.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 2 steals) returned from injury.

Although the team had planned to play their home games at the back end of the season, COVID-19 restrictions made that impossible and forced the team to base themselves in Tasmania for the majority of the season.

The Breakers were led by the all-around play of Yanni Wetzell (17.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.1 blocks) who left the team to play in Europe once New Zealand had no chance to make the playoffs. Despite leaving the team with a month of the Breakers season still remaining Wetzell was named club MVP. Hugo Besson (13.9 points, 4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists) and Finn Delany (10 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2 assists) would raise their games during that final month of the season but by mid-February had fallen to 4–10.

As a result of multiple players missing games through covid or injury, Short was added to the team’s roster but went on to appear in only one game, failing to score. New Zealand finished with a 5–23 record, the Breakers worst season in their 19-year history.

Samuel Short played four seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Melbourne United and the New Zealand Breakers..

Dan Boyce (815 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.