BIO: Sandy Caldwell was born in Melbourne (VIC) where he attended Peninsula Grammar.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Sandy Caldwell made his NBL debut with the Perth Wildcats at 20 years of age. He scored six points in his first game.

Jay Brehmer became the Wildcats’ fourth coach in four seasons when he joined the team in 1985, bringing with him a number of fresh faces to the squad. US imports Dan Clausen (via Adelaide) and Roland Brooks joined the team as well as local talent Caldwell and Adam Brennan, who would both play key roles as rookies. Perth began the season by winning their first three games in a row, taking a number of team’s by surprise in the process. Once the team began playing opponents on the road, however, they quickly fell back to earth and sat on 4 wins and 4 losses only a month later.

The team was led by Dan Clausen who racked up big numbers in every statistical category. He led the team in points (25.7 ppg), rebounds (15.7 rpg) and blocks (2.4 bpg) while ranking second in assists (3.4 apg), steals (1.4 spg), making him a clear choice for the club MVP award. Roland Brooks (23.2 points and 10.0 rebounds) and Mike Ellis (17.7 points and 6.0 assists) supported Clausen admirably but Perth’s inability to win outside of Western Australia (compiling a 4-9 record on away games) they finished the season in eighth place, falling well short of making the NBL playoffs. Caldwell averaged 7.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists, while Perth finished with a 13–13 record, which at the time, was the best result in franchise history.

1986
Perth started the season with five wins and five losses before losing import Roland Brooks (18.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.3 steals) to a season-ending injury.

During the 1986 season, local businessman Bob Williams was invited to attend a game by the state government. Williams agreed and, after one game, liked what he saw and signed on as the club’s major sponsor. His company ‘Interstuct’ appeared across the front of the team’s uniform. At the end of the 1986 season, Bob Williams was called to a meeting by the WA state government. Williams was told that the WABF was bankrupt and that there was to be no Government assistance. Unless Bob Williams bought the licence from the state government, the Wildcats would cease to exist in the NBL. Williams left the meeting not only as the major sponsor but as the Wildcats, and the NBL’s first private owner and president of the WABF.

Losing Brooks, the team’s second leading scorer and rebounder, proved too much to recover from, resulting in Perth struggling to be competitive against the rest of the league and finishing in twelfth place (8–18).

The team was led by Dan Clausen (21.3 points, 14 rebounds, and 2.1 assists), captain Mike Ellis (16.2 points and 6.6 assists), newcomer Alan Black (12.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists) and Caldwell also contributed 7.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists.

GEELONG CATS
1987
The 1987 season saw Caldwell average 7.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 0.4 assists and played a key role in helping the Cats to 13-13 record.

1988
During Caldwell’s final NBL season, Geelong was reeling from financial difficulties and ownership problems with it reaching its apex in 1987, when these issues resulted in a mass exodus of the team’s top talent. The Cats lost their five highest scoring players from 1987 when Greg Giddings, Ian Davies, Mark Leader, Mark Dalton and Brad Dalton all left the club. Geelong used whatever the finances they had to recruit imports Sam Foggin and Ray Shirley (both via North Melbourne), Craig Fitzsimmons (via Perth) and entice Geelong local Bruce Hope (via Sydney) to return and help field a competitive roster. The high volume of player turnover and reduction in player salary cap proved far too difficult to overcome and the team went winless for the entire year.

Caldwell managed to put up averages of 6.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1 assists as Geelong finished with a 0-22 record, the worst season in NBL history.

At the end of the 1988 season a group of local business men fought together to save the club, injected the team with some much needed financial assistance, rebranded the team from Cats to Supercats and as a result were granted a license to ensure Geelongs ongoing participation in the NBL.

Sandy Caldwell played four seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Perth Wildcats and the Geelong Supercats. He averaged 7.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1 assists in 99 NBL games.

Dan Boyce (823 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.