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The history of the Nunawading Spectres in the NBL with Barry Barnes (1980 NBL Coach of the Year)

Nunawading Basketball was established in 1969. In 1979, a Nunawading Spectres men’s team entered the National Basketball League for its inaugural season. Barry Barnes would coach the team during every NBL season until the team decided to move into the CBD to facilitate more fans and, in doing so, were renamed the Eastside Melbourne Spectres.


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In 1987, the Spectres men changed their name to Eastside Spectres and spent five years under that moniker before merging with the Southern Melbourne Saints in 1992 to become the South East Melbourne Magic.

The Nunawading Spectres would narrowly miss out on an NBL Grand Final appearance due to countback in 1979 and then were runners-up in 1981 to Launceston City Casino.

The Spectres’ opening-night roster included Bill Palmer, Fox, Brendan Joyce, Alan Black, Dean Templeton and Barry Barnes as coach. Six men who were to play significant roles in shaping the NBL.

Palmer became general manager of the league in the mid-90s and took the game to new heights. Fox, Joyce, Black and Templeton became NBL head coaches with a combined 565-499 win-loss record and four NBL Coach of the Year awards (two each for Black and Joyce).

Among other players who wore the red, white and blue for Nunawading in the NBL were Damian Keogh, Dean Uthoff, Bruce Bolden, Ian Stacker, Ray Gordon, Bennie Lewis, Vince Hinchen, Darren Lucas and Robert Scrigni.

Barry Barnes would also coach the Geelong Supercats and Canberra Cannons before becoming the first full-time head coach of the Australian Men’s National Team in 1993, leading the Boomers in two Olympics (1996 & 2000) and two FIBA World Championships (1994 & 1998).

Barnes was elected to the Basketball Australia Hall of Fame in 2007.

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Topics discussed on the podcast include;

  • The history of the Nunawading Spectres NBL program (2:00)
  • The difference’s between the Australian National program in the 1960s compared to the 1990s (10:30)
  • The NBL begins in 1979, Barry’s memories of that time and the first season of the Nunawading Spectres (18:00)
  • The Spectres miss out on the 1979 Grand Final in unusual fashion (30:00)
  • The Spectres’ ability to produce some of the greatest Australian coaching talent in the 1980s (36:00)
  • Why Barry wasn’t happy about the team moving to the CDB and becoming the Eastside Spectres (41:00)
  • A three-year stint with the Geelong Supercats, which includes Shane Heal, John Dorge, Daren Rowe and Bobby Locke (47:00
  • Does winning the coach of the year award mean you’re doing your best coaching? (56:00)
  • What things would he do differently as a coach knowing where the game is today (100:00)
  • Who was the hardest opposition player to stop during his time as a coach (103:00)
  • Memories of former Nunawading Spectre Robert Scrigni, who sadly took his own life only a few years after playing for the Australian Boomers (106:00)
  • Thoughts on his former Boomers assistant Brett Brown being fired by the Philadelphia 76ers (108:00)

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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.


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