BIO: Tom Garlepp was born in Perth (WA) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Perry Lakes basketball program. Garlepp received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 2004. He spent one year there and played for the program’s state league team.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Tom Garlepp made his NBL debut with the Perth Wildcats at 21 years of age. He scored four points in his first game.

After being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, the Wildcat’s moved on from veteran Tony Ronaldson (to New Zealand) and guard Damien Ryan (Europe), looking to get younger and bigger and replaced them with Alex Loughton (Spain) and Tom Garlepp (NCAA). After a impressive debut season, Perth could not retain import Darren Brooks who received several lucrative offers from overseas and replaced him with Rashad Phillips.

Despite leading the league in assists, Phillips (13.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 7.5 assists) was released six games into the season, with the team sitting on a 3-3 record and head coach Scott Fisher citing Phillps fitness being the main issue.

‘ Unfortunately, Rashad never really showed us the athleticism or intensity needed to make himself or those around him better. Plus, he never really contributed to the defensive side of things. He lacked the leadership and on-court management that this group needs. So we felt it was in the best interest of the club to delist him.’

The team immediately replaced him with Gerald Brown (13.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists), who had been a former teammate of Luc Longley at the Phoenix Suns.

Rookie Loughton (14.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.0 steals)impressed during his rookie season, finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting (losing to Nathan Jawai). Shawn Redhage (22.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 3.3 assists) delivered a career high scoring season, which incliuded a career-high 40 points against Adelaide (10 Oct 2007) and became the fastest Wildcat to reach 2,000 career points, doing so in 95 games and 3,400 minutes. Captain Paul Rogers (12.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.2 blocks) proved he was still one of the competition’s elite big men, earning a spot on the All-NBL Third Team, joining Redhage who earned a spot on the All-NBL First Team. Despite the high-level play from Redhage and Rogers the team just couldn’t win on the road. Close to unbeatable at home (12-3) but woeful in away games (6-9), the Wildcats finished the season in fourth place (18-12).

Much like their results from the regular season, Perth was able to win at home but struggled on the road in the playoffs. They defeated fifth seed Townsville at home (96-78) in their quarterfinal matchup, but upon reaching the semi finals against Sydney, they were outmatched. Perth would push the Kings to the limit on their home court in game one (101-98) rebound behind a huge game from Redhage (35 points) to gain a win on home soil in game two (94-85) only to have Sydney hand Perth their worse loss of the season in game three (109-77), ending their playoff run. Shortly after, coach Fisher announced that he would not seek a new contract from the Wildcat’s and would return to the United States.

Redhage was selected to the All-NBL First Team, and captain Paul Rogers (12.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.2 blocks), who showed he was still one of the competition’s elite big men, was named on the All-NBL Third Team.

In his rookie season, Garlepp appeared in 29 games and averaged 1.8 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.4 assists in 7.5 minutes per game.

2008/09
After four seasons of leading the Wildcats, coach Scott Fisher decided it was time to return to his family in the US. Upon Fisher’s announcement that he would not return after leading the Wildcats to within one game of the grand final, a worldwide search was conducted for the hiring of the team’s next coach. Ultimately, Fisher’s replacement would be Conner Henry, a former college teammate of Fisher’s who had been with the Wildcats since 2006 as a assistant coach.

The core of the Wildcat’s roster, Shawn Redhage (University of Utah), Alex Loughton, Peter Crawford and Paul Rogers, would all return, with the only major changes to the team’s local roster being the additions of Ben Knight (via Singapore), Chris Goulding (via Brisbane) and Rookie Stephen Weigh. As a result of Shawn Redhage becoming a naturalised Australian (Jan 08), the Wildcats had the luxury of being able to sign two new imports with athletic forward Isiah Victor (via Sydney) and Darnell Hinson (via West Sydney), who both delivered debut NBL seasons the year prior.

Perth entered the season fighting off multiple injuries, with guards Adam Caporn, Brad Robbins, and Peter Crawford all fighting through knee issues. The team even placed starting centre Rogers on the deactivated list due to a lingering knee complaint. The additional roster spot allowed Perth to pull off a major recruiting coup, beating Melbourne Tigers and South Dragons for the signature of former Boomers point guard Luke Kendall.

At the mid-way point of the season, Rogers returned to the lineup, forcing the Wildcat’s to release Kendall (8.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals), who had become a key reserve with Robbins managing only three games over the season. Kendall signed a deal to play with Melbourne shortly after, who needed a replacement for Sam MacKinnon after medical staff advised him not to return to play. Team captain Rogers (9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks) played in only two games before a ruptured disc in his back that required surgery kept him out of the remaining games.

Perth’s efforts during the regular season were a carbon copy of the one before. The Wildcats were a force at home (11-4) but couldn’t win on the road (6-9), finishing in fourth place (17-13) for the second year in a row. Shawn Redhage (19.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists) would lead the team in scoring and rebounding, earning selection to the Al-NBL Second Team along the way. Hinson (13.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.7 steals), Loughton (13 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists) and Victor (12.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assists) all playing key roles also.

Once into the postseason, Perth faced fifth seed Townsville, who defeated them in the Elimination Finals (96-103), abruptly ending their playoff run.

Garlepp would see limited opportunities to play during his second season, appearing in only six games for the Wildcats, averaging 2.3 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.3 assists in 7.9 minutes per game.

2009/10
The 2009/10 season started with Adelaide failing to re-sign Luke Schenscher (to Perth) and Aaron Bruce (to USA), but luckily, Adelaide was able to replace them with Matthew Burston, Nathan Herbert and Cortez Groves as a result of the South Dragons demise which left all three players without a team to play for. John Gilchrist was signed as a replacement for outgoing import Julius Hodge with the team heading into a new era following the retirement of long-serving club captain Brett Maher (525 games), who captained the club to 3 NBL championships (1998, 1999, 2002).

Burston, a welcome addition, also made his mark on the squad, leading the team in rebounding (9.9 points and, 6.5 rebounds). Adam Ballinger (17.6 points, 5.3 rebounds), in his third season with the club, became a Australian citizen (Jul 2009) and shortly after was appointed club captain of the Adelaide 36ers. He would lead the team in scoring alongside Gilchrist (16.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists), who, after his explosive debut with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists, suffered a serious knee injury against Melbourne that forced him to miss the last three games of the season.

Garlepp would contribute 1.8 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 0.3 assists for the season as well.

Groves struggled to give the 36ers much at all after injury, which seemed to have impacted his abilities quite significantly, resulting in him scoring his fewest points in a season across his NBL career (9.8 points) and his time with Adelaide being his last in the NBL. As a coach, Scott Ninnis seemed out of his depth, and the year concluded with the 36ers finishing on the bottom of the NBL ladder for the first time in their history with a 10–18 record. Following the club’s worst ever season, Ninnis was sacked as coach and replaced by former AIS coach Marty Clarke for the 2010/11 NBL season. Garlepp would continue to see limited playing opportunities, appearing in only four games for the 36ers, averaging 1.8 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 0.3 assists.

GOLD COAST BLAZE
2010/11
The 2010/11 season saw Garlepp average 5.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 0.6 assists and play a key role in helping the Blaze to a sixth-place finish during the regular season with a 13-15 record.

2011/12
During the 2011/12 season, Garlepp averaged 3.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 0.4 assists and helped the Blaze finish with a record of 17-11 and end the regular season in third place.

SYDNEY KINGS
2012/13
Having taken over the head coaching reigns mid-season the year before, Shane Heal set to work on helping the Kings return to the NBL playoffs for the first time since returning to the league in 2010. Heal began the season with some big roster holes to fill after losing both the leagues leading rebounder, Julian Khazzouh, Rookie of the Year Anatoly Bose and talented import Jerai Grant to European opportunities.

Heal would convince Former King Ian Crosswhite to return (via Cairns) and fill the shoes of Khazzouh, high-scoring shooting guard James Harvey (via Gold Coast) to cover the loss of Bose and recruit diminutive point guard Corin Henry and Darnell Lazare as the team’s import duo. Sydney was also bolstered by the return of Aaron Bruce, who had missed the second half of last season due to a tibia injury.

After losing to Illawarra in the opening game of the season (76–79), the team delivered a strong start to the season, and by the time of the league’s All-Star break, Sydney (9-5) was sitting in third place on the ladder.

The Kings’ second half of the season wasn’t as successful, managing just three wins from their remaining 14 games. Due to the dominance of the New Zealand Breakers (24-4) and Perth Wildcats (22-6), every other team in the NBL finished the season with a losing record. Thus, in unusual fashion, despite having a losing record, the Kings finished in fourth place and returned to the playoffs for the first time since returning to the league in 2010.

Once into the semi finals, the Kings were outclassed by the Breakers, who claimed game one in New Zealand (81-64) before closing out the series with a win on Sydney’s home floor (99-88). New Zealand would then defeat Perth in two games to become NBL Champions.

Sydney owed much of its success to a breakout season from Ben Madgen (18.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists), who led the league in scoring, was awarded the league’s Most Improved Player award and named in the All-NBL first team. Ian Crosswhite (10.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists) was named in the All-NBL third team and announced his retirement shortly after. Garlepp would produce the best season of his career to date, appearing in 30 games and averaging 6.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 0.6 assists.

2013/14
In 2013/14, Garlepp averaged 8.8 points and 5.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists and helped guide the Kings to a sixth-place finish during the regular season with a 12-16 record.

2014/15
Garlepp averaged 13.6 points and 4.1 rebounds, and 2.3 assists as the Kings finished in seventh place with a 9-19 record.

2015/16
Since re-entering the league in 2010, Sydney had never finished with a winning record, something they came narrowly close to last season, until a season-ending injury to star Josh Childress derailed things.

The Kings bounced back by loading up on talent to surround Childress and blossoming young stars like Jason Cadee, Tom Garlepp and reigning Rookie of the Year Angus Brandt. Veterans Julian Khazzouh, Steven Markovic and Rhys Carter were brought in, and NBA draftee Marcus Thornton was signed as the team’s second import.

Although Childress would miss the first four games of the season (1-3) with a foot injury, he returned to the court to face Adelaide (Oct 23) at home, only to break his right hand. Childress still managed to score 23 points and played out the Kings’ loss to the 36ers (91–80) before being ruled out for a further four to six games with a boxer’s fracture.

Childress returned in late November, but two games later, he suffered a fractured left hand back and was subsequently ruled out for three weeks. He was reactivated once again on December 29 and played out the rest of the season.

All in all, Childress (21.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.7 blocks) played in only 13 games for the Purple and Gold. Starting centre Khazzouh (13.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.8 blocks) delivered great numbers in his return before ripping his right quadriceps tendon off the bone in mid-December, missing a third of the season and Markovic (3.0 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists) played a grand total of 3 games for the season due to illness and subsequent recovery. With most of the team’s starting line-up missing, the Kings were so decimated at one stage that assistant coach Ben Knight suited up for four games.

In early January 2016, Craig Moller and Jordan Vandenberg were also brought in to help cover the loss of Khazzouh and backup forward Jeromie Hill (4.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 0.4 assists).

During the absence of Childress, the Kings brought in former NBA players Damion James (7.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 0.6 assists) for 5 games, Al Harrington (17.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists) for 6 games with James being a disappointment and Harrington becoming a fan favourite during their brief stints, but both failed to deliver team success and coach Damian Cotter was released mid-season.

Former Washington Wizards assistant Joe Connelly was brought in as a new head coach and helped youngsters Cadee (14.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists), Garlepp (14.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists) and Brandt (8.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks) continue to develop (Brandt earning a gig with the national team at year’s end), it wasn’t enough for the under-manned Kings to avoid finishing dead last (6-22) during the regular season.

Garlepp, who was selected as the team’s captain, posted career-highs in points, free throw percentage, and even uncorked an unexpected 3-point shot that had him shooting at a ridiculous 50 percent mark from 1.5 attempts per game. At the end of the season he was selected as the Kings’ Club MVP.

2016/17
The Kings began the season searching for relevancy both on the court and amongst the Sydney public. The first move made to accomplish this was inking Australian basketball icon Andrew Gaze to a three-year deal as the team’s head coach.

Shortly after, the team convinced star import Kevin Lisch to turn down a contract extension from the Illawarra Hawks to sign a lucrative three-year that made him the highest-paid player in the NBL.

Gaze and Kings GM Jeff Van Groningen then looked to bolster the Kings roster with new talent after a listless season the year before which resulted in a 6–22 record and a last place finish.

More major signings were incoming when the team convinced two Australian Boomers to join the club on multi-year deals, first swingman Brad Newley (Spain) and shortly after Aleks Maric, whose nickname ‘Truck’ explains clearly the type of game he would bring to the Kings.

Lisch, Newley, and Maric would be added to the returning Aussie core of Tom Garlepp, Jason Cadee, Jeromie Hill and Julian Khazzouh.

An additional bonus for Sydney was Lisch becoming an Australian citizen in March, creating three open import roster spots for the team to use. The Kings had been carried by imports Josh Childress and Al Harrington the year prior but chose not to re-sign either player, replacing them with Michael Bryson, Greg Whittington and Josh Powell.

Powell’s signing proved critical as shortly after it became apparent that a quadriceps injury would keep Khazzouh off the court for the entire season.

In the weeks leading up to the start of the 2016/17 season, Lisch was appointed team captain and the team began the season. In the opening game of the season, Lisch (20 points) led the Kings in scoring but couldn’t get the win over a motivated Brisbane squad (73–77). Josh Powell would arrive in time to play in the Kings’ second game and racked up 14 points and six rebounds in a 88–84 win over the Illawarra Hawks. The win preceded a video of the team celebrating their first win, which went viral and had many picking the team to reach the playoffs for the first time since the Kings re-entered the league.

Import Michael Bryson (1.8 points, 1 rebound, and 0.8 assists) struggled to make a impact in his short stint with the Kings and was replaced with 13-year NBA veteran, Steve Blake. Despite Bryson’s lack of production, Lisch (16.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.9 steals), Newley (17.6 points, 5 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.2 steals), and Cadee (13 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists) were firing on all cylinders and the team were sitting in top spot on the ladder with a 3-1 record.

On November 12, 2016, when Kevin Lisch scored a season-high 30 points to deliver a 87–71 win over Melbourne, the team became title favourites. The play of Lisch led coach Gaze and new teammate Steve Blake to say Lisch was good enough to play in the NBA.

However, things began to deteriorate after that. The Kings’ ‘front-heavy’ home schedule began to catch up to them. Blake (5.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists) struggled to provide any of the ability he had shown during this NBA career, and after being granted indefinite leave on compassionate grounds to return home to be with a sick family member, it was clear he would not be returning.

Lisch saw his production decrease and seemingly started to burn out, and Powell (9.4 points and 4.8 rebounds), who would go on to deliver a couple of big games, finished the season coming off the bench.

At this stage, Sydney had lost five of their past eight games and, by Christmas, had fallen to third on the ladder (11-8). Instead of maintaining a search for a suitable replacement for Blake, signed forward Garrett Jackson, who had been playing in the state league and was also a training player for the Kings for several seasons.

An unfortunate season-ending ankle injury suffered by Tony Tolovae, who had appeared in only one game for the Kings, resulted in opening up a additional spot on the roster. Sydney would use it to William McDowell-White (2.1 points, 0.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in seven games) as a development player for the rest of the season. McDowell-White, had been heavily recruited by several NCAA programs, including powerhouses like Michigan State, Louisville and USC but McDowell-White but after committing to play with the University of Fresno State, he was unable to gain clearance to play in the NCAA.

Under first-year coach Gaze, the Kings tried and tested a number of different line-ups, but nothing saw them reclaim their early form. After a 8-3 start, they went 5-12, including losing nine of their final twelve games.

Sydney finished in seventh place (13-15) and missed the playoffs in disappointing fashion, while new additions Lisch and Newley earned All-NBL second team selection. Garlepp would appear in 28 games, averaging 5.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists.

2017/18
In 2017/18, Garlepp averaged 2.4 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 0.5 assists in a heavily reduced role with the Kings rotation, as the team finished in a seventh place finish with a 11-17 record.

“As a player, you try really hard to maximise your potential and win a championship.” Garlepp said after retiring.

“Ultimately, I fell short of the championship part but felt I gave my playing career a real crack to get the most out of myself. I was lucky to play for nine different head coaches during my 11-year professional career – all of whom brought a different approach to the game, including two of my first coaches John Gardiner and Scott Fisher, who have had a huge impact on me.”

”Reaching the semi finals with the Kings in 2012-13 for the first time since the club’s re-birth was a nice moment, as being a successful player on a successful Kings side is a goal that drove me during my tenure at the club. Finally breaking into Qudos Bank Arena and seeing the start of something that’s now cemented itself as a hot ticket item in the Sydney sporting landscape. [All in all] I just loved playing for Sydney and representing the city every time I stepped onto the court, as we’ve got a great culture here involving people that go about building up basketball the right way.”

Tom Garlepp played eleven seasons across three NBL teams. This included the Perth Wildcats, Gold Coast Blaze, Adelaide 36ers and Sydney Kings. He averaged 6.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 0.9 assists in 256 NBL games.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Dan Boyce (820 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.