NICKNAME/S: Dog

BIO: Wayne Larkins was born in Swan Hill (VIC) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Swan Hill basketball program.

FAMILY: Wayne’s son Nelson Larkins also played 20 games in the NBL.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Wayne Larkins made his NBL debut with the St Kilda Pumas at 16 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

At 16 years of age, Larkins remains one of the youngest players to have ever played in the NBL. Larkins would see limited playing opportunities in his rookie season, appearing in only 4 games and scoring a total of 12 points. That year, the Puma’s finished with a record of 17-9 and in sixth place during the regular season.

1983
In 1983, Larkins would earn a spot in the team’s regular rotation. He played in 22 games during his second year in the league and averaged 1.6 points, 0.5 rebounds, and 0.3 assists. Larkins helped the Puma’s finish reach a eighth place finish in the regular season with a 12-10 record.

1984
In 1984, Larkins averaged 4 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists as the Puma’s finished with a record of 9-14 and in third place during the regular season.

1985
Larkins continued to develop as a player, even though this was his fourth year in the league, he was still a mere 19-years-old. His statistics continued to improve each season and by 1985 he was averaging 5.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.9 assists. This season the Saints struggled to earn wins over the league’s better team’s and finished in tenth place with a 10-16 record.

1986
In 1986, Larkins averaged 6.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.9 assists as the Saints finished with a record of 5-21.

1987
In 1987, Larkins averaged 4.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.9 assists and the Saints finished the regular season with a 4-22 record.

1988
The 1988 season saw Larkins average 4.3 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 2 assists in another dismal season for the Saints, yet one which saw them win more games then their previous two seasons combined. The ended the year with a record of 9 wins and 15 losses.

EASTSIDE MELBOURNE SPECTRES
1989
After a import merry-go-round and lacklustre season in coach Brian Goorjian’s first year, he looked to create some stability within the franchise. He re-signed import Arne Duncan, last year’s leading scorer and paired him with import Ben Tower, a Michigan native who had been drafted by the Detroit Pistons five years earlier.

The Spectres retained the core group of last season’s roster, team captain Warren Pink, Dean Uthoff, the league’s leading rebounder and the league’s most improved player Darren Lucas. The rest of the roster was built around a bunch of young talent, with Shane Froling, Paul Hotchin and Steve Lunardon all returning with one more season of experienced, 17-year-old Spectres junior player Rupert Sapwell and 24-year-old Wayne Larkins from Westside Melbourne.

During the pre-season, Duncan suffered a injury that saw him miss the first half of the regular season.

The Spectres then signed Kent Lockhart, who had been playing in the state league for Sandringham, as an injury replacement for Duncan. Goorjian, who had been playing pickup basketball games against state league players during the offseason, was impressed by his ability to play both sides of the ball.

Lockhart (28.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists) led the team in scoring, and made such a impact on the team that when Duncan returned from injury, the team released Ben Tower and signed Lockhart to the full-time roster. With Duncan putting up big numbers again (28.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.6 assists), Dean Uthoff (18.6 points, 17.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists) leading the league in rebounding for a second consecutive year and Larkins averaging 6.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 4 assists per game, the Specres finished the year on a four-game winning streak. Lockhart, who posted a incredible 47 points against the Newcastle Falcons in Round 18, was named to the All-NBL First Team, and with Eastside Melbourne improved from a 11-13 to 14-12 record, leaving Spectres’ fans very optimistic for next season.

1990
Eastside had been slowly improving each season since Brian Goorjian was appointed head coach in 1988, and by 1990 many of the core group that had been a part of the roster when Goorjian took over had developed from junior talent to highly productive NBL players.

The only changes to the local roster were the exits of veterans Paul Hotchins and Warren Pink, who were then replaced with Darren Perry (Brisbane) and Nunawading junior Tony Ronaldson, who had just completed a year at the Australian Institute of Sport. The departure of import Arne Duncan then made room for the return of former Spectre Bruce Bolden.

To kick off the season, Eastside was tipped to be the big improvers of 1990 after finishing ‘best of the rest’ the year prior. The team started off by winning its first three games on the schedule, but over the course of the season, the team never seemed to be able to beat the league’s best. While they knocked off the majority of the league, losses they couldn’t see to deliver wins against elite team’s like Perth, Brisbane and North Melbourne. In Round 21, Eastside turned things around with a win over crosstown rivals North Melbourne (118-111), but then followed that up with a 3-2 run home.

Despite this, Eastside still managed to finish second on the ladder thanks to a impressive 10-3 home record. Lockhart (27.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.3 steals) returned a better player in his second year in the league, leading the team in scoring and being selected to the All-NBL Second Team. Bolden (26.4 points, 11.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.2 blocks) filled the stat sheet most games and Uthoff (17.9 points and 13.6 rebounds) led the team in rebounding once again. Perry (10.7 points, 2.4 rebounds and 5.6 assists) running the point guard spot was a big part of the Spectres improvement from 14-10 last season, to 16-8 in 1990. Larkins also contributed 8.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game.

Due to finishing in second place, Eastside received a first-round bye then met Brisbane, who eliminated Sydney in the elimination finals, in the semi final. This was the first time a Goorjian coached team had reached the semi finals but they were eliminated by the Bullets amidst little fanfare in two straight games.

1991
After making the playoffs for the first time in three years, coach Brian Goorjian was able to bring back almost the entire squad for another shot at the championship, the team’s only key loss being bruising forward Shane Froling, who was replaced with Scott Ninnis.

Behind Eastside’s formidable frontcourt, led by Bruce Bolden (27.2 points and 10.4 rebounds), Kent Lockhart (18.6 points and 5.7 rebounds) and Dean Uthoff (16.8 points and 13.6 rebounds) the Spectres finished the season with a 17-9 record. Larkins also contributed 4.4 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists as Eastside finished in second place, earning them a first-round bye in the playoffs. Eastside would then eliminate North Melbourne, 2–0 in the semifinals before facing off against the Perth Wildcats, who had finished the season in first place (22-4) and eliminated the Adelaide 36ers in their semi-final matchup. The Grand Final series would see Perth come away victorious with a 109-83 win in game one before the Spectres evened things up with a 86-81 win in game two. Behind the stellar play from Perth imports Ricky Grace and Pete Hanson, who would be awarded the Grand Final MVP, Perth defeated Eastside in the deciding game, 90-80.

GEELONG SUPERCATS
1992
After a financial boost in 1991 the Supercats were back in the NBL playoffs behind the play of stars Shane Heal, Bobby Locke, Daren Rowe and Jim Bateman. Unfortunately, another off-season of financial struggle and a player exodus at the end of the ’91 season resulted in the club plummeting down the ladder again, finishing last in 1992 with a record of 2-22. Larkins would average 12.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 4.5 during this lacklustre season.

1993
After the team was gutted in 1992, a move which resulted in Geelong finishing with just two wins for the season, the Supercats were able to regroup and add to their wafer-thin roster of last season. Vince Hinchen (via Melbourne) would return after a season playing with the Tigers, and Ray Borner (via North Melbourne) was signed to help fill a gaping hole inside. Imports Bobby Locke and Chris Williams were replaced by Adrian Branch, who had won a NBA championship with the Lakers in 1987, and Mike Morrison, who had just finished up a stint with the NBA’s Phoenix Suns.

Six games into the season, the Supercats received a letter from coach Steve Breheny, which outlined he felt he did not have the support of the club. It was reported that he did not want Branch as part of the team, but the club chose to sign him to a two-year deal anyways. After a loss to Melbourne, Breheny brought Branch off the bench in their next game against Adelaide, feeling he cared more about stats than winning (a sentiment echoed by his former Brisbane coach Brian Kerle). Geelong would win this game (113-100), with Branch playing 36 minutes and scoring 30 points. Branch then skipped trainings, prompting Breheny to pen a letter to management asking for their support or agreeing to re-sign. The Supercats (2-4) accepted his resignation and continued the season under interim coach Terry Kealey. Jim Calvin was hired as a permanent solution shortly after.

Branch (26.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.9 steals) would go on to lead the team statistically, with Morrison (22.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 2.2 steals), Cecil Exum (16.6 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.4 steals), Borner (16.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks) and Vince Hinchen (14.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.1 steals) adding support. The team saw very little support from the bench, with its starting five all playing a minimum of 35 minutes a game and only Wayne Larkins (6.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2.2 steals) playing meaningful minutes off the bench. The team basically played with six players for the entire season.

With three rounds left, Geelong sat equal last alongside Hobart and Townsville, all three team’s sitting on four wins. Geelong, however, reeled off three wins in a row to end the season, knocking off Sydney (126–115), Gold Coast (113–108) and fourth-placed Brisbane (118–115) to end the season on a high note.

1994
The 1994 season saw Larkins average 5.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists and play a key role in helping the Bullets to a fourth place finish in the regular season (18-8).

BRISBANE BULLETS
1995
Larkins joined a Bullets team on the rebound in 1995, having lost to Adelaide in the Quarterfinals the previous season. The early exit saw Brisbane revamp their frontcourt, releasing veteran forward Shane Froling and imports Dave Colbert and Andre Moore. Although Leroy Loggins, Rodger Smith, Robert Sibley and Wayne Larkins were retained from last season, coach Bruce Palmer set out to recruit a younger roster he could develop over the next 2-3 seasons. He signed Andrew Goodwin and Mike Mitchell (both from rival team Gold Coast), and added import Chris Munk as their replacements.

John Rillie, who had just graduated from Gonzaga University, was a late addition to the team signed to backup Brisbane’s leading scorer Shane Heal.

Heal (22.9 points and 7.4 assists), Loggins (21.7 points and 7.5 rebounds), and Mitchell (20.9 points and 6.8 rebounds) would carry the team offensively, notching up 60+ points a game between them and Larkins would also add 3.1 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game. Additionally, promising young talent John Rillie finished the season with 13.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game and was awarded the NBL Rookie of the Year award but the ‘new look’ Bullets didn’t fare much better than the old ones. Brisbane finished in fifth place with a record of 16-10 and would suffer elimination during the Quarterfinalsstage yet again, this time losing to North Melbourne (0–2).

GOLD COAST ROLLERS
1996
1996 would be the Gold Coast Rollers final season in the NBL. The team began the year financially unstable and was unable to re-sign imports Steve Woodberry and Fred Herzog.

Larkins averaged 4.3 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists but the only notable part of the Rollers final season would be a last ditch effort to draw crowds by adding former Sydney Kings star Dwayne McClain to the roster for the last six games of season.

The team compiled a record of 6 wins and 20 losses and would not return in 1997.

With the league reducing in size from 14 team’s to 11, Larkins was unable to find another team to play with and retired at season’s end.

Wayne Larkins played fifteen seasons across seven NBL teams. This included the St Kilda Pumas, Westside Melbourne Saints, Eastside Melbourne Spectres, Geelong Supercats, Brisbane Bullets and Gold Coast Rollers. He averaged 5.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 3 assists in 347 NBL games.

CAREER RANKINGS:
– 43rd in total assists
– 26th in total steals

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.