Doc Adkins is mostly unknown to today’s NBL fans but is truly an unsung hero of the league and responsible for much of the league’s talent and success in league’s early years.
His first experience with basketball in Australia saw him appointed as the State Director of Junior Coaching in Queensland in 1978, 12 months before the formation of the NBL.
When the NBL launched in 1979 “Doc” helped the Brisbane Bullets recruit Cal Bruton (Wichita), Dan Hickert (Kansas State), Brian Banks (Nebraska) and Tom Gerhardt (Illinois) in their first year.
During the early years of the NBL many teams identify import talent and from 1979 to 1997 was responsible for helping recruit over 60 players to the NBL, many of them are listed below.
Name, NBL career
Cal Bruton 1979-1992
Dan Hickert 1979-1988
Tom Gerhardt 1980-1988
Brian Banks 1980-1983
Leroy Loggins 1981-2001
Dave Nelson 1981-1995
Benny Lewis 1981-1990
Curt Forrester 1981-1987
Donnie Cruse 1981-1983
Michael Jones 1981-1983
Kelvin Henderson 1981-1982
James Crawford 1982-2003
Chuck Harmison 1982-1996
Tad Dufelmeier 1982-1991
George Morrow 1982-1983
David Winslow 1982-1983
Brad Miley 1982
Alonzo Weatherly 1982
Wayne McDaniel 1983-1994
Jerry Dennard 1984-1993
Dan Clausen 1984-1990
Dwayne Nelson 1984-1990
Bill Jones 1985-1992
Wayne Kreklow 1985
Steve Carfino 1986-1990
Jeff Acres 1986
Joe Hurst 1988-2001
Derek Rucker 1990-2006
Ricky Grace 1990-2005
Patric Fairs 1990-1991
Tom Schafer 1990
Andre LaFleur 1991-1996
Jason Reese 1991-1994
Wayne Englestad 1991
Troy Truvillion 1991
Melvin Thomas 1992-2006
Donald Whiteside 1992-1993
Ricky Jones 1993-1994
David Robinson 1993
Mario Donaldson 1994-1997
Leon Trimmingham 1994-1997
Darryl Johnson 1994
Jeff Warren 1994
Clarence Tyson 1995-2001
Marcus Timmons 1996-2007
Ray Owes 1996-2002
Chad McClendon 1996
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Dave’s fingerprints also rest on much of the development at a grassroots and national level through the players he recruited to Australia.
- Cal Bruton has been running basketball development programs all across Australia for over 40 years.
- Chuck Harmison was a general manager of the National Basketball League,
- Steve Carfino has been the “soundtrack” to the NBL with his commentary for 20 years.
- Marcus Timmons has been coaching state league talent in Victoria since retiring in 2002.
The children of these players have become talented Australian players in their own right, CJ Bruton, Bennie Lewis III, Tad Dufelmeier Jr have all gone on to play in the NBL.
Doc Adkins even spent three years coaching in the NBL with the Hobart Devils from 1986-88. Although the team never made the playoffs, Dave took a team who had won a total of 8 games since entering the league in 1983 to a 9-12 season in his first year. In his second year as coach, the Devils improve to 14-12 for their first-ever winning season.
Not bad for a team who had only one paid player that first year.
David “Doc” Adkins is a true pioneer of Australian basketball and worthy of being included in the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame.
On this podcast, he joins Dan Boyce to talk about his involvement in the early years of the NBL.
Listen to Aussie Hoopla podcast on the links below.
Topics include;
- How Dr Dave Adkins became involved in Australian Basketball (2:00)
- Bringing Cal Bruton to Australia (13:00)
- How did Dave “sell” the NBL to import players in the 70s and 80s (16:00)
- How was recruiting import players different in the 70s and 80s compared to the 90s when basketball was exploding in Australia (30:00)
- Dave’s relationship with Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse (38:00)
- The methods he followed when identifying a quality import for Australian teams (45:00)
- Coaching the Hobart Devils from 1986-1989 (54:00)
- Why Dr Dave Adkins needs to be included in the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame (102:00)
- How the NBL was viewed across Australia when it launched in 1979 (1:07:00)
- What players he sent to Australia surprised him the most with their NBL careers (1:10:00)
- The biggest learnings Dave has taken away from his time in basketball (1:19:00)
All of this and a whole lot more…
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.
