Andrew Gaze
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 July 1965 Melbourne, Victoria |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
| Listed weight | 209 lb (95 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Lake Ginninderra (Canberra, Australia) |
| College | Seton Hall (1988–1989) |
| Playing career | 1984–2005 |
| Position | Shooting guard / Small forward |
| Career history | |
| 1984–1991 | Melbourne Tigers |
| 1991–1992 | Rex Udine |
| 1992–2005 | Melbourne Tigers |
| 1994 | Washington Bullets |
| 1999 | San Antonio Spurs |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
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| FIBA Hall of Fame as player | |
Andrew Barry Casson Gaze, AM (born 24 July 1965) is an Australian former professional basketball player.[1][2][3] He is considered as the greatest player in the history of the NBL and is a seven time winner of the league's Most Valuable Player award, which is now known as the Andrew Gaze Trophy.
Contents
Basketball career
Gaze, the son of Margaret and Lindsay Gaze, one of Australia's most respected basketball players and coaches, began his career in the NBL at age 18, being named Rookie of the year in 1984. He was the top scorer in the league for a total of 14 seasons. Not an outstanding athlete, Gaze's heavy scoring was due to exceptional shooting, including from three-point range. A crowd favourite, one of Gaze's trademark plays for the Tigers was a pass to American import Lanard Copeland for an alley oop.[4] Playing under his father with the Tigers, Gaze led the team to two titles and were perpetual finalists. He played in 612 NBL matches in his career.[5]
Gaze also excelled in the international arena, and in 2000 became (jointly with American Teresa Edwards) the third basketball player to compete at five Olympics, after Puerto Rican Teófilo Cruz and Brazilian Oscar Schmidt. He led the Boomers to their best performance, fourth at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. (The Boomers also came fourth in 1988 and 2000.[6]) He was selected as flag-bearer for the Australian team at the opening ceremony at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He is the second-highest scorer of all-time in World Championship play.
In 1988–89, Gaze played a season of U.S. college basketball at Seton Hall, arriving at the university in mid-October for the start of the NCAA basketball season and returning home immediately after his team's overtime loss to Michigan in the 1989 NCAA finals [7][8] in April. He tried out with the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics, but was not offered a contract and ultimately waived.[9] In 1993–94 he played seven games for the Washington Bullets. He had another short stint in the NBA in lockout-shortened 1998–99 with the San Antonio Spurs, but received very little court time and was injured for the latter part of the season. He received a championship ring after the Spurs won the 1999 NBA title, although he was left off the playoff roster.
After the Sydney Olympics, Gaze retired from international competition, but continued to play in the NBL. On 12 May 2005, he announced his retirement from the game after 612 games in the NBL and 20 years of professional basketball.
Soon after, he released his autobiography, A Kid, a Ball, a Dream, co-authored with Grantley Bernard.
Post-basketball life
Today, Gaze has carved out a career as a media personality, appearing on commercials for Dodo Internet and Voltaren and commentating NBL basketball matches for SEN 1116 and (occasionally) Fox Sports. Also, Gaze now coaches for the Melbourne Tigers' junior basketball club. Gaze appeared in series five of Dancing with the Stars.
In July 2007, Gaze was approached by members of the Australian Labor Party to stand as a candidate in a by-election for the Electoral district of Albert Park. Gaze had previously considered running for election for Labor.[10] He is a republican.[11]
Gaze is currently an expert commentator on NBL telecasts with Network Ten and One as well as co-hosting the NBL website's weekly podcast It Goes Off with Grantley Bernard. He is also a presenter on Channel Seven's Guide to the Good Life and on After the Bounce on Fox Footy.
In June 2013, Gaze was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame, joining his father Lindsay as the only Australians in the Hall of Fame.[12]
Records and awards
- Record for most Olympic Games for an Australian basketballer (5 - 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000) and was given the honour of carrying the Australian Flag for the Australian team at the 2000 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony in Sydney
- Was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2002.[13]
- Inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2005.[14]
- Scored 18,908 points in the NBL over 612 games in a 22-season span at an average of 30.9 points per game
- Received Most Valuable Player (MVP) award a record 7 times
- Australian International Player of the Year (1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000)
- won the NBL Most Efficient Player award every year from 1990 to 1997. The award was then discontinued, making Gaze the only ever person to win the award.
- He was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1991.
- Crowned Moomba Monarch (popularly called King of Moomba) by the Melbourne festival committee in 1994.[15]
- Former Consultation Committee Member of the Human Rights Consultation Committee of Victoria which formulated the Draft Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities, a precursor to the Victorian Charter of Rights.[16]
Honour roll
| NBL career: | 1984–2005 |
| NBL Grand Final appearances: | 4 (1992, 1993, 1996, 1997) |
| NBL Championships: | 2 (1993, 1997) |
| NBL Most Valuable Player: | 7 (1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 |
| All-NBL First Team: | 15 (1986-2000) |
| NBL Rookie of the Year: | 1984 |
| NBL 20th Anniversary Team: | 1998 |
| NBL 25th Anniversary Team: | 2003 |
| Gaze Medal | 6 (1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000) |
| Australian Basketball Hall of Fame | 2004 |
| FIBA Hall of Fame | 2013 |
NBL career stats
| Games: | 612 (Melbourne Tigers) |
| Points: | 18,908 (30.9 ppg) - All time first |
| Free Throws: | 4,114 / 4,783 (86.0%) - All time first |
| Field Goals: | 6,484 / 12,529 (51.8%) - All Time First |
| 3 Points: | 1,826 / 5,005 (36.5%) - All time first |
References
- ↑ Basketball Australia : Board of Directors. Basketball.net.au. Retrieved on 2011-06-02.
- ↑ Speaker Andrew Gaze Full Biography – Speakers Bureau @ ICMI. Icmi.com.au. Retrieved on 2011-06-02.
- ↑ Andrew Gaze. NAB. Retrieved on 2011-06-02.
- ↑ Andrew Gaze and Lanard Copeland. YouTube (2008-07-05). Retrieved on 2011-06-02.
- ↑ NBL Stats. NBL Stats (2011-02-06). Retrieved on 2011-06-02.
- ↑ Andrew Gaze Biography and Olympic Results | Olympics at. Sports-reference.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-02.
- ↑ Sperber, Murray. College Sports Inc.: The Athletic Department vs the University. New York: Henry Holt, 1991.
- ↑ Gaze Is Gone But Questions Arise. Nytimes.com. 1989-04-14. Retrieved on 2013-03-03.
- ↑ Sonics Release Gaze published 31 October 1989
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ ABC Radio National – The Sports Factor Transcript – 13 August July 1999. Webcache.googleusercontent.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-02.
- ↑ Basketball legend ANDREW GAZE inducted into FIBA Hall Of Fame
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Craig Bellamy, Gordon Chisholm, Hilary Eriksen (17 Feb 2006) Moomba: A festival for the people. pp. 17–22
- ↑ The Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities: Exegesis and Criticism – [2006] MULR 28; 30(3) Melbourne University Law Review 906. Austlii.edu.au. Retrieved on 2011-06-02.
External links
- http://www.interbasket.net/players/gaze.htm
- Sports-Reference Profile
- Gaze.com.au – Official Homepage
- Follow the Bouncing Ball – interview with Andrew Gaze ABC Radio National transcript of The Sports Factor broadcast August 2005
- Gaze's NBA Statistics
- Italian League profile
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- Use dmy dates from August 2011
- Use Australian English from August 2011
- All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English
- Pages using infobox basketball biography with unsupported parameters
- 1965 births
- Living people
- Apollon Patras B.C. players
- Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States
- Australian republicans
- Basketball announcers
- Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics
- Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics
- Basketball players at the 1989 NCAA Men's Division I Final Four
- Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics
- Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- Dancing with the Stars (Australian TV series) participants
- FIBA Hall of Fame inductees
- Melbourne Tigers players
- Members of the Order of Australia
- National Basketball Association players from Australia
- Olympic basketball players of Australia
- Point guards
- San Antonio Spurs players
- Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball players
- Shooting guards
- Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees
- Sportspeople from Melbourne
- Undrafted National Basketball Association players
- Washington Bullets players
