Basketball NSW would like to congratulate the five inductees into the 2023 Basketball NSW Hall of Fame and one prestigious member, being elevated to Legend status.
One of the greatest women’s basketball players this country has ever produced. A championship-winning coach. An icon of Illawarra basketball. An outstanding Paralympian. A referee who had a distinguished career. And the elevation of a remarkable wheelchair basketball player to Legend status.
Such is the quality of the list of deserving inductees to the Basketball New South Wales Hall of Fame for 2023.
It starts with someone who before the mighty Lauren Jackson came along was feted as the best women’s player Australia had ever seen.
The resume of Robyn Maher AM, OLY makes for extraordinary reading. An Olympic medallist with the Opals in 1996 who appeared in three Olympic Games and captained her country at six World Championships, she set the standard internationally for all others to follow. Domestically, she was a genuine superstar, but more than anything else an absolute winner, leading her teams to an incredible 10 WNBL Championships. Such was her impact on women’s basketball, her name now adorns the Basketball Australia International Player of the Year award, and to this day she is regarded as the best defensive player of her generation.
When you hear the name Bob Turner, particularly in Sydney, your mind travels back to the halcyon days of the Kings at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in the early 1990s where he helped shape the iconic franchise and transformed basketball in the Harbour City. But the genius promoter/coach was so much more than that, starting a remarkable NBL coaching career in Newcastle with the Falcons before establishing a mini-dynasty in the 1980s with back-to-back NBL champions the Canberra Cannons. He also made a significant impact off the court, being part of the group in 2010 that brought the Sydney Kings back from extinction after two years in the NBL wilderness.
It is impossible to talk about basketball in the Illawarra region and not include the name Glen Saville OLY. The all-time leader in games played for the Illawarra Hawks in the NBL, ‘Sav’ means as much to that area as other luminaries like Gordie McLeod, Mathew Campbell, and Chuck Harmison. He played an astounding 563 NBL games, 527 with the Hawks, and was the 2001 NBL Grand Final Series Most Valuable Player in helping to guide his team to their maiden National Basketball League championship; the Hawks becoming the first team from New South Wales to secure an NBL crown. Saville also distinguished himself in service to his country, representing Australia in both the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games.
New South Wales has produced many great athletes with a disability and star wheelchair basketball player Brendan Dowler OAM, PLY is no exception. A great international baller, Brendan first pulled on the green and gold in 2001 and played over 100 games for the Australian Rollers, representing his country at multiple Paralympic Games with the high point in the 2008 Beijing Games, where he helped Australia to a stunning gold medal. He also won silver at the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games and earned a bronze medal at the 2006 World Championships in Amsterdam. He was a standout domestically during a brilliant playing career, winning national titles with both the Wollongong Rollerhawks and the Sydney Razorbacks, and was a success in the coaching ranks, leading his Rollerhawks from the sidelines to a pair of Australian National Wheelchair Basketball League championships.
It is the nature of sport that referees receive little if any fanfare, but the career of Matthew Townsend is Hall of Fame worthy. Matt officiated 270 games in the National Basketball League and was well respected for his technical acumen and approach to the game. He also excelled at the international level after being awarded his FIBA licence in 2009, overseeing games at the 2017 FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup in Egypt and the Stankovic Cup in 2013, plus the U17 Oceania Championships. At a local level, he has been a tremendous servant of basketball, officiating many games in the NSW Waratah League competitions for both seniors and juniors and becoming a valued mentor to a number of young referees.
An exceptional list of inductees to the BNSW Hall of Fame in 2023 is capped by the elevation of existing Hall of Famer, Liesl Tesch AM, PLY to Legend status.
Overcoming a tragic mountain bike accident in 1988 thanks to her trademark courage and tenacity. Liesl turned into one of the best wheelchair basketball players this state has ever produced, and did so in short order. In just two years, she was named to the New South Wales team and then the national team in 1990, playing in that year’s World Championships and following that up with the first of an astounding five Paralympic appearances at the 1992 Barcelona Games. She was the vice-captain of the Australian team at Sydney 2000, the captain in 2004 and would go on to win three Paralympic medals, including Gold in London in 2012.
Such was her remarkable talent and will to win, she caught the eye of several professional men’s teams in Europe and would play five years on the continent, becoming the first woman in the world to play wheelchair basketball professionally. Off the court, she established the first women’s wheelchair basketball league in Europe and played in Italy and France. A member of the Order of Australia and an individual whose devotion to and promotion of her sport are unparalleled, the elevation of Leisl Tesch to Legend status in the BNSW Hall of Fame is an easy decision.
BNSW would like to congratulate all these worthy individuals deserving of this tremendous recognition in 2023.
2023 Hall of Fame
Venue: Novotel Wollongong Northbeach
Date: Saturday 25th of November
Tickets: Tickets for the 2023 Hall of Fame will be on sale soon.
Credit: Matt McQuade