Queensland basketball’s top 30 state league players: 10-6
We tip-off the final 10 of our list of the top 30 Queensland state league basketball players since 1990 is here as we close in on who will be the best ever. SEE WHO MADE THE LIST.
Southeast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Southeast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
LEGEND status is what the next five former athletes have in Queensland basketball as we approach the business end of our list of the top 30 state league players since 1990.
There are record holders, a star with a decorated career both in Queensland and in Australia’s top league, a towering big man with a nickname taken from one of the world’s most famous movie franchises and a US import from a famous university who helped establish a club as the heavyweight of the competition.
Our panel of experts including current Townsville Heat NBL1 North coach Rod Anderson, former player and general manager of Suncoast’s National Championship side in 1997 Bill Hooper as well as Basketball Queensland general manager of game development Warwick Cann have selected numbers 10-6 on the list.
WHO ARE QLD’S BEST EVER STATE LEAGUE BASKETBALL STARS?
QLD’S TOP STATE LEAGUE PLAYERS: PART 1
QLD’S TOP STATE LEAGUE PLAYERS: PART 2
HERE ARE THE PLAYERS:
10. MICHAEL KINGMA
He may not be the most talented man on the list but the man known as ‘Wookie’ deserves to be on this list having been a key part of four QBL championships while also having a stellar individual career. The 207cm New South Welshman’s team success first started in 2003 when he featured in the Sydney Kings NBL championship-winning team under Brian Goorjian. The next year with the Hunter Pirates would be his last year in the NBL after seven seasons. But later on in his career, Kingma crossed state lines and became one of the dominant big men in the QBL with the Rockhampton Rockets and Mackay Meteors. The centre, who has played in different parts of the world, including Scotland and the Netherlands, won back-to-back titles with different teams (Rockhampton in 2010 and Mackay in 2011) before winning another two with the Rockets in 2013 and 2014. His individual career as far as playing in the NBL for seven seasons, along with winning an NBL championships, to go with his four QBL titles within five years makes Kingma a worthy mention in the first spot of our top 10.
9. GEORGE BUTLER
A former Georgetown Hoyas star, George Butler came to Australia and had an immediate impact, helping the Cairns Marlins win several titles and becoming a legend of not only Cairns basketball but Queensland basketball in general. The US import was part of the Cairns team, which beat Suncoast to claim the 1997 state title, but ultimately fell to the same opponents the same year in the ABA National Championship grand final. However, he along with a star-studded team, would turn that result around in 1998, beating Townsville to win back-to-back state titles and beating Frankston to take home a national championship banner. Butler, a flat out scorer with athleticism to match, would go on to play several more years for the Marlins and be a major part of the club’s long and storied history.
CAIRNS BEAT FRANKSTON TO WIN 1997 NATIONAL TITLE
8. DAMIEN ANDERSON
Odds are, if you ever hold an Australian points record, you’re probably a legend and that’s what Damien Anderson is. The best shooter to have ever played in the Queensland league, and maybe one of the best shooters in Australia, Anderson helped the Southern Districts Spartans win championships in 1992 and 1995 and during that span would also record a 75-point game against the Toowoomba Mountaineers, which fortunately was captured on video. Probably one of the best Australians to have never played in the NBL, Anderson was feared by opponents, and continued his impressive career when he helped the Mt Gambier Pioneers win the ABA National Championship in 2001.
7. BEN THOMPSON
A Southern Districts Spartans product, most people predicted Benny Thompson would be a star as he came up through the junior ranks in Queensland – and that’s exactly what he was. One of the most gifted players coming out of the state in his time, Thompson could do it all. He could score with the best of them, he could shoot from the perimeter, had athleticism to burn in his younger years, could defend and was the ultimate competitor. Thompson would go on to have a long career in the NBL with the Brisbane Bullets, West Sydney Razorbacks, Perth Wildcats and New Zealand Breakers but would also win championships for fun in the mid to late 2000s in the QABL. First with his junior club, Thompson led the Spartans to back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006 with victories over Cairns and Rockhampton before moving to central Queensland and helping the Rockets win a state and national title in 2008, the last ABA National Championship tournament ever held. He was also part of the Spartans squad during their 1995 championship season. Thompson would go on to play two seasons in Perth in 2009 and 2010 before retiring.
6. DARREN RICHARDSON
An absolute legend of the state league in Queensland, you can’t mention Rockhampton Rockets without including Darren Richardson’s name. With a career spanning across three decades from 1988-2008, Richardson is the games record holder in the state league with 444 to his name but he isn’t just known for his longevity. ‘Richo’ was a star on the court, known for his smooth jump shot, he was a talented scorer and actually is the Queensland’s state league’s leading all-time scorer and role player later in his career as he got older. But he also helped his hometown team win two state championships in 1996 and 2008, along with an ABA National Championship in 2008 where the Rockets beat the Hobart Chargers in the grand final. That national final turned out to be Richardson’s last for his beloved Rockets but what a way to go out. Richardson is still heavily involved in Rockhampton Basketball, coaching junior teams, as well as serving as an assistant coach to the man who coached him for so many years in Neal Tweedy.
Nuisance flying-fox colony funds for councils as temps soar
Seven councils will receive extra state funding to manage problem flying-fox roosts, as complaints from residents escalate about the bats’ noise, overpowering stench, and increased health hazards.
Scramble to fix $2m typo in SEQ hospital foundation finances
An extra $2 million has been added on paper to the line accounts for one of the state’s busiest hospital foundations in a blunder spotted by the Queensland Audit Office.