The BroadCast: 2/9/2017 - Australia's Andrew Gaze, on Brown's Beginnings, Simmons' Future

matter of days. And that is certainly what has happened in Philadelphia, the surrounding Delaware Valley sports fans of this town all over the place since last we had a Friday edition of the broadcast. Brian Seltzer saying hello and

as always thanks for checking out the podcast. Yes, it was a historic moment, unquestionably last Sunday in Minneapols Us and the culmination of a couple of days worth a celebration taking place on Thursday up broad Streets around Dilworth Plaza out onto the Parkway all the way to the

Art Museum. If you had a chance an opportunity to experience the Super Bowl parade, whether it was in person, scrolling along with your feeds, streaming, watching the old fashioned way on television, hopefully you were able to take away some lifelong memories from however, you soaked it in and just a joyous experience. It was something and certainly it was a long time coming for the Birds and the

city and the team threw down. As such, it's hard not to have the no one likes us, no one likes us, no one likes us celebratory song still stuck in your head after Thursday. All right, that's probably as much jurisdiction as I should have crossing over into football talk territory right well, whether it is or it is not. Onward we move to some seventy sixers related basketball talk.

So for this edition of the podcast, we're gonna talk with a guy who is intimately familiar with Brett Brown and also has great insights on the Simmons family as well. This man hails from the first family of basketball in Australia and his name is Andrew Gays. Who is Andrew Gays?

More on that in just a second before we bring them on for the interview, But first a reminder that to subscribe to the podcast, you can head to our SoundCloud feed at SoundCloud dot com backslash Sixers, and you can also go to iTunes, Google Play or Stitcher and type in Sixers Podcast Network and that should take you to US. Andrew Gays is is arguably one of the most accomplished Australian basketball players of all time. He's an

AUSY Basketball Hall of Famer. He is also regarded as one of the top international players ever, as one of feba's fifty Greatest of all Time and a FEBA Basketball Hall of Famer. His father's name is Lindsay Gays. If you are deeply in tune with the international basketball circuit, Lindsay Gays is a name you might know. He is an iconic coaching figure in Australia. He's in the Nay Smith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and someone who gave

Brett Brown his very first professional coaching gig. At the time. Andrew Gays, who we're talking with, was a player on the team when Brett was an assistant, and a few years after Brett got to the Melbourne Tigers and began as an assistant there, Dave Simmons, Ben Simmons' dad was signed by the team and brought on board. So it might be very dense and a lot to digest at the beginning, but over the course of this conversation we'll get into some of those stories and connections more with

Andrew Gays. So without further ado, we will bring him on right now, Andrew, to get things started. Why don't you give us some perspective on just how much attention the country of Australia is paying to the seventy sixers right now, with gentlemen like Brett Brown and Ben Simmons

involved in the mix. Well, I'll say this, it's a lot more than it was a couple of years ago, that's for sure, and I guess it's a twofold explanation is one is that, of course it's been a great turnaround in their form and they've got some getting some wins on the board and the way in which they're playing. And then, of course, of course the primary reason that it's covered so extensively over here right now is because

of Ben Simmons. He's a young man that grew up here in Australia, played with Australian junior teams, time in Melbourne, playing for the State of Victoria the national championship. So's he's created a bit of a storm over here with the way in which he's he's been able to have the success during his rookie year, and I dare say that that would be a rippling effect right throughout the world, given the way in which he's been able to play.

I mean serious, Although, what are the odds of someone who has such deep ties to Australian basketball like Brett Brown overseeing the development of perhaps one of the top prospects to ever come out of the country. It's crazy, it is, And it's one of those things where just the fickle hand of fate works in mysterious ways, doesn't it.

And it was just a great situation where I think Brent having spent so many years here in Australia coaching our national team at the Olympic Games, and married an Australian lady, and has just got a need of an understanding of the culture of Australia and Australians. And although Ben has Dave Simmons his dad, who also spent many many years in Australia and still, as I understand it,

resides here most of the time here in Australia. In fact, although he's born in the United States, I think, given right now, I think his dad had probably been his mid to late fifties, he probably has spent more time

in Australia than he has in the United States. So I think it really does help with Bean's transition when he's got someone providing that tutor, leage and guidance falling him through those formative years that understands a little bit about his background and where he's come from and what makes him kids. You've got plenty of connections yourself to this whole thing between Brett and the Simmons's family, but at the outset of this chat, I really wanted to

focus on Brett and his beginnings in coaching. What you recall from that period of time, which must have been if we're going to put a time stamp on this, around the late nineteen eight he's in Melbourne. Does that put us at the right place in time for you and Brett first cross paths. Yeah. Absolutely, And I remember really really vividly because it was following the season I

had at the University of Seton Hall. I played at Seton Hall University in eighty nine season and we hadn't had the good fortune to go through to the championship game unfortunately. Whilst that one in overtime to Michigan. But my dad was the coach of the Melbourne Tigers, and I remember when I was at Seton Hall and he's saying, Oh, I've got this new young American kid who's going to be like an intern type team and work out and be part of the coaching staff with the club team.

And he was coming. And not only was he just coming as a guy that was just wanting an opportunity and to be a part of our program, but he was also coming to work with the team, and he was actually starting in doing some marketing for the team, selling sponsorships and those types of things as well as coaching. So you have this picture in your head that of what that guy stereotypically might look like. But I remember

when I first arrived and there is his kid. He looked like he was about seventeen walking around in the office and coming to practice and got introduced me. It was Brett Brown, and yo, he was He looked very young, and then still goes he's probably late pictures as well right now, and he still looks like he's thirty. He's been blessed with great genetics. But you can imagine when he was in his early twenties or amid the early twenties, what he looked like and um, but it was it

was a great experience for him. He's just got this infectious personality where UM a really funny guy that had a great accument for the game, but more importantly was a guy that could bring people together because of his humor and his perspective on life and the game. That made him a real fun guy to beer and and everyone loved him and he was prepared to do all the jobs which I get himself to the coaches and

the players and um. And then fortunately for him, he learned a lot and came up through the ranks here in Australia through the various coaching leagues and eventually went on to come out our our national coach. So we we UM really enjoy and love the time that that Brett spent here in Australia and what he was able to do for Australian basketball really is an amazing story. Um was the New England accent as strong with Brett

back then as it is now. Well, I think he's feeling good at the decking and I think that he tried to tried to jump into the Australian accent pretty quickly. Um, but just so he felt part of it. But um, but yeah, to me it was it was one of those ones where you have this understanding of what a

New England accent was. But it was like this butcher view in England accent because he was, um, it's been a little bit of Australian terminally around and and I guess trying to embrace the Australian culture and probably most importantly trying to be understood, he adopted a bit of the Australian lingo and a bit of Australian accent as well. So it was all over the place a little bit there. And was the mop top rag top hair do as

prominent than as some of the pictures. I'm just you know, I was going back and looking at some of the pictures of his days at Boston University. That is a distinct quaff of hair that it is a good, healthy hit of the hair. But it was a bull fawn. This fawn had rolling around and he did it looked like you'd had a firm or something goes through it. But but I guess back in those days, you know what it's like when you're looking back on so we didn't sort of thinking of the of it at the time.

He had sort of a month going on with a bit longer at the back and all the curly costs on the front. We didn't sort of think too much

of it. But obviously when you look back on it now, it's I'm not sure you could pull that looks off these days, between yourself a feeble hall of famer and your dad a Hall of Famer himself, you guys have done so much for the sport in Australia and it's something that Brett talks about a lot when he's discussing his coaching influences, whether it's to Dad, Lindsay or someone like Rick Pattino or his own father or Greg Popovich, citing different things he took along the way from each

of those experiences. How did he originally connect with your dad for that very first coaching opportunity with the Melbourne Tigers. Well, I think it was just one of those ran situations in that he came. He was originally working and I believe he was working for eighteen and T selling telephones right more telephone services, and then what happened was he had this passion for coaching, and he also he's got this emphibis soonality and he wanted to travel the world

and see different places. And he stumbled on a job in New Zealand in fact, and New Zealand is a different country to Australia, and I wanted to take any of the granted here. And he coached in the New

Zealand League. And the way he described it, he said he had no idea what he was doing and he was learning on the job and he said, well, all he could do is he made him the fittest team he's possibly could And I think he looked back on that time and said, well it was great for him, but perhaps not great for the team that he was coaching. But he had that experience there and then was looking

to continue that journey that he was on. And almost randomly, I believe, is that he came to and called basically out of the blue, cold Coin was able to get onto my dad, and I think he'd made a few

calls to various peoples. Was really the only one that listened to him and was the pack years ago, because as you can imagine, he's a lot of ambitious people that's coming from the States or various parts of the world looking for opportunity in Australia being a great country to live that those those types of requests are made quite regularly and he was probably one of many, but for whatever reason, he and my dad listened to him. And I think a little sidebar to that was that

another player that was from the city of Melbourne. His name was David Stiff, and David Stiff was playing for Brett's dad in at Boston University, and I think I think that that's where the connection and the names that were being banned around and being in the NBL, that's how it all sort of fell into place for how he gained an opportunity. It's really like the farther you go on, the bigger the world seems at times, the smaller it actually is. It's nuts just how within the

fraternity there can be all those connections. So you were playing for Melbourne for your dad at the time when Brett joined the coaching staff, and you mentioned that maybe the tasks and responsibilities that Brett had initially were not of the very much distinguished variety. Do you remember any specific Do you remember any of the specific things that he had to do. That's probably the most straw of it.

But but now spot on and oh absolutely, Then, like I said, he's um job description was very much beyond just coaching. He was there from a mocking cent. He was the greatest solisment I think the club's ever had inality taught. I mean he could sell snow to the iskumos.

I mean he's just got that why about him that he's very engaging, really lockable and um, I guess he's experiences selling telephones for right and tail telephone services held him in good stay in that regard and he um he was at but as far um where we practice that there was this old Ricky Army warehouse storage facility that have been converted into a basketball facility, and that

there was possible was rats. And I mean before each training extension, he literally had to go mop the plossom, we up and possum threw off the floor, and then we would respet the floors and and do all those types of things before we before we could even start practice. And I think there was charged with a lot of those types of tasks. But as a guy who was

looking for an opportunity. The thing about Bread is that he's sort of die and and he's happy to get his hands dirty, and it didn't fade him anything interesting this experience. He was always extraordinarily grateful for the opportunities to his getting and the chance to live in another country and learn about the game of basketball and at a relatively high level as well. I think that he

just felt privileged to was happy to do anything. I guess you learn a lot about a man's fortitude when he has put to the task of cleaning up possum waste, that sort of thing just for the sake of a job.

So for some of us who might not be as informed with what your dad was doing at the time and some of the basketball philosophies that were a part of his coaching style, what were some of the things that your dad was all about, And maybe even now as you look back and you've seen Brett evolve over the course of his coaching career, that you draw some

parallels between. Well. I think that it was really an eye opener for Brett because in our situation, you're dealing with guys and the age rains in our team at the time, age from say seventeen year olds all the way up to thirty four year old, so you had this real diversity, and the coaching style of my dad, I think was vastly different to that over stereotypically what you see in college where it's it's very dictatorial, it's very my way on the highway, and the coach really

had this authoritarian approach on the team, and which is understandable when you're talking about kids seventeen to twenty one, that type of age age group, you can understand why as part of the teaching they were pretty dogmatic in the way they go about it. I think it was an eye openness for him because the relate the player coach relationship was so vastly different. The players being able to contribute and have input into assistance in running suggestions

on how in which the game would be played. And I think that my dad had a way of really being able to put some rules in place. But I guess guided discovery would be the best way that I would just describe it. As far as the way in which he interacted with the players, he wasn't a yellower

and a screamer. He wasn't you know. He'd get emotional time, but nothing like what hysterio typically see at college, particularly for Brad who played for Vic Prittino, who I think there's no doubt his coaching genius, but it's fair to say that he's pretty animated and h I had a way about him that that left you with no uncertain terms about his style. So it was, uh, you know, it was vastly different. I think that lioss of Os

and the style of playing. Sure, that was different, but that's different everywhere around the world, and you're going to pick that up and learn that. But I think that the probably the greatest lessons that he learned were beyond the exs and ozs, with just the interaction, the divenor the relationship building how in which there are other ways to get outcomes out of players rather than just demanding, being dictatorial and saying, well, this is it. It's black

and white, there's only one way to do it. So I think that that was probably a big part of his learning experiences. I think hopefully I'm remembering this correctly. At Brett has said from Rick Pettino he learned a lot about the importance of fitness and being in the best shape of your life, and from Greg Popovich a lot about defense and I'm pretty sure he said from your dad there were some more offensive schematic influences that he took. Is that true? What what was your dad

doing back then? Yeah, well, we we ran a lot of the shuffle it's called and I mean I can go into details that I don't want to avoid you with what that means. But it's a lot of carting, cutting and passing, a lot of cutting and passing and perhaps compared to the modern game, significant list action with the ball, a lot of action without the ball. It had some action with the ball, but there was this I think it took him a while to get his hit around exactly what was going on, because it's not

it wasn't necessarily a himple black and white. This is how you do things. There was his action with his cutting and screening and timing and red reacting within the within the confines of a specific structure that it takes a lot of time to learn and it's not easy to understand. And when you're a coach and you're trying to remember there are times when you swit the team up either end you'll be going far or no. And he'd have one in and a lot of times the

players that have to help him through. He ever basically understanding, but when it got to the certain or third um series of the of the actions that we're having, it can get a little confusing. So it was um, yeah, I think that that he embraced a lot of that

and it's interesting. I mean watching some of the stuff that he's done as a coach now that um, you know, it's not necessarily similar to what we do, but there are certain actions that are in the game that I look at and go on, there's a third option or there's a reverse, and he's trying to run this kind of similarity to what we were doing back then to

what he's doing now. It is interesting because there is a lot of movement with the Sixers now, even as far as the pace when they get into half court sets, and most of all, it's just like it seems philosophically one of the things that he says all the time is that the pass is king, So it sounds like maybe that was something that he took from that experience.

It's interesting, oh, for sure, for sure. And I think that it's the game is a lot of people trying to repeat what others do and they have success with and I think that it does have some trends, and I think that fortunately, that is a bit of a

trend that we're seeing now. You see it with the Spurs, you see with some of the Boston action that they do, certainly with what Brett's trying to do, where there's a bit more passing and cutting and a bit more coordination between the guys rather than just saying we'll roll the balls out, will get in a rumball and let tell and prevail. I think it's a far better game to watch, and when the players embrace it, it's a beautiful game

to be part of. And I think that's what san Antonio certainly had a big input on and what they're doing over the last eighteen to fifteen years. And of course, with Brett being a part of that program for so long, I'm sure that he's taken inspiration for some of the things that were happening there as well. So I think we were fortunate into the game that that that's happening, because the other stuff can get a little stale. Let's

talk about you and Brett for a moment. You guys aren't too far apart in terms of age, did you guys? Because of that become close when he was an assistant. You were still playing for Melbourne at the time. Yeah. Absolutely. You know, we still communicate when he comes back to Australia in the offseason. We always catch up and he comes to visit visit my dad and we try and catch up. When I was over there at the Summer League looking at some players, I got to spend a

little bit of time with him there. We we we communicate via text and still keeps some some contact there. And yeah, he's a good friend. I know him well. I know his family and he is a terrific lady and he's done a great job with his family. So it's um, it's one that that my dad. When my dad got inducted into the Name Smith Hall of Fame, he was one of the people that that he wanted there.

So Brett came to that a couple of years ago in Springfield, Massachusetts over there, and my dad is um, it's almost like Bret's one of his sons as well. He's extraordinarily proud of Brett and what he's been able to achieve, and not just the way in which he coaches his basketball team, but the way he's developed into a man and a father and someone that's great that goes beyond just his basketball, that goes to the community and the way he treats people as something that I

think he feels very very proud of. You can only trust Wikipedia and what you read on that website so much, but I think I think on Brett's page it said that he and you were running a camp at the time during the NBA lock and that's uh. And that's when r C. Buford from the Spurs was over in Australia. And was that one of the first connections that you

guys had with URC? And did that ultimately lead to the opportunity that And I didn't even realize this at first that when Brett was over there for the first season in ninety eight ninety nine, that's when you spent a season with the Spurs playing for San Antonio as well. Right, yeah,

that's right. And and what happened was is we just finished the World Championships in ninety eight in Greece and um uh great probably which was there and had some people talk to me and asked if I'd be interested in coming joined the Spurs, And I thought that it was a something a joke at the time, but because the lockout, we weren't speaking him directly, and UM, it was just one of those things where you're always hopeful

and seeking, Oh, this could be a great experience. But at my at that particular time, it was thirty three years of age and it's getting a bit older. You start to think, well, maybe that opportunity had passed you by. But it was funny because we were doing it. It It was just after Christmas time and were in Sydney and we were both lived in Melbourne, but we were doing this camp in Sydney and it was an ear where

I didn't even have a mobile phone. But somehow or other, somehow or other in the city of Liverpool is a Liverpool Community Center, a three court bistall stadium and I get this one of the Edits a multi sports complex that swimming and badman and other sports that are going

on there. And the manager the facility comes in and should be so American on the phone and wants to talk here and UM had no idea what it was about, and sure enough it was our see just continuing to make inquiries about whether or not I was interested in coming to Australia and and because the lockout, we all thought that there wasn't going to be a season anyway.

But I developed a relationship with R. C Ufford and at the time Bret and I, outside of those little community camps we were doing, we were also doing I don't know if they're still around in the States, but it was an ADDS abc D camp in Australia and UM and they were looking for someone to come out here from the States to help with our camp. And because I've been for talking to RC we Um, we said that we invited him out to be one of the coaches in our camp because there was a lookout

and Australia helped us out at the camp. We got to know him and that's how Brett got to know him and Brett's team Unfortunately, that season had folded, had still more folded, had merged with another team, and Brett said see at the time, said listen, I'm getting paid for next year. I'm keener to go and learn can could I could I be like an intern with the Spurs.

And because he'd seen and worked with Brett here in Australia, that one thing led to another and he got an opportunity there to lockout ended and I got an opportunity with the Spurs and everything seemed to fluid the playfors. It's amazing because he not only did the two of you guys have each other, which must have been nice and some familiarity to go through that season, but it

ends in a title which had to be incredible. Well you see about it for brettys And the unfortunate thing for that was we were over there and he was there for the vast majority of the season. But what happened, and this is work becomes a little bit right, the Sydney Kings of the league come calling and he actually left us to come back to Australia right on the eve of the playoffs, So Brett because he had to

hit coaching job here back here in Australia. So I think I think the way and I'm folded as my memory and my memory I'm getting to be older now, So I think he actually missed that that Cinderella run we had through the playoffs. I'm not sure if he

was physically actually there. He was there for for the vast majority of the season, but because because of the opportunity he had back here, um, he'd left and started came back to be a hit coach and that he was only here and I think because the impact of Brett May, he always came back for Australia for another maybe a year season or two before was and Pop wanted him to come back there to continue his NBA journey and obviously started off at a pretty low level,

but he worked his way way up through the ranks and became very significant and a very strong contributed to the to to a number of their championship victories. Guy must have the touch. So I think his first year back in the States with the Spurs, they won another championship. So you know, good things following the man around, He's had doing do it some hardship and I think that with his Philadelphia but I think it's a credit to

him to be able to go through that hardship. And we live in a world where, regardless of the circumstances, not everyone unnecessarily understands the situation and and and although most death Woods would would appreciate the challenges he face the rank and file fan, they they come still pretty harsh. And for him to have that perseverance and determination to get things right and find a formula that was going

to and a process. Pardon the partner gives a process that they had to go through in order to get to where they are today. I think speaks volumes for his character and the way in which he goes about it. The process truly a phenomenon known worldwide. My son has because now because of Bread, he's a he's a bit of a Sixers fan. He's got to he's got a picture with he's got a T shirt with Joel and Beat on its run across the village one word Thursday.

So I did the marketing experts to really getting some bangs to their back. It's tremendous. That is tremendous. So as we begin to wrap this up and bring it kind of full circle, there's no doubt that between Joel and Beat and Ben Simmons, Brett's got some pieces to work with with the seventy six Ers, especially the season

they've gotten off to a really strong start. In respect to what Ben has done this year on the cusp of a potential birth to the All Star Game in a few weeks, what's been the country of Australia's reaction to what he's done is he even exceeded whatever expectations there might have been going into this season, is first

playing in the NBA. I think so. I remember when he was coming out of high school and even when he was at LSU, everyone talking about this is the second coming of Lebron James, and a lot of people here and sort of side will turn it up, I meaning, we know he's very, very good, but the kid doesn't need that type of pressure. How's he going to respond

to those types of things? And although he's a supreme athlete, incredible hand eyke coordination up the legable ball skills, and but you also saw that perhaps at the jump shot needed a little bit of work and those types of things. Everyone knew because he was going to be a major impact player in the NBA, and that was a given.

You could just see that talent from the time he was fourteen or fifteen, But I don't think anyone's suspected him to have the maturity, the impact, the passion, the composer and dare I say it, in some respect, the skill to do so quickly what he's doing is basically

his first season. Now I know, I know he's around and certainly would have been a great advantage for him to have that induction that he did last season when he was hurt, but to come on the floor and deface the pressure of expectation of not only the Australian topic, but more importantly the media and the heights generating over there in the United States, which we all know is

off the charge. The way in which he's handled it, I guess a little surprised that it's happened so quickly, and we're just extremely proud of the way in which he's handled and conducted himself in a manner that has made Australia feel good about him as an individual and proud to call him an Australian. He's talked on a couple occasions about taking some of the influences of Australian culture and how that's carried over to the basketball court.

Can you give us a little bit of insight on what that might be, Things that have to do with teammateship, the selfless nature of his style of play, things like that. Yeah, exactly, it's part of our culture view particularly with their teams, to it's and you know, all honest you a lot of it's driven by NRL, is the rugby and the AFL, which is Australian rules football and culturally they they kind of frowned upon the look at me the individual approach

to it all. Your teammates really keep you in line with that type of stuff and um and I think that that's helped him as far as dealing with the circumstances. There's no doubt he is great self belief. There's no doubt that that, um, he has the confidence to match it with the best of them. But I think that you look at the way he's plays and the way the way in which he wants to incorporate his teammates, the way in which he can celebrate successes of his teammates,

the way in which he responds to his coaches. You don't see nexts necessarily that with a lot of young players, the prim and honor approach to it all. There is an understanding of get on with the job. Um. Yeah, you might have some adversity takes him hits along the way, but let's not get involved with these theatrics that go

along with it. Let's just get through it. And that's very much part of the Australian culture, the way that the sporting culture, the way in which the fans embrace their athletes, and we've seen it here when you see Australian athletes that don't do that, and we've seen it dramatically with some of our tennis players who have just been disgraceful but relative for our terms, behaving in a disgraceful way, it's found upon by the public, is found

upon by the media, and it does make life pretty difficult. But I think that that's really helped him. And I think from a physical standpoint. I still remember going and watching my son was playing, and I was coaching my son, and Ben was I think fourteen years of age, and they were playing in the game before my sons, and surely his mum was there, and I remember talking to his mom and saying, hens growing. He looks like he's

and Dave was coaching the team. His dad was coaching the team, and this is you know, under fourteen, under sixteen type of age groups. And I remember talking to all said, oh, Ben looks great, and she said, yeah, I'm not sure he's going to stick with basketball because he really loves DFL. He's having a blast with Australian rules football. Now. I don't know if you know a lot about that, but that is one of the pup of stones in the world is the insurance required, the

hits you have to take, the hand eye coordination. The kicking is something that he was very very good at as well, and he loved it and he was doing both at that time and she was actually sort of thinking, oh, well, maybe that might be the pathway he'll take. Now. He developed so rapidly in basketball that I think that that

might have clearly that that that changed. But he was very skilled and playing in that team environment, not just from a cultural standpoint about the sportsmanship and the way you conduct yourself, but also having to take those hits and tackle and thrown to the ground. You developed. You either develop an ability of resistance to that or you

whimper and you take up some other sport. But he embraced it, was very good at it, and I think that that's just shows that that he can take a hitte, he doesn't shy away from a physical, physical contacts contest and in fact, we're probably welcome him. And you played with Dave Simmons rape for Melbourne and that was also during part of Brett's tenure there. Yeah, I played for him with with with Dave Simmons for let me see, I would say he is. Yeah, So I know Dave

really well. I know Dave and Joy, you know his wife reasonably well. Um, I had a little bit. I haven't had a lot to do with Ben in all aunty because he played in different part and you know, Dave was looking after him, and like anything, you grow apart. But I saw a day before the start of the season here in Australia, and he played with the Melbourne Tigers most of his career, where we won a championship

back in ninety three. But he actually spent one season with the Sydney king So he was hitting in a friend here and we had a practice game and I saw him and caught up with Dave, quickly brought him in the rocking room, introduced him to all our current players. So when I tried to you know, always say good ay, and we're friendly and all. And but I don't seem obviously as I used to during those playing days. But he was a pretty excellent player, right His number was

retired ironically, not probably so much coincidentally, number twenty five. Yeah, that's right, No, he was. He was a great player and it was part of the generation that really transformed our club, the Melbourne Tigers. So he came. His first

season was back in nineteen eighty nine. UM and UH, and he was part of a team that uh we made our first playoff appearances in the NDL with UM with Dave, he was, I guess in our time back then he was an under size five, but in our league as a league in general, was a little under size UM. But yeah he was. He had a fantastic career in the NBL. UM great athlete, very good around

the basket. I know, I'm not going to offend even say that his offspring is probably a little a little superior to what he was, but nonetheless he was UM. He was a tremendous player, had a great attitude to the game and UM. I enjoyed my time playing alongside Dave. He helped me out a lot. Hopefully we helped him out a lot as well, and clearly life turned out pretty good for him. But for having that call, he

actually got on the middle of the Tigers. Then. You know, I was at Seaton Hall, my club team, the Tigers back in those days that you could do tours, and he played college teams and joined the team and the very first game he played. I wasn't there because I was playing college basketball, but but Dad was coaching, and we didn't have that full compliment of players. It was really a makeshift team. And they sat down that he was recommended that he might be a good player in Australia,

and he came. His first game that he played was against the University of Oklahoma and this is this is when I think Ricky Gray did his game. But yeah, Ricky Grace was there. They had some um great players playing with him, and they literally lost that game by sixty and Dave was there, so they lose by sixty and I'm sure everyone's kicking. We got no chance aside of this guy. He don't want to want to come

and play with us. But fortunately he understood that that it was a makeshift team, just trying to get there and working for a process, and he shined on and the rest of his It's clearly and it certainly helped out club team as well. Well. Andrew, you have been a great sport. Taking some of these questions kept you for a little bit longer than I said I would. But last thing, right now, it looks like I'm not mistaken. Nine Aussies in the NBA, from the likes of Simmons

to Patty Mills, obviously Matt Delavadova, Aaron Baines. For someone like yourself who's grown up around the game in the country to see the influence that Australia has increasingly had in the NBA, how need has this been for you your family to see the growth of the sport through the lens of the country. It's phenomenal. I think we always dreamt of this and tried to envisage it, but I don't think anyone thought that we're going to have this type of impact in a relatively short period of time.

And a lot of that's because the talent, the development programs, we have, culturally a sporting culture, all those things are an advantage for us. But I think that the biggest thing is more what the United States has done. So when I was coming through, they really didn't embrace or look beyond their borders. And the fact that they now look beyond their borders and the talent that they have in the league, and you say, well, it's a league

of nations. The greatest players in the world are playing there, and some of the greatest players in the world are in fact not necessarily Americans, but that's okay. And I think that it's it's made the NBA a better place for it. It's it's it's made the opportunities here to see our Australian players get drafted. We've had two number of fun draft picks over the last fifteen years with Andrew Bogan and of course we've been and many other

very high draft picks. And to think that that was going to happen in twenty or thirty years ago, I mean, people would have thought you'd lost your mind. But it's it's it's a fantastic situation we had. There's still many many more to come. The games in a really, really healthy state here in Australia. And I think it's it's not just the fact that they've We've got great athletes on the dover and winning an NBA title, Patty Niels winning into an NBA title, Aaron Bains winning an NBA title.

It's not just the fact that they're having success on

the floor. I think it's the way in which they conducted themselves, the class, the respect for the game, respect for their teammates, respect for Australian basketball has really promoted it and helped propagate the sport here in Australia that we're fortunate that the next few generations coming through there's still a lot of a lot of talent there and just couldn't be more prouder of the way in which these guys have helped grow the game even in Australia.

Outstanding perspective on so many great things Australian basketball from Brett Brown to Ben Simmons and his family. One of the best basketball players ever produced by the country of Australia. One of the top international players of all time. He is currently the head coach of the Sydney Kings. Andrew Gays, thanks so much for being so janious with your time and for the insight and stories that's the plague want a great, lively and insightful personality. Andrew Gays, a FEBA

Basketball Paul of Famer. Thanks to Andrew for picking up an international phone call from the good old US of A. Thanks to you for listening and enjoy the weekend seventy six ers with games against the New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Clippers on Friday and Saturday night, respectively. Talk to you over the weekend on the rewind editions to the podcast see