Damian Thomas Keogh (born 1 February 1962,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

) is an Australian former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player who played his career in Australia's National Basketball League for the

Nunawading Spectres Nunawading Spectres is a NBL1 South club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is a division of Melbourne East Basketball Association (MEBA), the major administrative basketball o ...

Bankstown Bruins Bankstown Bruins is a NBL1 East club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club fields a team in the Men's NBL1 East. The club is a division of Bankstown Basketball Association (BBA), the major administrative basketball organisation in the regi ...

, West Sydney Westars and Sydney Kings from 1980–1995. He also represented the Australian team at the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

and 1992 Summer Olympic Games. Keogh became the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

of Val Morgan in 2011, and from 2013 to 2017 was chairman of Sydney-based

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

team the

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby leag ...

. On 10 October 2013, Keogh was named in the Sydney Kings' 25th Anniversary Team.

Early life

Damian was born in Melbourne, Victoria and played soccer,

and Australian rules footballDamian Keogh, Chasing The NBL title

Basketball career

Keogh, a 6'4" (194 cm) shooting guard or

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger ...

, is regarded as one of Australia's greatest basketballers. His career spanned 16 years and included representing Australia at three Olympic Games (1984, 1988, 1992). Playing 207 games for Australia between 1981 and 1994, Keogh also competed at three world championships (1982, 1990, 1994). Keogh played 406 games in the NBL and although he was unable to win a championship, he did appear in the

NBL Grand Final The NBL Grand Final is the championship series of the National Basketball League (NBL). The entrants are determined by the victors of the two Semi Finals series, who engage in a best-of-five game series to determine the league champion. The win ...

for Nunawading in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

and in the NBL playoffs on eight other occasions. Following his retirement, he made a transition into the corporate world.

Post-basketball life

Following his retirement from basketball, Keogh became involved in the Sydney Olympic Games bid team and then as a marketing consultant to SOCOG. He was recruited by the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...

as the Head of Olympic Marketing in 1997, taking responsibility for the national marketing and promotion associated with the

1998 Nagano Winter Olympic Games 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

and the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. In 2000, he was promoted to General Manager of Sports Marketing for the Seven Network, overseeing the marketing of the network’s entire sports portfolio. Keogh joined the Multi-Channel Network in 2003 as the Sales & Marketing Director, and in 2011 he was appointed as the CEO of Val Morgan Cinema Network, Australia and New Zealand’s leading national supplier of cinema screen advertising. In 2014, Keogh replaced Delfin Fernandez as CEO of The Hoyts Group, which along with owning Val Morgan, operates 43 cinemas across Australia and New Zealand. He also sits on the boards of Basketball NSW and

Basketball Australia Basketball Australia is the governing and controlling body of basketball in Australia, responsible for the development and promotion of the sport at all levels. Basketball Australia sanctions Australia's two professional leagues, the Nation ...

. His work has been acknowledged with inclusion into the

NBL Hall of Fame The Australian Basketball Hall of Fame was instituted by the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1998 as the ''NBL Hall of Fame'' as part of their 20th season celebrations. The NBL initiated the Hall of Fame to recognise the outstanding players ...

and the NSW Sports Hall of Champions.

Personal life

Keogh married former Australian Opals player Maree White in 1986. The couple have four children. In 2017, he pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine, received an 18-month good behaviour bond, and resigned from the board of the Cronulla Sharks.

Honour roll

NBL career stats

References

External links

*https://www.news.com.au/sport/sports-life/dramatic-moment-former-nrl-club-boss-was-arrested-for-cocaine-possession/news-story/d64a32a6f5804ab5e9e152ae253a2c9c {{DEFAULTSORT:Keogh, Damian 1962 births Living people Australian men's basketball players 1982 FIBA World Championship players 1990 FIBA World Championship players Australian chief executives Australian rugby league administrators Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic basketball players of Australia Basketball players from Melbourne Sydney Kings players University of Melbourne alumni Small forwards Shooting guards 1994 FIBA World Championship players