Dusty Mike Rychart (born August 11, 1978) is an Australian-American 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 for the
Brisbane Capitals
Brisbane Capitals is a NBL1 North club based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 North. The club is a division of Brisbane Basketball Incorporated (BBI), one of the major administrative basketball o ...
of the
Queensland Basketball League
NBL1 North, formerly the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Queensland partnered wit ...
(QBL).
College career
Rychart attended the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...
in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
where he
walked on to the basketball team for the 1997–98 season. After
redshirting his
freshman year, Rychart became the backbone of the Minnesota Gophers for four seasons. While not considered flashy or high profile, Rychart was a workhorse, withstanding an academic scandal, a coaching change, sanctions, numerous players coming and going, but still managed to come out on top. As a senior in 2001–02, he earned third-team All-
Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
honors. In 111 career games over four years, Rychart averaged 11.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.
Professional career
After going undrafted in the
2002 NBA draft, Rychart joined the
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...
NBA Summer League team. He later moved to Australia and joined the
Victoria Giants for the
2002–03 NBL season. However, in December 2002, he parted ways the Giants and moved to the
Adelaide 36ers
The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...
the following month, signing for the rest of the season. He made his debut for the 36ers on January 29, 2003, and continued on with Adelaide for a further three seasons, recording his best season in 2004–05 with averages of 21.4 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. During the Australian NBL off-season in
2005, Rychart played for the
Hawke's Bay Hawks
The Hawke's Bay Hawks are a New Zealand basketball team based in Napier. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Pettigrew Green Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Taylor Hawk ...
of the
New Zealand NBL.
In March 2006, Rychart signed a two-year deal with the
Brisbane Bullets
The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to the league in 2016. Brisbane were one of ten NBL f ...
. In his first year as a Bullet, he became a championship player after Brisbane defeated the Melbourne Tigers in the grand final series. During the 2007 off-season, he played for the North Adelaide Rockets where he was awarded the Woollacott Medal and earned
Central ABL All-Star Five honors, a season in which he helped the Rockets win the Central ABL championship.
Following the 2007–08 season, the Bullets disbanded, leaving Rychart without a team. After a stint in the
QBL with the
Brisbane Capitals
Brisbane Capitals is a NBL1 North club based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 North. The club is a division of Brisbane Basketball Incorporated (BBI), one of the major administrative basketball o ...
, the
Wollongong Hawks
The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) is an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball ...
nabbed him in July 2008 and signed him up for one season.
After gaining Australia citizenship in June 2009, Rychart moved north and signed with the
Cairns Taipans
The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Convention Centre, known colloquially as "The ...
as a local. After two productive seasons in Cairns, injuries began to tarnish Rychart's decorative NBL career as he stumbled through the 2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons, managing just 29 games over his last two seasons. In 309 career NBL games, he averaged 15.1 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.
After returning to the QBL in
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
with the Cairns Marlins, Rychart re-joined the Brisbane Capitals in
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
and earned All-League honors for the first time. He returned to the Capitals in
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
and averaged 16.8 points and a career-high 13.1 rebounds per game. His
2015 season saw his points production decrease as the Capitals made it back to the playoffs as the No. 2 seed. Rychart continued on with the Capitals in 2016 and 2017. Rychart was ruled out of the entire 2018 season with a knee injury.
2018 QBL Pre-Season Write-Up
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References
External links
Rychart's official website
MVP Sports player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rychart, Dusty
1978 births
Living people
Adelaide 36ers players
American emigrants to Australia
American expatriate basketball people in Australia
American expatriate basketball people in New Zealand
American expatriate basketball people in Slovenia
Australian men's basketball players
Basketball players from Minnesota
Brisbane Bullets players
Cairns Taipans players
Hawke's Bay Hawks players
Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball players
Naturalised citizens of Australia
People from Grand Rapids, Minnesota
Victoria Giants players
American men's basketball players
Centers (basketball)
Power forwards (basketball)