Ian Davies (1 January 1956 – 7 November 2013), son of Carlton and Longford footballer Fred Davies, was an Australian

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 252 games in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL) for the

Launceston Casino City The Launceston Casino City is a defunct Australian professional basketball team that competed in the National Basketball League (NBL). Formed in 1980, the club was based in Launceston, Tasmania. It lasted only three seasons before folding, b ...

(1980-1981),

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...

(1982-1985),

Geelong Supercats Geelong Supercats is a NBL1 South club based in Geelong, Victoria. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is affiliated with Basketball Geelong and Geelong United Basketball. The Supercats play their home gam ...

(1986-1987), Sydney Kings (1988-1990). Davies also played on the

Australian national basketball team The Australian men's national basketball team, known as the Boomers after the slang term for a male kangaroo, represents Australia in international basketball competition. Since the late 1980s, Australia has been placed among the world elite t ...

in the 1980 Summer Olympics and

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

NBL career

Davies started his NBL career in 1980 with the new franchise Launceston Casino City. In 1981 he was a member of the Casino City's NBL Championship winning team. In that year he finished sixth in the league in scoring. For the 1982 season Davies moved to the Newcastle Falcons, where he played 105 games over four years, before spending two seasons with the Geelong Supercats. In 1988 Davies again moved to a new franchise, this time the Sydney Kings. In game 1 of the Kings' 1989 quarter-finals appearance against the

Melbourne Tigers Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John Cain Arena. The team made their debut in the NBL in 1984 as ...

, Davies scored 30 points in 18 minutes of game time, after averaging just 8.1 points per game during the regular season. His NBL Career spanned 252 games and 2684 points at 17.8 ppg.Player statistics for Ian Davies - FOX SPORTS PULSE NBL Archive
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International career

Davies played for the Australian team at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, where Australia finished eighth, and at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where Australia finished seventh. Davies was the top scorer in the 1980 Olympics, scoring 209 points in 7 games, at an average of 29.3 per game.FIBA
1980 Olympic Games : Tournament for Men
Davies also represented Australia in the 1982 World Championships in Colombia and 1986 World Championships in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. He scored the second most total points in the 1982 tournament (187), at an average of 23.4 per game.Basketball Australia,
Boomers History
.

Later biography

After retiring from the NBL Davies had a brief playing stint with Manly Warringah's State League team. After retiring as an active player, Davies was the Director of the Darling Harbour Sports Centre in Sydney.Keith Gosma
The Culture Jump
, ''

The Sun-Herald ''The Sun-Herald'' is an Australian newspaper published in tabloid or compact format on Sundays in Sydney by Nine Publishing. It is the Sunday counterpart of ''The Sydney Morning Herald''. In the 6 months to September 2005, ''The Sun-Herald'' ...

'', 24 October 1992. In 2005 Davies was an assistant coach with 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 ...

. Davies died in Hobart of unspecified causes on 7 November 2013 at the age of 57.Matt McQuade
Ian Davies Passes Away
', Sydney Kings, retrieved 8 November 2013.Boti Nagy
Basketball Hall of Fame forward Ian Davies dies, 57
, ''

'', retrieved 8 November 2013.

Awards

In 2001 Davies was inducted as a member of 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 ...

. In 2003 Davies received 8 votes in the NBL 25th Anniversary All-Time team.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Ian 1956 births 2013 deaths Australian men's basketball players 1982 FIBA World Championship players Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States Basketball players at the 1980 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Forwards (basketball) Geelong Supercats players Graceland Yellowjackets men's basketball players Maine Lumberjacks players Newcastle Falcons (basketball) players Olympic basketball players of Australia Sydney Kings players 1986 FIBA World Championship players