Reginald Leonardo Biddings ( – July 18, 2017) was an 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 who spent his career in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) and South East Basketball League (SEBL). Biddings holds the NBL record for most points scored in a 40-minute game with 63 points.

Early life and college career

Biddings grew up in the Catskill Mountains in New York. He attended Liberty High School in

Liberty, New York Liberty is a town in Sullivan County, New York, United States. The population was 9,885 at the 2010 census. The town contains a village also named Liberty. The village is bisected by New York State Route 52 (NY 52) and NY 55, and is ...

, and scored 1,134 points while playing for its basketball team. Biddings played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for

SUNY Oneonta The State University of New York College at Oneonta, also known as SUNY Oneonta, is a public college in Oneonta, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. History SUNY Oneonta was established in 1889 as the Oneon ...

during the 1976–77 season. He was selected to the NJCAA All-American Second Team while playing at

SUNY Orange SUNY Orange (Orange County Community College) is a public community college with two campuses, one in Middletown, New York and one in Newburgh, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system and offers almost 40 associat ...

during the 1977–78 season. Biddings played for the

University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (USAO) is a public liberal arts college in Chickasha, Oklahoma. It is the only public college in Oklahoma with a strictly liberal arts–focused curriculum and is a member of the Council of Public ...

(USAO) during the 1979–80 season.

Professional career

Biddings toured Australia with the USAO in 1980. He dropped out of university in 1981 and returned to Australia, where he settled in Adelaide, South Australia, and soon signed with the Forestville Eagles of the NBL. Biddings scored 63 points in a 98–90 win against the Bankstown Bruins in 1981 that still remains as the most points scored by an NBL player during a 40-minute game. He finished third in voting for the

NBL Most Valuable Player Award The National Basketball League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual National Basketball League (NBL) award given since the league's inaugural season to the best performing player of the regular season. Throughout the year, coaching st ...

that season. He moved to the Adelaide City Eagles for their inaugural NBL season in 1982 and led the league in scoring with 30.1 points per game. Biddings joined the

St. Kilda Saints The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league. The club's name originates ...

during the 1983 season but his defensive liabilities led to him not being resigned. He moved to the SEBL to join the Broadmeadows Broncos and averaged 43 points per game during the 1984 season. Biddings was recruited by the

Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Perth Arena, ...

to return to the NBL in 1985 but the arrangement failed and he stayed in the SEBL.

Post-playing career

Biddings moved to

Mackay, Queensland } Mackay () is a city in the Mackay Region on the eastern or Coral Sea coast of Queensland, Australia. It is located about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is described as being in either Central Queensland or North Queensla ...

, after his playing career and became known throughout the region for his CarBq – a car converted into a portable barbeque that was used to help raise funds for his charitable causes. He owned clothing shops, marketing firms and nightclubs. Biddings unsuccessfully applied to introduce a new team, the Gold Coast Honeys, into the Women's National Basketball League in 2008.

Personal life

Biddings' daughter,

Carla Dziwoki Carla Dziwoki (born 29 August 1982) is a former Australian netball player. Dziwoki played with the Queensland Firebirds in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy. She played for Team Northumbria in the 2008–09 Netball Superleague for the . She also ...

, played

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

in the

ANZ Championship The ANZ Championship, also known as the Trans-Tasman Netball League, is a former netball league featuring teams from both Australia and New Zealand. Between 2008 and 2016, it was the top-level league in both countries. The competition was owned ...

. He married Alison Mitchell in 2015.

Death

Biddings died of colon cancer on July 18, 2017, aged 59. He lived in

Moranbah, Queensland Moranbah is a coal mining town and locality in the Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Moranbah had a population of 8,735 people. In addition to the permanent population, Moranbah also has a large fly-in fly-out popul ...

, with his wife at the time of his death. Biddings' farewell service was held at the

Carrara Stadium Carrara Stadium (known commercially as Metricon Stadium) is a stadium on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Carrara. The stadium is primarily used for Australian rules football, serving as the home ground of the ...

basketball courts.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biddings, Reg Year of birth missing 2017 deaths Adelaide 36ers players American expatriate basketball people in Australia American men's basketball players Basketball players from New York (state) Forwards (basketball) People from Liberty, New York Southern Melbourne Saints players USAO Drovers men's basketball players