Wade Helliwell (born 10 May 1978) is a former Australian professional basketball player.

Career

Melbourne born Helliwell completed a stint at the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

before going on to a season of US College basketball attending the

University of North Carolina at Charlotte The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs through nine colle ...

playing for the

Charlotte 49ers The Charlotte 49ers are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 49ers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

in 2000. He played 31 games for the 49ers averaging 2.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.4 blocks per game. After his season with in Charlotte, Helliwell played in Australia after signing with the

Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to th ...

for the 2000–01 NBL season. He would play 104 games for the Bullets, winning the NBL's Most Improved Player award in 2002 when he posted career best stats of 13.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 0.5 blocks in 30 games. After leaving the Bullets following the 2003–04 season Helliwell went on to spend the next six years playing in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

at the top level before returning home to Australia in 2010 to link up with his hometown club, 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 ...

for the

2010–11 NBL season The 2010–11 NBL season was the 33rd season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of nine teams contested the league. The regular season was played between October 2010 and April 2011, followed by a post-season involving the to ...

. He would play 28 games for the Tigers during the season, seeing limited court time. On 17 August 2011 it was announced that the 6'11" (211 cm), 118 kg Helliwell, now in the veteran class at age 33, had signed to play for 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 ...

in the 2011–12 season as back up to emerging centre Daniel Johnson giving the 36ers two near 7 foot tall centres (Johnson is also 6'11" but stands at 212 cm.)36ers sign Wade Helliwell
/ref> While no longer seen as an offensive threat Helliwell has gained a reputation among 36ers fans for being a good defender, often being called on by 36ers coach Marty Clarke to stop bigger opposition centres from scoring. Helliwell retired from playing following the 2011–12 NBL season.

References

External links

Profile
at Eurobasket.com
NBL wiki profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helliwell, Wade 1978 births Living people Adelaide 36ers players Australian men's basketball players Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States Australian Institute of Sport basketball players Brisbane Bullets players Centers (basketball) Charlotte 49ers men's basketball players Greek Basket League players Melbourne Tigers players Mens Sana Basket players Pallacanestro Virtus Roma players Panionios B.C. players P.A.O.K. BC players Basketball players from Melbourne 2006 FIBA World Championship players 20th-century Australian people 21st-century Australian people