No82 PATRICK REIDY
6 feet 6 inch (198cm)Forward.
1996 Olympic Games
Coach Bob Jones of the Keon Park Basketball Club Melbourne was putting his Under 14 charges through their paces. The next (and new) drill was one where he placed a ball at centre court and had the boys line up single-file on the baseline. The object of the drill was for a boy from each end to race for the ball and whoever got the ball was on offense and the other boy went on defence and they would play until one of them scored. When it was the gangly redhead boy’s turn he raced to the middle, grabbed the ball and instinctively did a spin dribble around his opponent and raced away for an uncoordinated lay-up. The coach and players were stunned as the boy had only been to two practices before and was new to the game. The drill continued and the youngster repeated again and again to spin around his opponents one way and then the next.
That young player, Pat Reidy explains. “This small moment stands out in my mind as truly the first feeling of love for the game and a connection that had me practising incessantly from then on.” He had discovered his love for skills and he was to go on to become one of the most skilful players to wear the Green and Gold.
Patrick “Pat” Reidy was born on March 15th 1971 in Melbourne, Victoria. His early sporting interests were in Australian Rules (AFL) and cricket but once he discovered basketball there was no going back. “My mother was getting tired of dealing with muddy AFL uniforms and football boots (I was the 4th boy in the family), so she investigated other sports that would better suit my six foot tall frame,” recalls Pat.
After his auspicious start with Keon Park club in 1983, Pat was the team’s Best and Fairest Player the next year and was selected to the Coburg Giants Victorian Basketball Association (VBA) Under 14’s. He improved rapidly and in 1985 was the Best and Fairest for the Coburg Under 16 team. He attended the VBA All Star Camp where got a tryout with the Victorian Metro Under 16 State team as a fourteen year old.
Pat was displaying all the skills he had been practising. He was not a gifted athlete with the speed or leaping ability of most, what he did have was the skills of the game. He made the Victorian Metro Under 16 team in 1986 (the team went on to win the National Championships in Mt Gambier). He was voted Best and Fairest (again) at Coburg for the Under 16 team and was selected to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) All Australian Camp.
His rapidly developing career struck a snag in 1987 when he broke his wrist and could not play for Victoria in the Under 18’s but he did win the Best and Fairest at Coburg Under 18’s.
Moving to Canberra and the AIS was a big event for young Pat, but it was his ideal world. Here they wanted you to practise for hours every day, watch others, hone your skills and learn the game. This was his strength and what he was all about. Again he faced the challenge of competing against some superb athletes and those who were “naturals”. He would outwork them! Day after day! Skill after skill! “When I went to the AIS in Canberra one of the first things they got us to do as a sixteen year old was to write down my long term goals. That was the first time I’d really ever done that,” he recalls.
He spent two years at the AIS, played for Victoria at Under 18 and Under 20 (winning the Gold Medal) at the National Championships and was selected in the Australian Junior Team. At the AIS Patrick became an exponent of “Jack Sikma” moves. These low post moves, step back moves, left and right hand little jump hooks, spins and step throughs became legendary for Pat in the years to follow.
Pat summed up his approach to basketball. “I’ve looked up to guys who rely a lot on their fundamental skills more so than any sort of athleticism because that’s what my game was about. Guys like Jack Sikma, Larry Bird and John Stockton in the NBA and Larry Sengstock in the NBL played that sort of way. All inspired me.”
Pat joined North Melbourne Giants (which had come out of the old Coburg Club) in the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1990 and began his senior apprenticeship. His goal was to win an NBL crown and to play for Australia.
Patrick debuted for Australia in an exhibition game with the Junior Team in 1989 before playing in an Oceania Tournament, and touring the USA with the Junior Team.
In 1990 he played on the National YouthTeam in the Oceania Youth Championships and went on a nineteen game tour to Europe with the team.
In 1991 he debuted for the Australia Men’s Team (Boomers) when he played against the Italian Club side Fortitudo-Bologna. That same year he played with the Youth Team in the Olympic Youth Rally Tournament.
Patrick was selected for Australia for the World Junior Men’s Championships in Edmonton Canada in 1991. It was a tough Championship, but a great learning curve for all the players. The Australian team finished in 11th position.
That same year Pattoured to Europe with the Boomers who were preparing for the 1992 Olympics. He also played for the Boomers in Australia against China in 1992. He did not make the 1992 Olympic team (he was still only 21) but played on the Australian Squad (1992) and Boomers team (1993) and was knocking on the door for selection at a World Championships and Olympic Games.
In 1993 he toured the USA with the Boomers on a nine match tour. In 1994 Pat played for the Boomers against Marathon Oil, George Washington University and domestic All Star teams. He was then selected on the Boomers team to play at the World Championships in Toronto. It was another great experience for Patrick as he could watch and learn from the best players in the world. The Boomers played exceptionally well to finish 5th....the equal best result by a Boomers team at a World Championships.
1994 was also an outstanding year for Pat when as a member of the North Melbourne Club he won an NBL Championship and made the NBL All Star Game.
He played for North Melbourne in 1995 when they made the NBL Grand Final and lost to Perth. He played with the Boomers on their 1994/95 European tourand in 1995 against the Magic Johnson All Stars, the University of Missouri, Korea and on the winning Boomers team in the Oceania 1996 Olympic Qualification Tournament.
Like all elite players Pat’s dream was to play at the Olympics. In 1996 he played against the NBA Legends, Lithuania and Italy in Australia before being named on the team for the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games.The redhead kid who won the dribble races all those years ago at Keon Park was to be an Olympian!
On the way to Atlanta Pat played with the Boomers against the USA “Dream Team” in Salt Lake City and against Angola.
In Atlanta the Boomers played exceptional basketball and secured 4th place, the equal best ever result by the Boomers at an Olympic tournament.
Pat played for the Boomers against Croatia in 1997, on the Boomers team that won the Oceania 1998 World Championships Qualification Tournament and on a tour to the USA to play College teams. He was not to play for Australia after that tour to the USA.
His reputation for skills, competiveness and team play was to the fore in the NBL and he was a handful for any opposition. He captained North Melbourne in 1996 and 1997 and was named club MVP (1998).
The 1998/99 NBL season saw Pat move to the Newcastle Falcons. He loved the town and the people. The problem was that it was not a great move as the team folded and Pat was left (as was all the team) in limbo. This was bad timing with the Olympic team to be selected for Sydney 2000.
Pat got a lifeline from the Townsville Crocodiles for 1999/2000 NBL season but he missed selection to the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
He loved life in Townsville and was a well known figure in the period 1999 to 2005. He won the club MVP Award twice (2002/03, 2003/04) and played in the NBL Grand Final with the Crocs in 2000/01.
Pat Reidy retired due to sustained injuries after the 2004/05 season. All those hours of practice, games and running had caught up to his body. He had played in 468 NBL games and over 100 games for Australia. He is a member of the Townsville Crocodiles Hall of Fame.
He continued his association with basketball and served as the Crocodiles Assistant Coach for a period. He then moved to the administration to take on the role as CEO of the Crocodiles franchise.
Patrick Reidy was a player who demonstrated very clearly to his peers and those who followed him that if you have the desire to practice every day, the desire to be the best you can be, are passionate about your sport, and aim high that you can reach the pinnacles in sport and be an Olympian.
(National Basketball League/SWISH Magazine)
(National Basketball League/SWISH Magazine/David Callow))
Pat Reidy playing for the Giants against the Tigers in the NBL (National Basketball League/SWISH Magazine/Darrin Braybrook)