No 26 SCOTT DAVIE
5 feet 10 inch (178cm) Guard
1964 Olympic Games
Scott Davie stood at the end of the court as part of the victorious South Australian Basketball Team full of excitement having just won the 1964 Australian Basketball Championships which were held in Adelaide. The South Australians had just caused a huge upset by beating Victoria in the Final. But there was still more to come. The team to represent Australia at the 1964 Olympic Games was about to be announced. Scott recalls the moment. “However the anticipation of the moment was tempered by my thoughts, do they take players who are only 5’ 10” tall? Having a name high in the alphabet I did not have long to wait and then my excitement grew to fever pitch as my name was announced and I walked to the centre of the court with the wild applause from my home Adelaide crowd ringing in my ears. This was to be a life changing experience for me.”
Scott recalls that this dream of representing Australia at the Olympics was not even on the radar when he was introduced to the game as an eleven year old by his great friend and mentor Brian Tansell.
Theodore Lisle Scott Davie was born February 15th 1940 in Barmera, South Australia.
His junior playing years began in the Uniting Church Basketball Association and then he transferred to the Church of Christ Basketball Association. Scott enjoyed a successful period at Church of Christ winning the Best and Fairest Player on many occasion and three times consecutively.
Although he was told that he had the ability to be selected in the SA State Junior Basketball teams, circumstances dictated that this was not to be.
At the age of seventeen he was approached by the coach of South Adelaide, Ash Koch to play for South. Scott explained how Australian Rules Football (AFL) was his passion and due to studies he could not devote the timeto play basketball. As it was school holidays Scott agreed to play basketball for two weeks. “As they say the rest was history as I continued to play in the District Association for the next seventeen years and then retiring from the top competition and at that time holding the record for the most games played at 583,” says Scott.
For ten years Scott captained South Adelaide and the team had good success with one period of 51 matches going undefeated. He also represented South Australia for ten years and captained the State team on three occasions. This was a very successful period for South Australian Basketball as SA won many Australian Championships.
“Over that time I had many good coaches, but the two who had the greatest impact were my Club coach Ash Koch and my State coach Keith Miller who was also to become my Olympic coach in 1964,” recalls Scott.
As far as players are concerned Scott adds. “I played with many talented players, but two who stand out from my own club team were Michael Ah Matt and Dean Whitford. Both were selected with me on the 1964 Olympic team, Dean as a reserve.
I still believe Michael to have been one of the most skilful players I have seen with unbelievable ball passing ability. One other player I admired from the day I began as an eleven year old was John Heard. I use to watch him and learn from some of his unique moves. This coloured the way I played as I modified some of these ideas to suit my own style. It was a thrill that he (John) would later become my 1964 Olympic Team Captain.”
Scott’s selection on the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Team was the career highlight for him. “To represent one’s country is a great honour and it was an unbelievable experience,” says Scott. The Olympic team spent nine weeks together prior to the Games which made them a very close group and laying the foundation for a successful Olympics. The intense training camps at Narrabeen and the input by American coach Don Hogan further brought the team together.
Scott recalls, “I was in awe of some of the players in the team such as Lindsay Gaze, Bill Wyatt, and Les Hody and I could go right through the team. I need to mention our Olympic and State Team Manager Frank Angove who had a significant positive impact on me throughout my career.”
The 1964 Australian Olympic Basketball Team surprised the basketball world by winning through the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Yokohama and then securing 9th place in the Finals in Tokyo. The team was very tight knit, very fit and dedicated to defence. It was by far the best prepared Australian Team to that time. Scott’s quickness, skills and abilities and his support of team-mates made his contribution in the Tokyo Olympics very valuable.
Australian basketball had arrived after Tokyo as the team and their performances received international praise and much recognition back home by the media in Australia.
After retiring from District Basketball, Scott played on threetouring Venture for Victory Christian Basketball Teams. Two of these were Australian teams travelling to the Philippines and Hong Kong. The other was an American team which competed in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
From 1992 to 2006 Scott was Chaplain to the Adelaide 36ers NBL Basketball team.
Scott Davie was one of the elite players in his generation. His contribution to Australian basketball and basketball in his home of Adelaide had an immense impact on the growth of the game of basketball in Australia.
Scott scores for South Adelaide (S. Davie)
Scott scores for South Adelaide against North Adelaide (Courtesy S. Davie)
Scott Davie (right)the South Adelaide Captain receiving the SA Basketball Trophy (Courtesy S. Davie)