No 57 IAN DAVIES
6 feet 6 inch (198cm) Guard/Forward
1980, 1984 Olympic Games
The 1980 Moscow Olympic basketball tournament was beginning. The Australian Men’s Team lined up for their first game of the tournament. The 6’6” (198cms) Australian player with an American accent felt enormous pride in the moment. Here he was in an Australian uniform lining up to play in the Olympic Games. It was for him a surreal moment. Six months prior he was at home in Galesburg, Illinois USA considering where his life was going. His basketball career was virtually over unless he was able to secure a basketball contract in Europe or South America. He had no knowledge at that time that basketball was even played in Australia, yet here he was at the Olympics wearing the Green and Gold. He would go on to be the top scorer for all countries at the 1980 Moscow Olympics and become a scoring legend in Australian basketball.
Ian Davies was born January 29th 1956 in Longford, Tasmania. His father was an outstanding AFL (Australian Rules) player and played 122 games for the Carlton Club. Ian’s father passed away when Ian was five years old. This was a profound time for the young Ian. Nevertheless as most kids do he enjoyed playing “footy” and cricket. His life made another dramatic turn when his mother decided that she and Ian would move to the USA to be near her sister. In 1966 when Ian was ten they moved to Galesburg, Illinois. They arrived during basketball “March Madness” and Ian was exposed for the first time to basketball. He was immediately hooked by this game that every kid played in their backyards and the playgrounds.
Regardless of his enthusiasm the young Aussie had little success making his school basketball teams. He did not make a school team until Year 10 when he says, “I was 9th or 10th on the team.” It wasn’t until his final year of High School that Ian finally made the school team and played one year of varsity, started every game and did well. He wanted to continue basketball but would any college be interested? There was some interest from Junior College teams but when he was offered a scholarship at a four year college at Graceland he took the opportunity.
Graceland had not won a game the previous season, but this changed dramatically as Ian started every game , was the team’s top scorer every year and in his final year the College won the “Heart of America” Conference and came runner up in the Iowa College Championships. Ian was the all time leading scorer for Graceland and the “Heartlands of America” Conference. He was named the “Iowa College Player of the Year” an amazing award considering that he was up against the players from all the big universities such as Iowa and Drake.
Ian attended “tryout” with NBA free agents camps with the Indiana Pacers before playing with the Maine Lumberjacks in the CBA. It was now 1979. He describes the time with the Lumberjacks as “a lot of fun but I was going nowhere with this so I went home to Galesburg to contemplate my future.”
When he lived in Longford, Tasmaniaas a youngster, Ian had a friend Neil Kearney who had become an AFL journalist and on a trip to the USA Neil decided to visit his mate Ian Davies from those days. During the visit Neil suggested that Ian investigate playing in the new AustralianNational Basketball League called the NBL, and particularly check out playing for Launceston their old home town who were about to enter that League. This was October 1979, and by January 1980 Ian was playing for Launceston and setting some big numbers with the Launceston team in the NBL.
Even though he had been in the League for only a few months his feats came under the eye of Lindsay Gaze and Bob Staunton. Ian was brought to the Australian Squad Easter Camp after which the 1980 Moscow Olympic team would be selected. It was a long-shot for Ian and the selectors, however he demonstrated right there and then that the team needed his shooting and scoring abilities and he was selected. The Australian public quite rightly asked, “Ian who?”
In June Ian was lining up to play his first game for Australia at an Olympic competition. In the first two games Ian did not start for the team, but he scored 21 points in the first game against Cuba and 33 points in the next game against Italy and started every game after that. He was to lead the Olympic Tournament in points scored with 205 points. From the lounge room in Galesburg, Illinois to Olympic scoring champion in seven months had been some rollercoaster ride!
Ian describes his feelings at the Olympics. “I was immensely proud as even though I had spent fourteen years in the US I was always an Australian in my mind. I was always introduced in American basketball as Ian Davies from Tasmania, Australia.”
The disappointment for Ian and the team at Moscow was when through statistical means the team tied with Italy and Cuba but was eliminated from the Quarter Finals on percentages. “I can remember sitting there with Lindsay and “Staunto”(Manager Bob Staunton) watching as Italy and Cuba called a time-out with 40 seconds to go and then they both came back on court and neither team shot the ball as they contrived a seven point margin.......the only margin that could eliminate us from the Quarter-Finals,” recalls Ian.
Australia went on to finish the tournament in 8th position.
In his NBL career Ian played on the Launceston team that won the NBL title in 1981. He went on to play for Launceston in 1981 and 1982, Newcastle 1982 to 1985, Geelong 1986, 1987, and the Sydney Kings in 1988, 1989, and 1990 before retiring after playing 252 games in the NBL.
He was named to the NBL All Star Team in 1980. In an NBL game in 1985 he scored thirteen three pointer baskets to set an NBL record. He also set an NBL record in that game for the number of three point attempts with 24 attempts. When he retired from the NBL he had scored 4,485 points, secured 941 rebounds and dished out 416 assists.
Ian Davies was inducted into the NBL Hall of Fame as a player in 2001.
After his stellar performances in the 1980 Moscow Olympics Ian was to remain as a mainstay of the Australian Team. He was a member of the Australian Team in 1981 that won the Oceania 1982 World Championship Qualification Tournament and toured to the USA and China with the Australian Team on their sixteen match tour.
Ian was a starter and the main scorer on the Australian Team in the 1982 World Championships held in Colombia where the team achieved the best ever result for Australia when they took 5th position in the Championships.At this stage of his career Ian was clearly one of the best shooting forwards in world amateur basketball.
In 1983 he played a season in Switzerland. That year he played for Australia at home against the NIT All Stars and in New Zealand in the Commonwealth Championships which were combined with the 1984 Olympic Qualification Tournament which Australia won. At the end of 1983 Ian and the Australians played a twelve game tour of Canada and the USA.
Ian was then selected on the Australian Men’s Basketball Team for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
He was Australia’s top scorer in the 1984 LA Olympics where the Australians finished in a highly creditable 7th place.At the Games Ian again displayed the skills and abilities that marked him as one of the most dangerous shooters in world basketball. In 1985 Ian played with the Boomers against the Pac 10 in Australia and in the Australia Games Tournament in Melbourne when Australia won the Gold Medal.
In 1986 Ian played for Australia in the series against the University of Las Vegas in Australia and was subsequently selected on the Australian Team to play in the 1986 World Championships in Spain.
At the 1986 World Championships he was injured in the warm-up games and was not able to play to his best. The team failed to qualify for the finals. This was the last occasion Ian was to play for Australia. He had played 81 games for Australia in a stellar career.
Ian will be remembered as one of the finest all-round players in his era and indeed ever to play for Australia. He was a magnificent shooter with incredible range on his jump-shot. He was a very good rebounder, played the team game and was a good defender.He was named the 1980 Tasmanian Sports Star of the Year and remains the only Tasmanian born male player to play basketball for the Australian Men’s Basketball Team at the Olympic Games.
Australian basketball was indeed fortunate that Ian was “discovered” in the US and was able to return to his native country to become one of the nation’s stand-out basketball players in its history. He was inducted into the NBL Hall of Fame in 2001.
Ian Davies passed away on the 7th of November, 2013 at the age of 57.
Ian Davies drives to the basket against UNLV (I. Davies)
Ian Davies (Basketball Australia)
(The Australian Basketballer Magazine/Phillip Clayton)