No 60 LES RIDDLE
6 feet 4 inch (192cm) Guard/Forward
1980 Olympic Games
The Australian Men’s basketball team was into the second leg of their 1981 tour to the USA and China. Touring China in 1981 was a new experience for the team as the “Bamboo Curtain” was still very much in vogue and few Europeans toured there. Phil Smyth the team captain had to leave the team and travel back to Australia so Lindsay Gaze had to choose another team captain to complete the China tour. The team was tired, conditions (hotels, food) were rough and the team was very much in danger of going “stir crazy” as there was no television to watch, shopping to look at, or generally things to do. The team needed a tough leader, respected and someone that the team could rely on in challenging conditions. Coach Gaze knew exactly who to turn to. He approached the team’s fittest, toughest player Les Riddle and offered him the position of Captain. Les was slightly shocked but accepted and as he recalls “greatly honoured”.
Leslie “Les” Riddle was born December 28th, 1953. Like most boys growing up in Melbourne life was all about AFL (“footy”) and cricket both at which Les excelled and there was talk that he could be a future Carlton AFL prospect. When Les was in year seven at Faulkner Technical his PE teacher Mike Baker (a basketball fan) brought Melbourne Tigers American Fred Guy to the Tech to give a basketball clinic. Les was fascinated by the tall American and the game and quickly signed up to play for the school teams which were coached by Baker. Les recalls, “Training basketball was in those days pretty tough as we trained before school on the asphalt outside courts, come rain or shine”.
When Les was fourteen years of age, Mike Baker suggested to him that he might have to soon make a decision between cricket, AFL or basketball. Much to Les’s dad’s shock Les chose basketball. “Isn’t that a girl’s game?” his dad said. Like most Dad’s his dream was for his son to play AFL. “Nevertheless my Dad fully supported my decision and drove me to basketball games and assisted in whatever way he could,” says Les.
Les made the Victorian Under 16 team in 1969 and travelled to Perth for the National Championships where they defeated NSW 43-35 in the final.That same year Les was invited to “sit on the bench and get a few minutes” with the Coburg Giants senior men’s team coached by Bruce Pizarro.
Two years later Les was a member of the Victorian Under 18 team that competed in the 1971 Nationals Championships in Sydney when the Victorians defeated NSW 54-52 in the final.
Soon the Giants had the usual turnover of veteran players and Les found himself playing regular minutes with the senior team. At this time there was no National Basketball League (NBL) so Les and the Giants went head to head each week against the likes of Melbourne Tigers and the St Kilda Saints, teams that contained Olympians and American imports. He recalls that the Giants were consistently defeated heavily but they were learning and they were getting tougher.
Les says that at this time, “I figured I was not blessed as athletically as these Olympians and Americans and that I needed to become fitter and stronger than them if I was to advance in the game.” He undertook his personal fitness and strength programs. The result was that he became a very strong defender and rebounder, a full-court player who could run all game, and a player who welcomed physical contact and tough situations. His reputation as a strong player and team person grew each year. He did however not make any State senior basketball teams in this period.He recalls, “I ended up playing for Australia before I played for the senior Victorian Basketball Team.”
Olympian Ray Tomlinson had joined Coburg as a Coach and he had a great effect on Les’s skills and understanding of the game.
Les was selected to the Australian Men’s Team for the first time in 1977 when the team toured to the USA and then to Europe.
“My first tour with the Australian Team opened my eyes to the greater world of basketball and the opportunities that existed,” recalls Les.“It was also my first experience of the coaching of Lindsay Gaze which was again a learning experience. It was a question for me to assess what my role was in the team and what I needed to do on that tour and after the tour to maintain my position in the Australian Team.”
His form in the Victorian Championships continued to blossom, he was now a very fit and strong player and he was much more experienced. The result was that he was selected to the Australian Team for the 1978 World Championships held in Manila in the Philippines. Les was now playing alongside players such as Andris Blicavs, Danny Morseu, Larry Sengstock, and Phil Smyth. This was the new brigade of players all like Les starting out on their international careers. Les describes them “as the new wave in basketball.”
The Australian team played very well in Manila and secured their best result to that time in a World Championships when they secured 7th position.
In 1979 Les played on the Australian Team that won the Oceania 1980 Olympic Qualification Tournament.
The 1980 Moscow Olympics were Les’s main target and ambition. He worked even harder on his game, showed outstanding Club form and was selected for the Games.
However there was much drama to unfold before he became an Olympian as he and the rest of the team endured the world of politics and the USA led boycott of the Moscow Olympics due to the Soviets invasion of Afghanistan. Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser left the boycott decision to each athlete as did Lindsay Gaze, and while the team was training in Europe they were given the go ahead to compete in Moscow. Les recalls, “It was a pretty hard time. I respected what was happening in Afghanistan but I also knew it may be my one and only chance to be an Olympian”. He is also of the view that, “I did the right thing in going to the Games as it was to be my only Olympics and Afghanistan is still in turmoil today.”
At the Moscow OlympicsLes and his team-mates had to sit in the stands and watch as Cuba and Italy play to a contrived seven point margin in favour of Italy that meant the Australians did not advance to the Quarter Finals. It was a bitter point in an otherwise great performance by the Australian Team who eventually secured 8th position, the best result to that time.
Back in Australia after the 1980 Olympic Games Les continued working hard (perhaps too hard as he was later to recall) and once again was selected to the Australian Team to play on the 1981 tour to the USA and China. This was a six weeks challenging tour, the highlight for Les was to be asked to captain the team in the China leg of the tour. A second highlight was to play against the 7 feet 6 inch (228cm) 130kg Chinese giant Mr Mu.Les was involved in an incident where he had to take drastic physical action against the giant Chinese giant to protect a team-mate. This incident became part of Australian basketball team folklore.
That same year (1981) Les played on the Australian Team that won the Oceania Championships and the right to compete at the 1982 World Championships. He was selected on the Australian Team for the World Championships.
The 1982 World Championships were held in Columbia South America. These championships were a huge challenge for Les and the team as they had to fly to Columbia via the USA and then at the championships go through unbelievable security to train, live, and play. It was a violent world in Columbia that none of the team had experienced before and every day was a learning experience on and off the court. Nevertheless the Australians kept their heads (and their lives) and secured an equal best ever 5th place.
In 1983 Les was a member of the Australian Team that competed in the first Commonwealth Basketball Games which were held in New Zealand. The Australians won the Bronze Medal. He was also a member of the team that won the Oceania 1984 Olympic Qualification Tournament. That same year he played in the three games against the touring NIT All Stars team from the USA.
For Les the next big challenge was to make the Australian Team for 1984 LA Olympics. He was now 31 years of age and in his words, “Years of physical and fitness training and punishing my body was catching up to me.” Prior to the 1984 Olympics he suffered from acute patella tendonitis and was struggling to play regularly. He knew he still had the game and that he could contribute to the Boomers. Coach Lindsay Gaze gave Les the opportunities to prove his fitness and even though Les had a good final Australian Squad training camp he was not selected for the Olympics.
The injury, his age and his battered body convinced Les to “hang up his boots.”
He recalls, “I was worn out physically and emotionally.”
He did stay with the game and in 1985 coached the Coburg women’s team to the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) title. The next year he was the coach of the Coburg Giants men’s team in the NBL. The team had a good season, but Les cites differences within the club as all being “too difficult” so he decided to retire from all basketball and concentrate on developing his business interest. He applied the same skills of determination, dedication, planning, setting goals, and striving to be the best you can be to his business and he became very successful.
Les Riddle was an outstanding player for his country and “a pioneer” in the sense of “the new wave” of players that were to be the centre point of the Australian Men’s Basketball Team’s future successes.
Les Riddle in his 1980 Olympic blazer (Basketball Australia)