Son of Suttle to rescue!
TweetIT'S pretty hard to forget Dane Suttle if you're an Adelaide 36ers fan.
The former NBA guard produced one of the greatest individual performances ever seen at Apollo Stadium during the Sixers' "Invincibles" season in 1986.
Suttle was playing for the late, great Ken Richardson and alongside some fairly talented Australian players with Geelong Supercats.
The lineup included Olympians Ian Davies, the Dalton Brothers (Brad and Mark), and Aussie Americans Mark Leader and David Leslie.
They came into Apollo with nothing to lose and played a blinder in one of the era's most memorable games.
Davies went off for 31 points but, believe it or not, that almost went unnoticed - apart from the fact he stuck 7-of-11 threes - because Suttle was unstoppable.
He saw off every great defender the 36ers could throw at him, finishing with 48 points at 62 per cent.
The game went into overtime and was won when Darryl "Ice Man" Pearce shot a three for the 36ers which ricocheted off the ring, was caught by captain Bill Jones in mid-air who slammed it through on the siren.
Adelaide 120, Geelong 119.
This was when the NBL was in its growth period and great to watch, week-in, week-out.
But Suttle was something.
The next time I saw him was in an ESPN doco on Jim Valvano as Jimmy V steered North Carolina State to the NCAA crown in 1983.
Suttle was playing for Pepperdine and shot a few bricks from the stripe late in a game which went to double overtime before North Carolina State stole victory and marched on to the NCAA title.
Hey. Stuff happens.
In Australia, Suttle was super and his son, Dane Suttle Jr (below) also looked the goods playing out here last year in the QBL.
Suttle averaged 20ppg, 5rpg and 4apg for Brisbane Capitals and helped them win their division and get to the playoffs where they came up short in the QBL playoffs to Rockhampton.
He's keen to come back to play in Oz so here are some of his numbers - yes, we do community service here at B.O.T.I. as well:
Senior year, didn’t play due to NCAA Transfer Violations.
*PEPPERDINE 2010-11: Averaged 3.9 points as a junior, starting the first eight of the season ... Shot 41.1% on three-pointers ... Scored a season-high 11 points twice, first in the season opener at Portland State (11/12) and against vs. Arkansas State (11/23) ... Sank all four of his shots, including a season-best three three-pointers, at Portland State ... Sank multiple three-pointers in a game six times ... Other season highs were seven rebounds vs. CSU Bakersfield (11/20), two assists (three times), two blocks at Santa Clara (2/26), two steals vs. Saint Mary's (1/8) and 26 minutes played vs. San Francisco at the WCC Tournament (3/5).
*PEPPERDINE 2009-10: Had a strong non-conference showing as a sophomore but was limited by injuries once the WCC season began minutes decreased ... Overall, averaged 7.7 points and 2.5 rebounds in 19.1 minutes ... Played in 24 games and started four ... Missed the final five games of the season due to an ankle injury and had off-season surgery ... At the start of WCC play, was averaging 12 points ppg off the bench, second on the team and wasn't a starter ... As his ankle injury worsened, his output declined and he averaged just 2.4 points in conference games ... Had Pepperdine's top three-point percentage at 38.6%, good for 12th in the WCC ... Made the all-tournament team at the Wyoming World Vision Challenge after averaging 16 points in three games, which included a career-high 22 vs. Hampton (11/27) ... Hit five of five three-pointers and had a season-high eight rebounds vs. Hampton ... Had 10 games with multiple three-pointers and made a total of 34
... Other season highs were 5 assists (several times)
and 30 minutes at Wyoming (11/29).
*PEPPERDINE 2008-09: Showed great promise as a scorer as a freshman, averaging 7 points ... Played in all 32 games and started five, averaging 15.5 minutes along with 2.2 rebounds ... Sank 35 three-pointers, tied for the team high ... Shot 36% from beyond the arc, which ranked 15th in the WCC ... Scored in double-figures eight times ... Had a season-high 16 points vs. Western Oregon (1/3) in just 18 minutes before fouling out ... Had nine games with multiple three-pointers, including five vs. Coppin State (12/29), good for 15 points ... His best WCC game was 13 points at Portland (2/19) ... Scored a team-high 11 points at #15 Arizona State (11/23) ... Other season highs were eight rebounds vs. Cal State Monterey Bay (11/14), three assists (twice), two steals (several times) and 26 minutes (twice)
*PREP SCHOOL: Attended Summit College Prep, located in Simi Valley, Calif., in 2007-08 ... Joined the nationally ranked team partway through the season, won a starting position and averaged around 19 points per game ... Averaged 22 points at the Carolina Prep Classic, where Summit Prep defeated the nation's top-ranked and previously undefeated team, Patterson Prep
*HIGH SCHOOL: was ranked in the Top 100 in the nation his Junior year, attended the ABCD camp, Adidas Super 64, and NBA top 100 camp. Graduated from Westchester High School, located in Los Angele's, Calif., in 2007 ... as a senior he avg 20 ppg and made it to the city finals where they lost to Fairfax which he was names all city ... As a junior, he was named the 2006 L.A. City Player of the Year 1st player as a junior to do that ... Averaged 22 points that year and was also named All-CIF City Section first team and CalHiSports.com all-state second team with NBA All stars such as James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Chase Bundinger, ... Helped team win the CIF City Section title in 2006 ... Westchester High won the state championship and was ranked #1 in the country in his sophomore year as he averaged eight points ... Several teammates have played collegiately and two (Gabe Pruitt and Amir Johnson) are in the NBA.