My All Time Team Of Teammates

Which one of these guys make my All Time Teammate list?

Every now and then I will throw out a comment about a former player in a blog to see if I get a response.

This week in my ABA Wrap I made reference to Cairns Marlin Rohan Grey becoming the next Grant Keys (former Razorback teammate).

The reference was made because he is putting up big numbers in the ABA, but hasn't quite gotten the chance to do likewise in the NBL.

Well, Keys was one of the easier fish I have caught over the last few weeks. He responded from China in a heart beat.

This got me thinking about who would make my All Teammate Team. Here we go:

PG: Ben Arkell - This guy is a footballer dressed in basketball gear. His body was calling out to be in the second row next to Nathan Hindmarsh. But what gets Benny on my team is the fact that he came to practice every day and did what the coach asked without batting an eye.

He would defend anyone from Derek Rucker to Bruce Bolden on any given day and gave 100%, knowing there would be limited minutes available come game time.

You have to appreciate and acknowledge guys like this.

SG: Michael Cedar - This guy has been quietly going about improving his game over the last three years.

Although quiet in demeanor, Cedar is cagey in the way he observes and takes it all in. I'm looking forward to seeing Cedar continue his development on the court over the next few years. He will become a nightly contributor for us.

What gets him on this list though is his poker game. Mick is always up for a game where ever we are and he even carries his own chips.

Michael, this year we have a YAP who will enjoy taking them off your hands and taking care of them for us on the road. You are no longer a rookie.

SF: Jason Williams - "Beaker" just loved being part of the 36ers squad. One season I bet him 100 bucks that he would not beat me in a one on one match up all year. Well, one miserable day this Muppet Show character beat me. I paid in 5 cent pieces, just because I'm a good sport.

How did I win my money back? Teamed up with Brett Maher and played Williams and Paul Bauer in the shooting game called "tips".

If you don't know the game,... each team gets to shoot five 3's with defense allowed to do anything to throw the shooter off bar touching him. (It is amazing how creative you can get to put someone off.) If the shot misses, the team on defense can have one tip per player to get the ball in. A tip must be with one hand only. After your five 3's, you rotate offense and defense. The first team to 21 wins.

Maher and I went the entire season without losing a game to those chumps and Williams had to refund the money.

Thanks Jason.

PF: Grant Keys - As I mentioned before, this guy saw limited minutes but he made Simon Dwight a better player by going hard in practice every day.

Keys was deadly from 17 feet and in, probably the best Australian born player I have seen at this range. Pick and pop to the short corner...MONEY.

This guy was a character too. If the trash talk got too heavy for him or he did not want to talk to you he would always remind us he was deaf on the left side.

This was until Coach Gordie McLeod called his number to play. Keys could be sitting at the other end of the bench with the crowd going crazy and Gordie would whisper "Keysy" and Grant would get to the scorers bench quicker than Maurice Green.

If you were wondering what he's is up to now, he has some swank government job in China.

C: Rupert Sapwell - A true team player in every sense of the word. One minute cheerleader, next minute psychologist. But my personal favourite from Sappa will always be the three ball off the glass.

Sapper is the guy every team loves to have as he always so happy. He can pick you up no matter how deep your funk is.

I learnt about karma by hanging out with this guy when we were driving to Horsham for a 36ers preseason game. In the middle of nowhere, Rupert gets stung on the arm by a bee.

I said, "Who gets stung by a bee traveling at 100km/hr in a car?" as I'm on the floor of the car in a fit of laughter.

Later that season, this incident came back to bite me in the a$$. As I was driving to my favourite spot for a pregame meal, I had my car window down and low and behold a bee found its way through the window and into the corner of my eye while the car was moving.

I played the sting off for as long as I could. I thought I had gotten away with it for about 90 minutes, as there was no sign of swelling. Just as I was congratulating myself on being the luckiest bloke around, I laid one foot inside the locker room and the swelling decided it was showtime.

By tipoff I was resembling something out of the movie Elephant Man.

For anyone interested I did drop one three on the Hawks that game. Pure luck, especially with one eye shut.

I wish no one the fortune of a bee sting to the eye.

Thanks for teaching me about karma, RUPERT!

When you have played professionally for 14 years, you are bound to come across all kinds of people for teammates. The five that I noted are truly no fuss guys that make a team fun to be around.

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