Australian basketballer arrives

Press, 8 July 1976, Page 42

Australian basketballer arrives

By

ROD DEW

One of South Australia’s most promising young men’s basketball mid-court players,

Appeal to the opposition.—Australia has appealed to the opposition for help in preparing . its track and field team for the Olympic Games. An advertisement in the athletics centre at the Games village invites other nations to join Australian athletes in need of some stiff competition to bring them to their peak, in a pre-Olymplc meet this week-end.

Allan Smith, has arrived in Christchurch as part of an exchange scheme between the North Adelaide and Canterbury Basketball Associations. He attended the Y.M.C.A. club’s practice last evening, and although he has yet to decide which team he will play for, he hopes to be in action in the A grade club competition on Saturday. Y.M.C.A. recently lost the services • of another Australian guard, Brian Cottell, who had to return home because of his father’s illness. Smith, a sft Ilin player who has been averaging 10 points a match at senior level in North Adelaide, would fill the gap splendidly. However, Smith also proposes to attend the High School Old Boys’ practice. The club champions already have two of the finest guards in the province, Tim Guthrie and Carl Dickel, but there is a possibility that neither will be available next season.

Smith plans to stay in Christchurch for “at least two years—longer if I like it well enough.”

He comes to Christchurch in partial exchange for the former Canterbury representative, Russell McCormick, and the New Zealand representative, Rookie Reardon. Reardon, according to Smith, has been scoring up

to 28 points a match in North Adelaide and has been a tremendous success.

Smith is only 19 and should help strengthen the Canterbury junior representative team. He has already represented South Australia at under 16 and under 20 levels. He was named again for the under 20 state team this season, but withdrew to come to New Zealand. Unfortunately, he has arrived too late to try to win a place in the Canterbury senior representative side.

The New Zealand championship tournament was held last week at Dunedin, Canterbury emerging as the unexpected winner for only the third time in more than 30 years. But one of Smith’s aims will be to win a place in the line-up for next season. Smith has been playing in the North Adelaide senior team and competed in his last match as recently as last Thursday.