And another Aussie on the NBA radar..
A BIG SHOT
Texas Wesleyan star catches Mavs' attention
RANDY GALLOWAY
In My Opinion
Ben Hunt was well-traveled before he arrived at Texas Wesleyan and helped deliver the NAIA national championship.
STAR-TELEGRAM/RON JENKINS
Ben Hunt was well-traveled before he arrived at Texas Wesleyan and helped deliver the NAIA national championship.
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In Donnie Nelson's search for the next Josh, the next Marquis or, if so blessed by the basketball gods, even the next Dirk, there is always an open-ended itinerary.
Little Nellie will travel around the block, the state, the country and, most definitely, the world.
But last week, he was sitting at the house one night when he saw on TV a remarkable game-ending play and game-winning shot that won a national championship.
Nelson, the Mavericks' president of basketball operations, made himself a mental note:
"Get that kid's name."
Turns out that was no kid.
That was Ben Hunt, 27-year-old Aussie and current Fort Worth resident.
Speaking of an extensive basketball itinerary, Hunt also has one.
Over the past decade, he's gone from high school star back home in Bendigo, Australia, to coaching junior players in his hometown, to touring the United States with his country's national team, to Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, to returning to Australia, and then two years ago landing on the east side of town at one of the city's best-kept secrets, Texas Wesleyan University.
Hey, mate, Ben's been around.
"Let me tell you this about Ben," Rams coach Terry Waldrop said. "He's a far better person than he is a player, and he's one heck of a player."
That last part is what Donnie Nelson noticed on TV last week.
It was the championship game of the 32-team, NAIA small college national tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
TWU vs. Oklahoma City University, or as Waldrop said respectfully of the opposition, "It's the Kentucky of NAIA basketball. Total first-class program for a long time. Big as it gets at our level."
Texas Wesleyan? Until last week, it hadn't been invited to the NAIA tournament since 1983 and, and the last time TWU was in the quarterfinals, "it was pre-Pearl Harbor," Waldrop noted. "We haven't exactly been a beacon of basketball dominance."
TWU was the 27th seed in the NAIA tournament.
Yes, George Mason comes to mind. "We can certainly relate to George Mason," said Waldrop, laughing. "That will be my favorite team this weekend."
But Texas Wesleyan kept springing upsets in Kansas City, and after three games, it was playing "Kentucky" for the national championship.
In that title game, there were 6.8 seconds to play, and TWU was down by one.
Basketball voodoo and an Australian took over. An OCU player missed the back end of a 1-and-1, and the rebound landed right in the hands of the 6-7 Hunt, who had already scored 29 points.
Hunt started flying up the right side of the court.
"I didn't want to burn a timeout," Waldrop said, "'cause I knew I'd never be able to get the ball back in Ben's hands."
Hunt was double-teamed at halfcourt, appeared shut off, dribbled around that, was picked up again by two players, then three, made it to about 2 feet from the 3-point arc, and could wait no longer.
He launched a running prayer before the buzzer.
Swish.
Texas Wesleyan became the lowest-seeded team ever to win the NAIA championship.
"It was an incredible sporting moment," said Nelson of Hunt's play, and the next morning Donnie was on the phone to his basketball connections in Australia.
"I wanted a little background information on that guy," he said.
Hearing what he wanted to hear, Nelson had planned to call Fort Worth for a meeting with Hunt.
But the next day, last Thursday, the Mavs were playing Golden State. Desirée Scott of the team's front-office staff told Nelson at halftime about a spectator at the game. Ben Hunt was the name.
Nelson went over and introduced himself, and then invited Hunt, his fiancée, who is from North Texas, and two buddies to take a tour of the Mavs' facilities.
Donnie was already showing around about a dozen corporate sponsors, so it was a large group that gathered for the tour.
When they all assembled in the Mavs' practice gym on the lower level of the arena, Nelson had an idea.
"Ben," he asked, "can you re-create your play from the other night?"
Wearing blue jeans, running shoes and a T-shirt, Hunt asked for the ball.
Going to the other end of the floor, he told Nelson, "Count down the seconds, mate."
So with Nelson serving as the vocal clock, and about 20 people watching, Hunt dribbled the length of the floor, found what he thought was the right spot, and then fired.
Swish.
"There we were, in an almost empty practice gym, with 19,000 people upstairs, but you've never heard so much noise when that shot went in," said Nelson, smiling. "The place erupted. Grown men were high-fiving and chest-bumping."
"Actually," said Ben this week, "that shot was longer than the first one. I forgot I was shooting it from behind the NBA [3-point] circle."
So Nelson took Ben Hunt upstairs, and gave him an invitation. "I told him he was the first one on the list for our tryout camp this summer," Donnie said.
Hunt plans on living locally after his marriage, but at the moment he'd like to continue to pursue his basketball dream. "I don't know where it will eventually lead, but the Mavericks' tryout camp is a good place to start finding out," he said.
Sure, it's a long shot.
But Ben Hunt had been making those lately.
Good luck, mate.
Randy Galloway's Galloway & Co. can be heard weekdays 3-6 p.m. on ESPN/103.3 FM.
Notable NAIA players
Earl Monroe, Winston- Salem (N.C.) State
Scottie Pippen, University of Central Arkansas
Terry Porter, Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Willis Reed, Grambling (La.)
Dennis Rodman, Southeastern Oklahoma State
Jack Sikma, Illinois Wesleyan
IN THE KNOW
The NAIA route
Notable players from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics who went on to star in the NBA:
Earl Monroe, Winston-Salem (N.C.) State -- The Pearl played in only one NAIA tournament, averaging 22 points in three games. He played 13 years in the NBA, winning a title with the New York Knicks in 1973, and was named to NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time team.
Scottie Pippen, Central Arkansas -- He averaged 23.6 points and 10 rebounds as a senior and was the fifth overall pick by Seattle in the 1987 NBA Draft. He won six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls.
Terry Porter, Wisconsin-Stevens Point -- As a junior and a senior, he was an NAIA first-team All-American. He played 17 years in the NBA.
Willis Reed, Grambling (La.) -- Reed led the Tigers to the 1961 championship as a freshman and a third-place finish in 1963. He won two titles with the New York Knicks in the NBA.
Dennis Rodman, SE Oklahoma State -- A first-team NAIA All-American in three seasons, he led the NAIA in rebounding as a junior and senior. In the 1986 national tournament, he averaged 27.4 points and 19 rebounds per game. He was on five NBA title teams.
Jack Sikma, Illinois Wesleyan -- A three-time NAIA All-American from 1975-77. He played nine seasons with Seattle in the NBA, including a title team in 1979.
M.L. Carr and Lloyd "World B." Free, Guilford (N.C.) -- Carr, an NAIA all-tournament selection in 1970, and Free led the Quakers to the 1973 national title. Free had 30 points in the title game. Both played for more than a decade in the pros.
Dick Barnett, Tennessee State University -- A four-year NAIA All-American, member of three NAIA national champion teams, and tournament MVP in 1958 and 1959. He spent 14 years in NBA and the Knicks retired his No. 12 jersey in 1990.
OTHER NOTABLE
John Wooden, Indiana State -- Wooden coached Indiana State to the NAIA finals in 1948 and brought the first black player to the national championship. He went on to become a Hall of Fame coach at UCLA.
Source: NAIA.org
