Lindsay Gaze

Known as the father of basketball in Australia, Lindsay Gaze put basketball on the map in the Land Down Under. The longtime coach of the National Basketball League’s Melbourne Tigers led his Tiger teams to outstanding records and managed to win two NBL championships in a four-year span. He was a proponent of the shuffle offense, training his forwards and centers to play away from the basket, and asking his guards to learn post moves. His philosophy was not based on mismatches, but on putting the opponent in uncomfortable and unfamiliar situations. Starting in 1971, when he was just one year removed from playing on the national team in the FIBA World Championships, Gaze took the reins of Australia’s top program. Over the next 15 seasons, he led Australia to seven first place finishes in the Oceanic Games and three appearances in the FIBA World Championships. Gaze went on to represent his native Australia a total of seven times in the Olympic Games, including three as a player before he ever even thought of coaching his countrymen.