RECENTLY inducted as life member of Swan Hill Basketball Association, Paul Morrison told ROBERT HENSON that his life-long love of shooting hoops started in the local region.
BORN and bred in Swan Hill, Paul Morrison’s association with basketball began early in the local under 10s competition.
Things were different in the Swan Hill competition back then, with about 1000 registered players, compared to about 400 today.
But Morrison said, in contrast to when he was in juniors, the athleticism of today’s younger generation was “amazing”.
“There’s no doubt the kids these days are more athletic and bigger, because they get so much more coaching when they’re younger,” he said.
Leaving Swan Hill as a 16-year-old, Paul moved around Victoria, but settled into basketball competition as a 21-year-old in Shepparton.
After just missing out on finals in the South East Australian Basketball League, the nation’s second tier league behind the NBL, some knee injuries put his own sporting career on hold.
For work, Paul has dabbled in a local café, the poker machine business and mobile catering, before eventually purchasing the Swan Hill Subway franchise.
He found his way back to basketball not through his own children, but through a request to coach an under 16 boys club team.
“Then I started playing a bit and started to coach representative teams,” he said.
In 2007 his involvement led to Swan Hill Basketball Association presidency, as well as concurrent roles of head coach, and Junior Tournament director.
Morrison said he spent five happy years at the helm, before stepping down last year as president.
His focus now as Junior Tournament director keeps him busy, with about 90 teams and 200 games to organise into the annual weekend.
“Our representative teams travel to four or five events a year, and it’s expensive: with fees, accommodation, travelling costs, so we decided it would be good to hold our own contest — good for the kids and good for the town,” Morrison said.
“We probably started with about 40 teams, with 15 Swan Hill teams and 20 Mildura teams, so [the tournament] was pretty small to start off with.
“It’s a really big event now.
“We bring between 2000 and 2500 people into the area, who often spend more than two nights’ accommodation in town.”
This year Morrison has switched codes, so to speak, taking on the presidency at Tyntynder Football Netball Club.
“It’s really a business, with a bigger turnover,” he said.
Morrison’s passion for Tyntynder stemmed from family involvement, with his father, uncle and himself playing for the club.
With no finals to host this year, preparations are beginning for the 2014 season.
With some Swan Hill mates he headed to Sydney in 2009 for the World Masters Games, one of the world’s largest multi-sport events, held every four years, where people compete among those of similar age and ability.
“It was great fun, but we realised perhaps it’s a bit hard on the body. We played for a medal and got beaten for bronze, we just ran out of players [from injury],” he laughed.
Then last year Morrison attended the London Olympics, where he saw the world’s best basketball players up close.
“It was amazing, we saw the Australian women play and they won, and the US women and men, which was mind-blowing,” he said.
The Collingwood supporter said his NBL team would have to be Melbourne, due to an encounter with Melbourne stalwart and Boomers legend Andrew Gaze.
“The Swan Hill team was always strong, so we’d go to tournaments where he would play, so we met a few times playing in the junior grades.
Morrison said that Gaze, a seven-time NBL MVP, wasn’t a superstar back when he played him.
“He wasn’t as big, and he wasn’t really that good,” he said.
“But from 16 to 18 [years old] he went to 6’6″, that happened really quick, and it helped that he lived in a house beside the Albert Park basketball stadium.”
Morrison points out that Swan Hill has produced its own basketball greats, including WNBL and NBL players.
The Swan Hill competition had the potential to produce another world-class player, Morrison assured The Guardian, but to do so required a move or frequent trips to the larger regional centres or Melbourne for the higher levels of competition.
Morrison said his recent life membership, awarded in his absence (he was on holiday, and found out via SMS) at the association’s recent AGM, was a shock.
“It was something I never expected,” he said.
“But it’s something that’s pretty satisfying, humbling, I guess, when I think about it later.”
