Lindsay Gaze

Lindsay John Casson Gaze (born August 16, 1936 in Adelaide, South Australia) is an Australian basketball player and coach. He played for Australia in three Olympics between 1960 and 1968 and coached the Australian basketball team at four Olympics between 1972 and 1984. Gaze coached the Melbourne Tigers for 35 years, including 22 years in the National Basketball League (NBL), winning two championships in 1993 and 1997. He was the coach of the year in 1989, 1997 and 1999 and is second in the all-time number of coaching wins in that league. Lindsay Gaze is a member of the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and coach and an associate member of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.

Olympic career

Lindsay Gaze was born in Adelaide in August, 1936, the son of Albert J. Gaze and Avis M. Gaze. As a youth, he played both basketball and Australian rules football. Gaze played in the Victorian Football Association for Prahran. He was selected as a member of an Australian rules team that played an exhibition match in the Melbourne Olympics although he didn't take the field.

However, it was in basketball that he would make his mark in the Olympics. He was selected for the Australian basketball team for the Rome Olympics which was the first Australian basketball team to travel overseas for the Olympics. Gaze soon established himself as one of Australia's leading basketballers establishing an international reputation when he was selected as a member of the All-Star Five in the 1962 World Championships. He married Margaret Gaze in 1962 with the couple having a son, Andrew Gaze (born July 24, 1965) and a daughter, Janet Gaze-Daniels (born July 8, 1964).

Gaze would represent Australia at the Rome Olympics, Tokyo Olympics and Mexico City Olympics. He developed a reputation as a fanatical trainer training two or three times a week with his club and at home. Gaze also coached national under 16 and under 18 squads during his playing career.

His reputation for training led to his appointment as the coach of Melbourne Tigers in 1970 and of the Australian basketball side in 1971 coaching the team at four Olympic Games in 1972, 1976, 1980 and 1984. Andrew Gaze was part of the team that he coached in 1984. Lindsay Gaze would write his first book "Better Basketball" in 1977.

NBL Coaching Career 1983-2005

Lindsay Gaze was the inaugural coach of the Melbourne Tigers at the start of the NBL in 1984. He retired in May 2005 after 22 seasons and 689 games with 363 victories. The Melbourne Tigers won two championships in 1993 and 1997 with Gaze as coach. He was a widely respected coach in the NBL winning Coach of the Year three times during his career. He announced his retirement from basketball on the same day that Andrew Gaze announced his retirement after 612 NBL games. Lindsay Gaze had coached Andrew Gaze during his son's entire career as an NBL player with the pair forming the longest standing father-son partnership in the history of world sport. The pair would also author a book "Winning Basketball" in 1992.

Lindsay Gaze was also a member of the NBL Board. In 2004, he became a part owner of the Melbourne Tigers with Andrew Gaze. On his retirement, journalist Stephen Howell of the "Melbourne Age" wrote that history would judge him as "the most influential figure in Australian basketball".

Record and accolades

* Player in 1960, 1964 and 1968 Olympics;

* Coach of Australian team at 1972, 1976, 1980 and 1984 Olympics;

* Coached 689 NBL games with 363 victories (52.6%);

* Two NBL championships 1993 and 1997;

* Three times NBL Coach of the Year 1989, 1997, 1999;

* Member Australian Basketball Hall of Fame as player and coach;

* Associate member of Sport Australia Hall of Fame (SAHOF) for role as coach and member of SAHOF board; and

* Victorian Father of the Year 1992 - Andrew Gaze would win the award in 2004.

References

* "Who's Who in Australia 2005", Crown Content North Melbourne 2005, page 789

* [http://www.nbl.com.au/default.aspx?s=tigers_newsdisplay&aid=238/ NBL Lindsay Gaze page]

* [http://www.theage.com.au/news/BasketballFeatures/Memorable-Gaze-into-the-past/2005/05/12/1115843310006.html "Melbourne Age" article on the retirement of Lindsay and Andrew Gaze]

* [http://www.sportal.com.au/basketball.asp?i=news&id=65593/ Sportal article on retirement of Lindsay and Andrew Gaze]

* [http://www.bbhighway.com/Talk/Coach%20Library/History/australia_index.asp Basketball Highway article on history of Australian basketball]

* [http://abc.net.au/olympics_1996/basketba.htm 1996 ABC Australia page featuring Lindsay and Andrew Gaze]