NICKNAME/S: GQ, GQ Smooth, Quey, Puppy

BIO: One of Australia’s most experienced and successful players, Andersen has won 12 league championships (9 European national domestic league championships and 3 EuroLeague championships) abroad and has played in Italy, Russia, Spain, Turkey and France. He has won 14 championships around the world in addition to 103 NBA games for three NBA clubs.

David Emil Andersen grew up in Frankston where he was introduced to basketball at a early age. His mother Mary played netball and basketball and thought it would be a good sport to get all her children involved in. At the age of five, David was playing in the school basketball team at Frankston East Primary with one of his brothers, Stuart. Mary coached the team and because there was only one team at the school, David always played a year above his age. Also, while at primary school David tried his hand at many different sports before deciding to focus on basketball. He had found a game he loved to play, a game where his above average height would be a advantage.

The local representative basketball club was the Frankston Blues. David joined the club when he was 11 years old and in his first year at the club, the under 12 team David played in, won the championship. This was to be one of the first of many successes that David would experience with a team in basketball. David played with the Frankston Blues Junior Program until he was 15 years old and then joined the Frankston Blues Men’s Team.

He played in the 1995 CBA Grand Final, a game that was televised on the ABC TV.

Standing at 197 cm tall, David caught the eye of Gordie McLeod, the head basketball coach at the Australian Institute of Sport.

As a Victorian State player in the Under 16 Australian Junior Championships, David was again spotted by the AIS scouts and was selected to join the Australian Institute of Sport Basketball Development Program in 1996. He spent three years there and played for the program’s SEABL team between 1996-1998). Whilst in Canberra and in conjunction with the AIS, he attended Lake Ginninderra Secondary College.

At the conclusion of his time at the Australian Institute of Sport, not only had grown 15 centimetres in height but also signed his first professional contract to play with the South East Melbourne Magic, allowing him to return home to Melbourne. Before the season began however the club merged with crosstown rival North Melbourne Giants to become the Victoria Titans and his contract voided. At 17 Andersen signed a two-year deal with the Wollongong Hawks.

FAMILY: Andersen is the second youngest of five children. His parents, Mary and Danny raised their four sons and one daughter in Frankston, Victoria.

NBL EXPERIENCE

David Andersen made his NBL debut with the Wollongong Hawks at 18 years of age. He scored nine points in his first game.

Coinciding with the NBL’s move to summer, the Hawks shifted base to the Wollongong Entertainment Centre and swapped their Illawarra prefix to Wollongong. Coming off a 14 win season that saw the Hawks reach the postseason, the Hawks were able to retain almost their entire and add CJ Bruton (via Brisbane) who immediately became Wollongong’s starting point guard and primary offensive weapon. With the addition of Bruton, there was no need for import guard Elliot Hatcher and they replaced him with Theron Wilson. Also, talented big man David Andersen was recruited from the AIS to replace the outgoing Matt Zauner.

Bruton (20.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists) would be given the ‘green light’ as he boosted his scoring from 15.4 points to 20.8 points per game in 46 minutes per game. Clayton Ritter (17.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.4 assists 1.1 steals) and Mat Campbell (15.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists) also finished among the team’s high scorers.

The Hawks finished the season winning two more games than the year prior, improving upon their previous record for the third year in a row and finishing in third place (16-10).

A disappointing postseason first saw the Hawks lose to the Victoria Titans in two straight games during the Qualifying Finals, but thanks to the league’s of the ‘lucky loser’ rule, which allowed the highest placed loser from the Qualifying Finals to proceed to the next round. There, a matchup with Adelaide saw Illawarra eliminated in two straight games, ending their season for good this time.

Andersen appeared in 25 games and averaged 6.2 points, 4 rebounds, and 0.6 assists. David played one year of his two year contract with the Hawks before signing with European basketball club Virtus Bologna in Italy.

MELBOURNE UNITED
2016/17
With the league allowing three import players per team this season, Melbourne replaced import duo Stephen Holt and Hakim Warrick with Cedric Jackson, Ramone Moore and Devin Williams and essentially signed a fourth import by adding Tai Wesley (via New Zealand) who was allowed to sign as a local under the asian player rule.

On 16 July 2016, Andersen decided to return to Australia and play out the majority of his career back home. He signed a two-year deal with Melbourne United, replacing Daniel Kickert (to Sydney) and in his first season was selected team captain.

Andersen made his debut for United in their season opener on 7 October, scoring nine points in a loss to New Zealand (76–71). On 6 November, he scored a season-high 23 points in a loss to Illawarra (82–73). On 12 December, he was ruled out for six weeks with a knee injury.

In coach Dean Demopoulos second season, United started poorly (3-7) and Jackson (10.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.4 steals) quickly being shown the door due to a poor attitude and failing to buy into the team’s defensive principals.

Casper Ware arrived as his replacement shortly after, immediately changing the squad’s direction.

Around this time, Chris Goulding (17.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.0 steals), who missed six games with ankle issues, began to find his form, and David Barlow (5.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists), returned from a calf injury that had seen him unable to take the court at all for the past two years.

Behind Ware (22.1 points, 4.5 assists, and 1.3 steals) and a healthy roster, United turned things around, winning 10 of their last 18 games.

With the team still capable of reaching the playoffs, Devin Williams (3.2 points and 4.0 rebounds), who surprisingly lasted 16 games before being cut after media and fans pointed out his lack of production and called for an import change for most of the season. With a third of the season remaining, Josh Boone (10.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks) arrived and quickly went to work cleaning up Ware and Goulding’s missed shots and finished as the league’s best rebounder. Minute for minute, there was no more effective player than Josh Boone, who finished as Melbourne’s best player in several advanced metrics, including PER, ORtg, DRtg, eFG%, TRB%, and BLK%.

While he avoided the same fate Jackson suffered, Ramone Moore (10.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.0 assists) didn’t deliver the type of impact expected of an import either.

Injuries and offensive meltdowns were the storylines this season. Tai Wesley (8.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists) and Majok Majok (5.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks) were the only two players to compete in all 28 games for United, and coupled with the import turnover, only six players suited up for at least 75% of games. Combine this with the fact that Melbourne finished with the second-worst true shooting percentage in the league and was just 2-5 in games decided by five points.

Ware earned a place in the All-NBL First Team despite playing 18 games, and this combined with United’s strong finish many fans were excited about what the future could bring. This was shown by the almost-capacity crowd of 9,545 showing up at Melbourne’s last home game despite the team having nothing to play for.

In Demopoulos’ second year as head coach, he would struggle managing player relationships, and by the end of the season, it was public knowledge his relationship with certain players wasn’t ‘civil’. A divide between the veterans of the team and the ever-competitive Demopoulos would result in seeing United unable to replicate the success from the previous season, finishing in sixth-place finish (13-15) and both parties moving on at the end of the season.

After recovering from injury Andersen played in France during the NBL offseason.

2017/18
2017 saw the beginning of the ‘Dean Vickerman’ era with the Sydney assistant coach replacing Dean Demopoulos, who had struggled to fit in with the playing group during his tenure. Vickerman signed on for two seasons and shortly after, the team re-signed David Barlow and imports Josh Boone and Casper Ware. Vickerman brought with him forward Craig Moller (via Sydney) as a replacement for the departing Todd Blanchfield (to Illawarra) and added Casey Prather (via Perth) as the team’s third import.

Melbourne won their season opener against Adelaide (99–97) with Prather (20 points) leading the team offensively. Despite United’s hot start, they would win only five of their first ten games.

On December 16, Prather went down with a dislocated elbow in the second quarter of Melbourne’s win over Illawarra (84–78) and was subsequently ruled out for a minimum of eight weeks. While United looked for a injury replacement, development player Felix Von Hofe was elevated into the team until they signed former NBA talent Carrick Felix. Felix joined the team in December and with his addition, the team sparked a strong run home, finishing 15-3 for the remainder of the season.

Andersen would average 5.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game, while Melbourne would finish in first place and face fourth-seed New Zealand in the semifinals. In game one, Prather (15 points) led the team in scoring despite starting on the bench and led United to a 11-point win (88–77). Prather (12 points) then helped Melbourne win game two in overtime (88–86) and progress to the Grand Final. On the opposite side of the bracket, the Adelaide 36ers eliminated the reigning champions Perth in two games as well.

The opening game saw Casper Ware (20 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists) come out on fire in the first half, before leaving the game with a hip injury. United sharp-shooter Chris Goulding would then step up with a impressive shooting display (26 points) to give Melbourne the victory (107-96) at Hisense Arena. Daniel Johnson (18 points) led the 36ers in scoring alongside Mitch Creek (14 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists).

In game two, Adelaide came out firing behind Majok Deng (18 points), Mitch Creek (17 points) and Ramone Moore (17 points) and tied the series with a 15-point win (110-95). Melbourne were led by Casey Prather (20 points), who had re-joined the team just prior to the Grand Final series, and Chris Goulding (19 points).

The 36ers win came at a cost, with import Josh Childress (13 points and 8 rebounds) going down with a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter that would remove him from the remaining Grand Final games.

The series returned to Melbourne for game three, where tensions exploded at the end of the first half, Adelaide’s Nathan Sobey clashing heads with Casey Prather after the United import hit a three-pointer on the stroke of halftime. The Adelaide guard was called for a disqualifying foul and ejected from the match. There was further drama at the end of the game with players from both teams needing to be separated after the final buzzer. The incident also resulted in 36ers head coach Joey Wright being fined handsomely for questioning the integrity of the referees.

When the smoke settled, Melbourne had squeaked out a narrow victory (101-98) after Adelaide’s Majok Deng missed a game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds. Casper Ware (25 points), Prather (23 points) and Chris Goulding (15 points), who hit three clutch triples to take control of the game, were among United’s best.

Game four saw Adelaide swingman Nathan Sobey (16 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists), who was ejected in game three for his part in the halftime melee, lead the way for the 36ers in the first half with the scoreboard reading 55-31 at the halfway mark. Again the home team was victorious, Adelaide getting a comfortable win over Melbourne United (90-81). Johnson (29 points and 10 rebounds) and Prather (23 points) top scoring for their respective sides.

In the deciding game five, Goulding, Ware (both 23 points) and Prather (19 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 steals) came to play and Melbourne defeated Adelaide (100-82) in front of a sold-out crowd at Hisense Arena, winning their first title since rebranding from the Tigers. Shannon Shorter (20 points) led Adelaide in scoring, while Chris Goulding was named Finals MVP after averaging 16.6 points and 3.6 rebounds over the five-game series. With the win, Prather collected his third NBL championship to become the first player in NBL history to win three straight titles in his first three seasons in the league. At 37 years old, Andersen became the oldest player to win his first NBL championship.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS
2018/19
After falling short of making the playoffs by only a few games in 2018, the Hawks lost several key players: Demitrius Conger (to Serbia), Rotnei Clarke (to Greece), Nicholas Kay (to Perth), Delvon Johnson (to Slovakia), and Cody Ellis and Rhys Martin, who both retired. The team retained AJ Ogilvy, Tim Coenraad, Nic Pozoglo and team captain Kevin Whiteu and strengthened their roster by adding Jordair Jett (via NZNBL), Brian Conklin (via France), Cedric Jackson (via USA), and rookies Emmett Naar and Daniel Grida.

After Andersen was not offered a contract to return to Melbourne, he chose to return to the Hawks, where he began his NBL career. On 4 June 2018, Andersen signed with Illawarra, returning to the franchise for a second stint, a full twenty years after his first. During the NBL off-season, Andersen again played in France.

Illawarra began the season with a dramatic quadruple-overtime thriller, narrowly losing to Melbourne (122–123). They followed this with a heavy loss to Perth (101–61) but rebounded with a road win against Cairns (104–93). A brief two-game win streak in October saw the Hawks secure victories against Brisbane (86–78) and Adelaide (120–109), but inconsistency plagued the team. A four-game losing streak in November, including defeats to Perth (90–81), Sydney (81–90), and Adelaide (104–79), contributed to their struggle to break into the top four. Despite flashes of potential, the Hawks couldn’t maintain consistency and missed the playoffs with a 12-16 record.

David Andersen (8.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 0.7 assists) provided veteran leadership and key contributions for the Hawks throughout the season. Despite his age, Andersen remained a valuable part of the rotation, delivering solid performances, including a standout 21 points and 3 rebounds against Perth (23 Dec 2018), an 18 points and 4 rebounds effort against Melbourne (8 Nov 2018), and a 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists game against Brisbane (31 Dec 2018).

Alongside Andersen, Illawarra’s key players included Brian Conklin (14.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 0.8 steals), Todd Blanchfield (13.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.1 steals), and Jordair Jett (11.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.5 steals). AJ Ogilvy (9.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.1 blocks) also played a crucial role on both ends of the court.

Despite the talent on the roster, Illawarra hovered between sixth and seventh place for most of the season and couldn’t find enough consistency to make a playoff push, finishing with a 12-16 record in one of the most competitive seasons in NBL history.

During the NBL off-season, Andersen again played in France.

2019/20
On 15 July 2019, Andersen re-signed with the Illawarra Hawks for the 2019/20 season.

MELBOURNE UNITED
2020/21
Andersen was not offered a contract to return to the Illawarra Hawks for the 2020/21 season and returned home to Melbourne and seemingly retired. Andersen kept in shape by playing for his junior team, the Frankston Blues in the NBL1, but when Melbourne United rookie Jack White suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in May, Andersen was added to the roster as an injury replacement.

Another injury hit when Chris Goulding (15.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2 assists) was ruled out for the majority of February 2021. As United battled through the injury bug, Jock Landale (16.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.5 blocks) would lead Melbourne in scoring as the team finished in first place (28-8). Melbourne would then face Victorian rivals, the South East Melbourne Phoenix as their semi finals opponents but with the Victorian lockdown keeping both team’s out of the state, their semi finals series began in empty arenas in held in Sydney.

The two Melbourne team’s split the first two games playing at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena before returning to Melbourne to play the deciding game three with the winner going on to face the Perth Wildcats in the Grand Final. After trailing 32-15 early in the second quarter, Melbourne’s defence locked in to hold South East Melbourne to just 42 points the rest of the night while scoring 69 themselves. With Landale (27 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks) equalling his season-high for points, shooting 11-13 from the floor and a perfect 3/3 from beyond, United came away with the victory (84-74).

In the same game, Goulding (14 points) notched up his 350th game while Mitch McCarron (11 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists), Scotty Hopson (9 points and 6 boards), and Jo Lual-Acuil (8 points and 3 rebounds) all played important roles in the win. Reuben Te Rangi (22 points) and Mitch Creek (19 points) were key contributors for the Phoenix.

Due to the border restrictions by the Western Australian state government the Perth Wildcats (the lower seed) hosted the first two games of the Grand Final series. While the Wildcat’s remained competitive without their injured superstar Bryce Cotton United would win both games in Perth and return to Melbourne to host the third game (United would have also hosted the fourth and fifth games had they not already won the series by the third game).

A sold-out 5,000-strong crowd at John Cain Arena (the maximum allowed within Covid restrictions) witnessed United defeat Perth (81-76) in what would be Melbourne’s sixth championship and their second under the United branding. Landale (15 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks) continued to rack up stats in every category, making him a obvious choice for the Finals MVP.

Andersen would appear in 6 games for the season, averaging 1.3 points, 0 rebounds, and 0.3 assists.

David Andersen played six seasons across three NBL teams. This included the Wollongong Hawks, Illawarra Hawks and Melbourne United. He averaged 6.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 0.9 assists in 120 NBL games.

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