Paul Rogers (basketball)
Encyclopedia
Paul Andrew Rogers is a retired Australian basketball
player who played in the National Basketball League
. He was also drafted to the NBA in the 1997 draft
by the Los Angeles Lakers
but never played an NBA game.
, started his NBL career with the Adelaide 36ers
in 1992 at the age of 18 where he was back up to Aussie Boomers
centre Mark Bradtke
. His first two seasons in the league saw Rogers play just 10 games for the 36ers averaging just 1.4 points per game.
Following a four year stint playing college basketball
in the United States
at Gonzaga University
, Rogers was lured home to Australia
in 1999 to play for the Perth Wildcats
. The move would prove fruitful as the Wildcats would win the 2000 NBL Championship defeating the Victoria Titans
2 games to nil in the grand final series. Rogers all-round play was rewarded in 2000 as he was voted the NBL's Most Valuable Player
. He also won the first of two selections to the All NBL First Team
in 2000.
He continued to play for the Wildcats until the end of the 2001-02 NBL season
, following which he signed to return home to the Adelaide 36ers who would be defending NBL champions. The season was a disappointing one for the defending champs as they were eliminated in the leagues elimination finals. Rogers season was interrupted by injury and he only appeared in 9 games, averaging 11 points per game compared to his 30 games and 19 point average the previous season in Perth
.
Following his disappointing 2002-03 NBL season
, Rogers moved to play in Spain
for Casademont Girona from 2003–2005 and then Real Madrid
in 2006 in the Spanish Liga ACB.
Rogers was again re-signed by the Perth Wildcats for the 2005-06 NBL season
and would remain with the club until his retirement following the 2009-10 NBL season, during which time he was selected to the All NBL Third Team in 2007-08
. he was also named captain of the team from the 2006-07 NBL season
.
Just two games into the 2009-10 NBL season, Rogers injured his elbow and was expected to miss up to 14 weeks of the season. Following the Wilcats win in the NBL grand final series over the Wollongong Hawks
, and after 214 NBL games, he announced his retirement from professional basketball.
at both the 2000
and 2004
Summer Olympic Games
, and once at the FIBA World Championship
in 1998
.
basketball at Gonzaga University
, notably playing on the Bulldogs
first-ever NCAA tournament
team in 1995
.
where he was selected as the 25th pick in the 2nd round by the Los Angeles Lakers
. He was then traded by the Lakers to the Toronto Raptors
but never played an NBA game.
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player who played in the National Basketball League
National Basketball League (Australia)
The National Basketball League, also known as the iiNet NBL Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in Australasia....
. He was also drafted to the NBA in the 1997 draft
1997 NBA Draft
The 1997 NBA Draft took place on June 25, 1997 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Although the Celtics had the second worst record in the 1996-97 season and the best odds of winning the lottery with two picks, the Spurs, usually a model of winning and consistency, lost David Robinson to an injury early...
by the Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
but never played an NBA game.
Professional career
Rogers, a 7'0" (213 cm) tall centreCenter (basketball)
The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...
, started his NBL career with the Adelaide 36ers
Adelaide 36ers
The Adelaide 36ers are Adelaide's men's professional basketball team, established as the Adelaide City Eagles when they joined the National Basketball League in 1982. The Adelaide 36ers tally of four championships is equal with the Melbourne Tigers and second behind the Perth Wildcats as the most...
in 1992 at the age of 18 where he was back up to Aussie Boomers
Australia national basketball team
The Australian national basketball team is the men's basketball side that represents Australia in international competitions. The team is known in Australia as the Boomers, an Australian slang term for Kangaroo. Australia is ranked 9th in the world and finished 7th at the 2008 Beijing Olympic...
centre Mark Bradtke
Mark Bradtke
Mark Robert Bradtke is a retired Australian professional basketball player who played mainly in Australia's National Basketball League but also had a single stint in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1996-97...
. His first two seasons in the league saw Rogers play just 10 games for the 36ers averaging just 1.4 points per game.
Following a four year stint playing college basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University is a private Roman Catholic university located in Spokane, Washington, United States. Founded in 1887 by the Society of Jesus, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and is named after the young Jesuit saint, Aloysius Gonzaga...
, Rogers was lured home to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1999 to play for the Perth Wildcats
Perth Wildcats
The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League. The Wildcats are the only team in the league representing the state of Western Australia and are based in the state capital, Perth...
. The move would prove fruitful as the Wildcats would win the 2000 NBL Championship defeating the Victoria Titans
Victoria Titans
The Victoria Titans were an Australian basketball team, that played in Melbourne, Victoria, in the National Basketball League. The team was the result of a merger of two Melbourne clubs for the inaugural NBL summer season of 1998/99...
2 games to nil in the grand final series. Rogers all-round play was rewarded in 2000 as he was voted the NBL's Most Valuable Player
NBL (Australia) Most Valuable Player
At the conclusion of each NBL game, both coaches award votes to the best players from that game. Each coach has 10 votes to allocate, with no more than 5 to be awarded to one player by each coach....
. He also won the first of two selections to the All NBL First Team
NBL (Australia) All NBL teams
-NBL First Teams:* 1980 Cal Stamp, Danny Morseu, Brian Banks, Herb McEachin, Ian Davies and Ken Richardson* 1981 Rocky Smith, Danny Morseu, Al Green, David Nelson and Owen Wells* 1982 George Morrow, James Crawford, Leroy Loggins, Phil Smyth and Larry Sengstock...
in 2000.
He continued to play for the Wildcats until the end of the 2001-02 NBL season
2001-02 NBL Season
Here are the results and statistics from the National Basketball League season of 2000-2001.-End of Season Ladder:This is the ladder at the end of season, before the finals. In all, 154 games were played, 28 for each team. The top 6 teams qualified for the finals series.-First Round:1st played...
, following which he signed to return home to the Adelaide 36ers who would be defending NBL champions. The season was a disappointing one for the defending champs as they were eliminated in the leagues elimination finals. Rogers season was interrupted by injury and he only appeared in 9 games, averaging 11 points per game compared to his 30 games and 19 point average the previous season in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
.
Following his disappointing 2002-03 NBL season
2002-03 NBL Season
The 2002-03 National Basketball League is the 25th season of professional basketball in Australia....
, Rogers moved to play in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
for Casademont Girona from 2003–2005 and then Real Madrid
Real Madrid Baloncesto
Real Madrid Baloncesto is a Spanish professional basketball team founded in 1932 as a division of the Real Madrid club. They play in the Asociación de Clubes de Baloncesto ....
in 2006 in the Spanish Liga ACB.
Rogers was again re-signed by the Perth Wildcats for the 2005-06 NBL season
2005-06 NBL Season
Here are the results and statistics from the National Basketball League season of 2005-2006.-End of Season Ladder:This is the ladder at the end of season, before the finals. In all, 176 games were played, 32 for each team. The top 8 teams qualified for the finals series.KeyThe quarter finals were...
and would remain with the club until his retirement following the 2009-10 NBL season, during which time he was selected to the All NBL Third Team in 2007-08
2007-08 NBL Season
2007-08 is the 30th NBL season.On 21 November 2006, the NBL announced that Gold Coast Blaze will join the league, expanding it to 13 teams.-2007-08 league participants:-Pre-season Transactions:...
. he was also named captain of the team from the 2006-07 NBL season
2006-07 NBL Season
The 2006-07 National Basketball League is the 29th season of professional basketball in Australia. For the first time, a team was established from outside the Australasian area, with the Singapore Slingers taking over the licence of the Hunter Pirates...
.
Just two games into the 2009-10 NBL season, Rogers injured his elbow and was expected to miss up to 14 weeks of the season. Following the Wilcats win in the NBL grand final series over the Wollongong Hawks
Wollongong Hawks
The Wollongong Hawks are a team competing in Australia's National Basketball League , based in the New South Wales city of Wollongong. They won the NBL championship in 2001 and finished as runners-up in 2005 and 2010...
, and after 214 NBL games, he announced his retirement from professional basketball.
International career
Rogers played for the Australian BoomersAustralia national basketball team
The Australian national basketball team is the men's basketball side that represents Australia in international competitions. The team is known in Australia as the Boomers, an Australian slang term for Kangaroo. Australia is ranked 9th in the world and finished 7th at the 2008 Beijing Olympic...
at both the 2000
Basketball at the 2000 Summer Olympics
-Group B:-Championship bracket:-Classification matches:-Preliminary round:The four best teams from each group advanced to the quarterfinal round.-Group A:-Group B:-Championship bracket:...
and 2004
Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place at the Helliniko Olympic Indoor Arena in Athens, Greece for the preliminary rounds, with the latter stages being held in the Olympic Indoor Hall at the Athens Olympic Sports Complex....
Summer Olympic Games
Summer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that...
, and once at the FIBA World Championship
FIBA World Championship
The FIBA World Championship is an international basketball competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of the International Basketball Federation , the sport's global governing body...
in 1998
1998 FIBA World Championship
The 1998 FIBA World Championship was the 13th FIBA World Championship, an international basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation and hosted in Athens, Greece from July 29 to August 9, 1998...
.
College
Following the 1993 NBL season, Rogers was recruited to play U.S. collegeCollege basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
basketball at Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University is a private Roman Catholic university located in Spokane, Washington, United States. Founded in 1887 by the Society of Jesus, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and is named after the young Jesuit saint, Aloysius Gonzaga...
, notably playing on the Bulldogs
Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball
The Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Gonzaga University. The school competes in the West Coast Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
first-ever NCAA tournament
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
team in 1995
1995 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1995 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 1995, and ended with the championship game on April 3 at the Kingdome in Seattle,...
.
NBA
After his stint at Gonzaga university, Rogers nominated for the 1997 NBA Draft1997 NBA Draft
The 1997 NBA Draft took place on June 25, 1997 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Although the Celtics had the second worst record in the 1996-97 season and the best odds of winning the lottery with two picks, the Spurs, usually a model of winning and consistency, lost David Robinson to an injury early...
where he was selected as the 25th pick in the 2nd round by the Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
. He was then traded by the Lakers to the Toronto Raptors
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's re-expansion...
but never played an NBA game.