Dante Exum with Michelle Timms. 76738
By MICHAEL ESPOSITO
WHEN a basketball legend says a young up-and-coming 16-year-old is going to be an Australian champion, you should sit up and listen.
That was how Michelle Timms, arguably Australia’s greatest Australian female basketballer, predicted Dante Exum’s future at a recent dinner hosted by Sunshine and Western Region Sports Club in Maidstone.
Exum, a Seabrook resident, was being awarded the monthly Don Deeble Rising Star Award nomination at the dinner, so it was fitting that a basketballing legend was the guest speaker.
“I think you should all get your pens and papers out and get his autograph now because this guy’s the real deal,” Timms said of Exum.
“He’s going to be the biggest name since Andrew Gaze. It’s a privilege to have Dante here and to be able to say in however many years time, sooner rather than later, that you had a dinner with Dante. He’s the big name that everyone’s talking about right now.”
That’s high praise coming from a basketballer with such an immaculate pedigree.
Despite the widespread sporting knowledge of club members, many were surprised to hear just how much Timms has achieved.
Her 241 games for the Australian national team and captaining the Opals to a Sydney Olympics silver medal has been well documented, but less known is that she is one of only two players in WNBA history (she played for the Phoenix Mercury) to have her singlet retired.
She was also the first Australian woman to play in Europe. She spent six years in Germany and won the European Championship.
Timms said while the marketing of the sport could be greatly improved, the talent coming through was plentiful.
