Faces in the crowd: HawkHead John TrivellionScott

During the Illawarra Hawks' 43-year existence, 221 players have pulled on the club's jersey.

But the number of fans who have supported the foundation club during that period is exponentially more.

As such, the club has decided to profile some of the most prominent and longest-serving HawkHeads with our new 'faces in the crowd' series.

After profiling Illawarra's three intern coaches and long-time HawkHead Rhonda Fisher, we decided to feature the journey of Hawks and Illawarra Basketball Association (IBA) life member John TrivellionScott - who joined the club in 1978, three years after its formation.

"The Illawarra men’s basketball team first became the Hawks back in 1975, a few years prior to the commencement of the NBL," TrivellionScott said.

"At that time, the team was competing in the NSW State League and the Australian Club Championships.

"Our playing group, including myself as coach, decided we needed a team name.

"Many names were considered, including Eagles, Miners, Diggers and Pelicans, but finally the Hawks got the nod.

"Most of the players involved with that decision went on to play in the very first Hawks NBL team, including inaugural skipper Bob Kubbinga (deceased), Gordon McLeod, Jim Williams, Tony Robinson, Ray Hannett, Phil Hamer (deceased) and Ron Smith.

"Some years later, the name Hawks was adopted by the Illawarra Basketball Association (IBA) for all their senior and junior representative teams.

"My first official involvement was in 1978 at a second meeting of the basketball associations that were interested in starting a national competition.

"This meeting, chaired by Dr John Raschke in Adelaide, was when the IBA officially committed the Hawks to the NBL."

Then during the Hawks' very first game against St Kilda at the Snakepit, TrivellionScott co-commentated alongside Ron Ross for WIN television.

"It was a great opening game with the Hawks winning a thriller 91-88," he said.

"Back then when the game finished, we had to race back to the WIN studio and start cutting up the tape (mainly to bleep out my swearing) which would then go to air later that night.

"Being involved from the start gave me the opportunity to take on numerous roles within the club over a number of seasons.

"They included interviewing and negotiating player/coaching contracts, sourcing sponsorships, being the team manager and it also gave me the opportunity to sit on the NBL board."

Having been there from the start, TrivellionScott has witnessed firsthand why and how the club continued to evolve the way it did.

"What I love most about our Hawks is that we are showcasing our great sport of basketball, as well as representing the Illawarra region and proudly carrying the tag of being the only foundation club to have played in every season of the NBL," he said.

"One of the biggest reasons for that to happen (particularly in the early years) was because of the large number (60+) of dedicated volunteers - without them, the club would never have survived. 

"For the first 20 seasons, the franchise was owned by the IBA and our objective was to survive year in, year out and keep basketball as a high profile sport in the Illawarra.

"For the first couple of seasons, no player, coach or club official received any payment.

"Team travel expenses were covered by the club and imports were guaranteed a job, free accommodation and a vehicle.

"It wasn’t until the IBA sold the franchise to John Carson (the first person to save the club from its financial demise) that the club could afford to spend anywhere near the salary cap."

Like many HawkHeads profiled before him, TrivellionScott singled out the Hawks' lone championship in 2000-01 as his favourite memory.

"Winning the NBL title and receiving a championship ring is something I am very proud of," he said.

"It was an exciting season, as the team had won 21 of its 28 regular-season games, to finish fourth and secure our place in a six-team playoff.

"In the quarter-finals, we played Perth winning 2-1 before defeating Adelaide by the same margin in the semi-finals.

"Into the grand final against Townsville, we capped an amazing season with another 2-1 win.

"Damon Lowery was the club's hero in the last game against Adelaide in the semi and Glen Saville was outstanding in the grand final series, winning the MVP."

This journey to the banner is just one of the numerous stories TrivellionScott has experienced during his time as a HawkHead.

"There are numerous stories that I could tell, some exciting, some funny and some sad but an interesting one that comes to mind was a regular-season home game against the West Sydney Westars (Bankstown Bruins) in 1986," he said.

"The Hawks had won the game by a single point 78-77 but several days later, the Westars had lodged a complaint to the NBL saying that one of Hawks' three-point baskets had been incorrectly signalled by the referee and that it should only have been two points.

"Video evidence indicated that the player’s foot had touched the line which meant the game would have ended in a draw.

"The NBL deemed that the game had to be replayed and yes we won again by a single point 98-97 - how sweet was that.

"To my knowledge, this was the only game to have been replayed in the history of the NBL."

Similar to countless memories, TrivellionScott has encountered hundreds of players at the Wollongong-based club but the one that stands out above the rest is big man Michael Jones who played 70 NBL games for the club from 1981-83.

"Choosing a favourite Hawks player is certainly not easy but for me, it was Michael Jones," he said.

"In his first season (1981), Michael was the NBL’s highest point scorer with an average of 30.5ppg.

"This was outstanding when you consider that there was no three-point line and 20-minute halves.

"Michael also had the best free throw percentage 87.6 per cent and was third in the field goal percentage with 50.6 per cent.

"He was the league’s MVP that year and an overall great club man during his three seasons here."

Looking ahead, TrivellionScott believes a bright future awaits Jacob Jackomas and his team.

"The current owners have already shown their determination to find success both on and off the court," he said.

"Their commitment shown to our club gives me a feeling of excitement about the future of the Hawks.

"I’ve seen ownership groups come and go over the years with John Carson being our most successful.

"This group with its coaching/support staff, core playing group and the new admin team, I believe will prove to be the best ever in the history of the club.

"I look forward to seeing our newly promoted head coach Jacob Jackomas work his magic.

"I’ve spoken to several past and present NBL coaches and they say that Jacob has the knowledge and experience to do something special for our club in the coming years - I wish him and his team all the best."