Darryl Pearce (15 October 1960 – 12 January 2025) was an Australian professional basketball player. Nicknamed "The Iceman", Pearce played in the National Basketball League (NBL) for the

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in the state's capital of Adela ...

from 1982 to 1991 before playing four seasons (1992–1995) with the

North Melbourne Giants The North Melbourne Giants, previously known as the Coburg Giants, were an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital ...

. He was a renowned

three-point field goal A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or triple) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two ...

shooter, having shot at 41.9% from beyond the arc during his 374-game NBL career.

Career

Adelaide 36ers

Pearce was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, and was a member of junior South Australian teams in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The

were formed for the

1982 NBL season The 1982 NBL season was the fourth season of the National Basketball League (NBL). Regular season The 1982 regular season took place over 22 rounds between 6 February 1982 and 11 July 1982. Each team played 26 games, against every opponent twic ...

(as the ''Adelaide City Eagles'') with Pearce one of the first guards signed by the club. He made his NBL debut on 6 February 1982 in Adelaide's 87–84 loss to the

Coburg Giants The North Melbourne Giants, previously known as the Coburg Giants, were an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital ...

at Adelaide's Apollo Stadium. Pearce scored 14 points and collected 4 rebounds on debut for the new club. He would go on to average 15.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists in his first season. The club changed its name to the Adelaide 36ers from the 1983 NBL season, though the club failed to make the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

until

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

where they were defeated in the Elimination Finals by the Nunawading Spectres. By this time "The Iceman" had cemented his place as one of the premier shooting guards in the league. Following the 1984 season, Adelaide's "other" team, the 1982 champion West Adelaide Bearcats, pulled out of the NBL and a number of their star players including 1982 season

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), known professionally as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer. He is best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Tired of ...

, Australian boomers representatives Peter Ali and Ray Wood, and young gun Mike McKay, moved across to play for the 36ers. Former Australian Boomer and

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

Olympic representative Ken Cole was signed as coach of the Adelaide 36ers for the

1985 NBL season The 1985 NBL season was the seventh season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 14 teams contested the league. Regular season The 1985 regular season took place over 18 rounds between 12 April 1985 and 18 August 1985. Rou ...

. Under Cole, the 36ers became one of the league's premier teams. Also joining the 36ers was

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

Bill Jones, and rebounding

Power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

Mark Davis. Adelaide went on to a 20–6 record and second on the regular season ladder behind the

Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to the league in 2016. Brisbane were one of ten NBL ...

. The team had a bye going into the semi-final where they easily defeated the

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...

151–103 at home in what is still a record semi-final win in the NBL. In the last single game NBL grand final ever played, Adelaide were up against the Brisbane Bullets on the Bullets' home court ( Sleeman Sports Centre). Going into the final period the game the Bullets' were leading 78–74 but a 42–21 last period in favour of the home team saw Adelaide fail to win their first grand final going down 95–120. Statistically Pearce enjoyed his best ever NBL season in 1985, averaging 22.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists. With Green and Pearce, the 36ers had what many believed to be the league's best guard combination despite both being natural shooting guards. Cole successfully chose to leave Pearce at SG (primarily due to his better outside shooting) and move Green to play

Point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

. Green jokingly later told that he "hated" Pearce for being forced to play the point, but added seriously that he would play alongside him any day because he is "a true winner". Pearce and the 36ers won their first NBL championship in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

, defeating the Brisbane Bullets 2–1 in the NBL's first ever three game Grand Final series. The Iceman averaged 19.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists for the season while averaging 23.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in the GF series. While Adelaide, now under the coaching of Gary Fox, was still at the top of the league in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

and 1988, they were unable to progress past the Semi-finals in both seasons. Pearce averaged 20.6 points in both seasons. In Round 2 of the 1988 season against the Ken Cole coached Newcastle Falcons in Newcastle, Pearce set two Adelaide 36ers records that still stand as of the 2014–15 NBL season. He set the 36ers single game scoring record with 48 points and also set the record for most three-pointers made when he hit 11/14 from outside the arc with only Brett Maher able to match his 3-point record when he hit 11/12 in a game against Brisbane in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. The team slipped to 6th place in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

in Fox's last year as coach before missing the playoffs for the first time in seven years by finishing 9th in

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

under new coach and long time team assistant Don Shipway. Despite Adelaide missing the playoffs in 1990, Pearce was selected to his only NBL All Star Game played at the

Perth Entertainment Centre The Perth Entertainment Centre was an indoor arena and cinema complex in Perth, Western Australia, located on Wellington Street, Perth, Wellington Street at the northern edge of the Perth#cbd, Perth central business district. It was demolished a ...

. The club was back in the Semi-finals in

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, but once again fell short, losing the Semis to defending champions the Perth Wildcats. 1991 would prove to be Pearce's last as a 36ers player and before the 1992 NBL season he was released by the club and would join the North Melbourne Giants. Pearce played 258 NBL games for the Adelaide 36ers.

North Melbourne Giants

Pearce joined North Melbourne for the 1992 season, with his first game for the club being against Adelaide at the 36ers new home, the 8,000 seat Clipsal Powerhouse. He scored 8 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists for the Giants, though they were beaten 106–84. Despite their poor start, the Giants would make the Semi-finals in 1992 where they were defeated in two games by the South East Melbourne Magic. After being eliminated in the

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

Quarter finals by the Perth Wildcats, the Giants bounced back in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

to win their second NBL championship after defeating Pearce's former club Adelaide 2–0 in the Grand Final series. Pearce's last season in the NBL came in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

. He announced his retirement after the Giants lost the Grand Final series to the Wildcats.

National team

Pearce played numerous games for the Australian Boomers throughout his career. He represented Australia in the

1986 FIBA World Championship The 1986 FIBA World Championship was the 10th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. It was hosted by Spain and was held from 5 to 20 July 1986. The final phase of the tournament was hel ...

in Spain, as well as at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea.

Personal life and death

As of 2016, Pearce worked as a financial planner and lived in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. He died there on 12 January 2025, at the age of 64.

Accolades

Pearce was inducted into the

Australian Basketball Hall of Fame The Australian Basketball Hall of Fame was instituted by the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1998 as the ''NBL Hall of Fame'' as part of their 20th season celebrations. The NBL initiated the Hall of Fame to recognise the outstanding players ...

in 2002. In his 14 seasons playing in the NBL, Pearce only missed playing the Finals on three occasions - 1982, 1983 and 1990. He played in 4 Grand Finals (1985, 1986, 1994, 1995) including the last single game Grand Final (1985) and the first Championship Series (1986), winning the title in 1986 with Adelaide and 1994 with North Melbourne. On 14 November 2015, the Adelaide 36ers formally retired the No. 4 worn by Pearce as well as the No. 15 of his long time guard partner Al Green. The numbers joined the No. 5 of Brett Maher and the No. 33 of their 1986 championship teammate Mark Davis hanging from the rafters of the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.36ers Retiring Two Numbers
/ref>

NBL career stats

, - , style="text-align:left",

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

* , style="text-align:left;", Adelaide City Eagles , 26 , , 26 , , ''NA'' , , .514 , , ''NA'' , , .761 , , 2.7 , , 2.0 , , ''NA'' , , ''NA'' , , 15.6 , - , style="text-align:left",

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

* , style="text-align:left;",

, 22 , , 22 , , ''NA'' , , .516 , , ''NA'' , , .750 , , 1.7 , , 2.1 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 15.8 , - , style="text-align:left",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 24 , , 24 , , ''NA'' , , .469 , , .440 , , .809 , , 3.1 , , 3.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 26.0 , - , style="text-align:left",

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 28 , , 28 , , ''NA'' , , .443 , , .454 , , .761 , , 2.9 , , 4.6 , , 1.2 , , 0.5 , , 22.8 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;",

† , style="text-align:left;",

, 29 , , 29 , , ''NA'' , , .410 , , .388 , , .828 , , 3.1 , , 3.9 , , 1.0 , , 0.2 , , 19.3 , - , style="text-align:left",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 21 , , 21 , , 33.3 , , .485 , , .444 , , .757 , , 2.1 , , 2.4 , , 0.9 , , 0.5 , , 20.6 , - , style="text-align:left", 1988 , style="text-align:left;",

, 26 , , 26 , , 37.4 , , .457 , , .411 , , .833 , , 2.5 , , 4.9 , , 1.1 , , 0.2 , , 20.6 , - , style="text-align:left",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 27 , , 27 , , 35.8 , , .409 , , .344 , , .893 , , 2.5 , , 4.2 , , 1.2 , , 0.2 , , 15.2 , - , style="text-align:left",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 26 , , 26 , , 33.9 , , .434 , , .447 , , .841 , , 2.5 , , 5.4 , , 1.2 , , 0.5 , , 16.9 , - , style="text-align:left",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 29 , , 29 , , 24.8 , , .455 , , .446 , , .836 , , 1.5 , , 2.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 16.0 , - , style="text-align:left",

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 28 , , ''NA'' , , 20.3 , , .437 , , .366 , , .852 , , 1.3 , , 1.3 , , 0.9 , , 0.0 , , 8.6 , - , style="text-align:left",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 29 , , ''NA'' , , 30.6 , , .412 , , .402 , , .655 , , 2.1 , , 3.7 , , 1.2 , , 0.3 , , 11.6 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;",

† , style="text-align:left;",

, 30 , , ''NA'' , , 15.4 , , .464 , , .441 , , .692 , , 1.3 , , 1.5 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 8.0 , - , style="text-align:left",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 29 , , ''NA'' , , 12.3 , , .435 , , .433 , , .667 , , 0.8 , , 1.2 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 5.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2" , Career , 374 , , ''NA'' , , ''NA'' , , .453 , , .419 , , .797 , , 2.1 , , 3.2 , , 0.9 , , 0.2 , , 15.6 ''* The NBL only introduced the 3-point line in 1984 thus there is no 3-point field goal percentage for 1982 and 1983.''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, Darryl 1960 births 2025 deaths Adelaide 36ers players Australian men's basketball players Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics North Melbourne Giants players Olympic basketball players for Australia Shooting guards Basketball players from Adelaide 1986 FIBA World Championship players Sportsmen from South Australia 20th-century Australian sportsmen