Russell Hinder (born 10 July 1979) is an Australian former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player who played 13 seasons in the NBL. In 1997, he attended the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of th ...

. Hinder attended the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The ...

before transferring to

Augusta State University Augusta State University was a public university in Augusta, Georgia. It merged with Georgia Health Sciences University in 2012 to form Georgia Regents University, later known as Augusta University. History Augusta State University was founde ...

in 2000. He then came back to sign up with the

West Sydney Razorbacks The West Sydney Razorbacks (known in its final season as the Sydney Spirit) were an Australian professional basketball team that competed in the National Basketball League (NBL). The club was based in Sydney, New South Wales. They were the s ...

in which his last season with the club he not only lead the team to a NBL Grand Final, his season performance got him third in the Most Improved player award. He then went to play for the

Hunter Pirates The Hunter Pirates are a defunct Australian professional men's basketball team that competed in the National Basketball League (NBL). It was based in the city of Newcastle, New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales ...

where he spent one year before they left the league. He then joined the

Sydney Kings The Sydney Kings are an Australian men's professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (NBL). The team is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The Kings were formed from a merger between the West Sydney Westars and the ...

where he earned himself a spot in the Australian Boomers team where the Boomers won the Gold Medal at the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 ( Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

and also a spot at the FIBA World Championships that same year. He also led the Sydney Kings to two Grand Finals but was unsuccessful losing to the

Melbourne Tigers Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John Cain Arena. The team made their debut in the NBL in 1984 as ...

on both occasions. Just like the Pirates, the Kings had to fold at the end of the 2007/08 NBL season. Without a club, Russell was about to retire before he signed with the

Townsville Crocodiles The Townsville Crocodiles were an Australian professional men's basketball team based in the North Queensland city of Townsville. They competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at the Townsville Entertainme ...

as just days before he signed the Crocodiles lost their star centre

Ben Pepper Ben Pepper (born 15 July 1975) is a retired Australian basketball player, who played twelve seasons in the National Basketball League. Professional career Ben Pepper, a center began his pro career in the NBL with the Newcastle Falcons in th ...

who had "family issues". Once Hinder landed in

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 30 ...

, he announced that he wanted to help the Crocs win an NBL championship as the team had not won a championship and Hinder has been in three NBL finals but has never won a series. Hinder won the 2008–09 Townsville Crocodiles' Players' Player Award. He was sidelined for the entire 2011–12 NBL season with a broken leg. On 4 November 2013, Hinder announced he would be retiring following the conclusion of the 2013–14 season. On 22 March 2014, Hinder played his 350th and final NBL game in an 88–79 victory over the Sydney Kings. In 31 minutes of action, he recorded 13 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block.

References

External links

Eurobasket.com Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hinder, Russell 1979 births Living people Augusta Jaguars men's basketball players Australian men's basketball players Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States Australian Institute of Sport basketball players Basketball players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Centers (basketball) Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Otago Nuggets players Power forwards San Francisco Dons men's basketball players Sydney Kings players Townsville Crocodiles players West Sydney Razorbacks players Commonwealth Games medallists in basketball 2006 FIBA World Championship players 20th-century Australian people 21st-century Australian people Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Basketball players from Sydney Sportsmen from New South Wales