Andrew Parkinson on the SE Melbourne Magic championship years and facing bladder cancer

Andrew Parkinson played 10 seasons in the NBL debuting with the Geelong Supercats (1988–1990) before relocating to Melbourne where he would win the league's Most Improved Player award in 1991 with the Southern Melbourne Saints after averaging 21 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists per game.

In 1992 the Saints merged with cross-town rivals the Eastside Spectres and formed the South East Melbourne Magic where "Parky" played from 1992 to 1998, winning NBL championships in 1992 and 1996.

In September 2019, Parky was diagnosed with small cell carcinoma (SSC) of the bladder, a highly malignant and fast-growing cancer. 

Parky gives us an update on his condition and takes us through NBL championship years with the South East Melbourne Magic.

Topics include;

• Playing basketball as a junior with Knox and Dandenong basketball associations (2:00)
• Becoming one of the first Australia's to attend an NCAA basketball program (10:00)
• A rookie season with Geelong Supercats (11:30)
• A breakout season in 1991 which resulted in the NBL Most Improved Player (18:00)
• Be a part of the Australia Boomers program in 1992 (22:00)
• Playing for the now-defunct Southern Melbourne Saints (26:30)
• Parky's current battle with bladder cancer (30:00)
• How much did the Magic and Tigers hate each other back in the day (36:00)
• The Spectres merge with the Saints and win the 1992 NBL championship as the South East Melbourne Magic (41:00)
• What Brian Goorjian's grueling training sessions were like (43:00)
• Why Robert Rose was the best import Parky ever played with (54:00)
• The road to the 1992 NBL Championship (56:00)
• A second Magic championship in 1996 (58:00)
• Did the Magic underachieve by only winning two titles? (105:00)
• What forced Parky into an early retirement (109:00)
• The biggest mistake of Parky's career and what he learned from it (1:14:00)
• The highlight of his career and is Parky's "masters" basketball team the greatest of all time (1:19:00)

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Listen to our previous interviews with the biggest stars in Australian Basketball, head to Aussiehoopla.com. Check out previous podcasts featuring;

Australian Basketball Legends - Luc Longley, Andrew Gaze, Shane Heal, Mark Bradtke, Leroy Loggins, David Andersen, Andrew Vlahov, CJ Bruton, Chris Anstey, Brett Maher, John Rillie, Tony Ronaldson, Brad Newley

Current NBL Stars - Kevin Lisch, AJ Ogilvy, Damian Martin, Daniel Kickert, Thomas Abercrombie, Jason Cadee, Bryce Cotton, Chris Goulding, Mitch McCarron, Cam Gliddon, Anthony Drmic

Our Finest Coaching Minds - Brian Goorjian, Joey Wright, Adrian Hurley, Aaron Fearne, Rob Beveridge, Phil Smyth, Ian Stacker, Shawn Dennis, Dean Vickerman, Trevor Gleeson, Lindsey Gaze, Ken Cole, Will Weaver

NBA Stars Past & Present - Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova, Stephen Jackson, Randy Livingston, Torrey Craig, Acie Earl, Josh Childress, Reggie Smith, Todd Lichti, Ryan Broekhoff, Doug Overton

The NBL's Greatest Imports - Darryl McDonald, Ricky Grace, Derek Rucker, Leon Trimmingham, Scott Fisher, Lanard Copeland, Mike Mitchell, Darnell Mee, Isaac Burton, Adonis Jordan, Shawn Redhage, Willie Farley, Al Green, Corey "Homicide" Williams, Andre Moore, Steve Woodberry, Mike Mitchell, Dusty Rychart, Ebi Ere, Doug Overton

And the men who run things - Larry Kestelman, Paul Maley, Vince Crivelli, Jeremy Loeliger, Chuck Harmison, Jeff Van Groningen, Bob Turner

All that and much more.

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