Danny Morseu
Encyclopedia
Danny Morseu is an Australia
n basketball
player who played on the Australian national basketball team in the 1980 Summer Olympics
and 1984 Summer Olympics
.
, where Australia finished eighth, and at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles
, where Australia finished seventh, their best Olympic result to that date. He was the first Torres Strait Islander to represent Australia at the Olympic Games.
He also played twelve world cup matches for Australia.
. He spent his childhood in Tamwoy, a mission
on Thursday Island, where he grew up without running water or electricity. He started playing basketball at school and despite being cut from his primary school team, he developed into a tall talented teenage athlete. After completing school he moved to Cairns
where he played basketball and rugby league
for local teams.
Morseu attracted the attention of National Basketball League
coach Brian Kerle after playing a match against Kerle's club, the Melbourne-based St Kilda Saints
– on tour of North Queensland. Kerle convinced Morseu to move to Melbourne in 1978, where he played in St Kilda's championship winning teams of 1979 and 1980. He played 217 NBL games in total, winning another NBL championship with the Brisbane Bullets
in 1987.
majoring in recreation from Footscray Institute of Technology
. He was employed in a range of activities for state and federal governments in Victoria
and Queensland, including working in indigenous health. He has acted as a mentor for other indigenous basketball players such as Nathan Jawai
and Patrick Mills
.
He was inducted into the Victoria University Sport Hall of Fame in 2007.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player who played on the Australian national basketball team in the 1980 Summer Olympics
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
and 1984 Summer Olympics
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
.
International career
Morseu played for the Australian team at the 1980 Summer Olympics in MoscowBasketball at the 1980 Summer Olympics
Basketball at the 1980 Summer Olympics was held from July 20 to July 30 at the Olympiiski Indoor Stadium and at the CSKA Sports Palace, both located in Moscow. Finals of both men's and women's events were held 30 July at the Olympiiski Indoor Stadium....
, where Australia finished eighth, and at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles
Basketball at the 1984 Summer Olympics
-Group B:-Championship bracket:-Classification brackets:5th–8th Place9th–12th Place-Preliminary Round:...
, where Australia finished seventh, their best Olympic result to that date. He was the first Torres Strait Islander to represent Australia at the Olympic Games.
He also played twelve world cup matches for Australia.
Club career
A Torres Strait Islander, Morseu was born in 1958 on Thursday Island in Far North QueenslandFar North Queensland
Far North Queensland, or FNQ, is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. The region, which contains a large section of the Tropical North Queensland area, stretches from the city of Cairns north to the Torres Strait...
. He spent his childhood in Tamwoy, a mission
Mission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
on Thursday Island, where he grew up without running water or electricity. He started playing basketball at school and despite being cut from his primary school team, he developed into a tall talented teenage athlete. After completing school he moved to Cairns
Cairns, Queensland
Cairns is a regional city in Far North Queensland, Australia, founded 1876. The city was named after William Wellington Cairns, then-current Governor of Queensland. It was formed to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield, but experienced a decline when an easier route was...
where he played basketball and rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
for local teams.
Morseu attracted the attention of National Basketball League
National Basketball League (Australasia)
The National Basketball League, also known as the iiNet NBL Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in Australasia....
coach Brian Kerle after playing a match against Kerle's club, the Melbourne-based St Kilda Saints
Southern Melbourne Saints
The Southern Melbourne Saints, previously known as the St Kilda Saints and the Westside Melbourne Saints, were an Australian basketball team, that played in Melbourne, Victoria, in the National Basketball League....
– on tour of North Queensland. Kerle convinced Morseu to move to Melbourne in 1978, where he played in St Kilda's championship winning teams of 1979 and 1980. He played 217 NBL games in total, winning another NBL championship with the Brisbane Bullets
Brisbane Bullets
The Brisbane Bullets were, until 2008, a professional basketball team competing in Australia's National Basketball League. The Bullets were one of only two teams that survived since the NBL's inception in 1979; the only surviving team is now the Wollongong Hawks. The team played in Midnight Navy...
in 1987.
Later biography
In 1984, he completed a Bachelor of ArtsBachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
majoring in recreation from Footscray Institute of Technology
Victoria University, Australia
Victoria University is a multi-sector tertiary institution based in Melbourne, Australia with 10 campuses.VU offers qualifications in higher education, vocational education , and short courses...
. He was employed in a range of activities for state and federal governments in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
and Queensland, including working in indigenous health. He has acted as a mentor for other indigenous basketball players such as Nathan Jawai
Nathan Jawai
Nathan Jawai is an Indigenous Australian professional basketball player. He currently plays for the Russian team UNICS Kazan.-Pro career:...
and Patrick Mills
Patrick Mills
Patrick "Patty" Sammie Mills is an Indigenous Australian professional basketball player who plays as a point guard for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers....
.
Awards
Inducted into the NBL Hall of Fame in 2002, Morseu was the first indigenous basketballer so honoured.He was inducted into the Victoria University Sport Hall of Fame in 2007.