Flint the Advertiser's pick as Bendigo Braves greatest player

DAVID Flint is the Bendigo Advertiser's choice as the No.1 player in the 25-year history of the Bendigo Braves basketball club.In the lead-up to tonight's gala function to celebrate the milestone, The Advertiser counted down its top 25 Braves players.1. DAVID FLINT – 318 games, 15.6 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 3.7 apg. Statistics alone don’t justify Flint’s influence on the Braves and the SEABL. In his first eight years he averaged 23 points and 15 rebounds per game. Widely-regarded as the best all-round player to pull on the Braves singlet. Fiercely competitive, brilliant rebounder, great passer for a big man and a sweet shooter from the perimeter, Flint holds club records in games played, rebounds, assists, steals and blocked shots. Flint’s greatest attribute was he made other players around him better players. As a playing coach he led the Braves to their first championship in 1988. 2. DAVID JOHNSON – 94 games, 47.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.8 apg. Statistics say it all for the man known as ‘’DJ”. Johnson set countless scoring records in his SEABL career, but his most famous achievement came in the 1988 championship game against Bulleen. He scorched the Boomers for a staggering 70 points as the Braves won 121-118. Six times he scored more than 60 points in a game, including a career high 71 in June, 1988. He was the Wizard of the Wigwam as he helped put the Braves on the map in Australian basketball.3. RICKY DANIELS – 178 games, 20.3 ppg, 13.1 rpg, 4apg. You have to be a good player to win a national most valuable player award, so to earn the honour twice makes you a special player. Daniels achieved the rare feat with a combination of athleticism and brute strength. In his prime there was no big man in the SEABL that could contain him in the paint. His back-up role this season tarnished his career stars, but fittingly he finished his career with a long awaited SEABL conference championship.4. STEVE DE LAVEAGA – 168 games, 34.7 ppg, 4.9rpg, 3.0apg. As far as pure shooting is concerned, De Laveaga had few equals. Through the mid to late 1990’s he was the premier perimeter shooter in the SEABL. De Laveaga’s amazing work ethic and desire to succeed matched his on-court skills. He remains the Braves leading point scorer with 5836 in his 168 games. His career-high 69-point haul in July, 1995, sits third on the club’s single-game record list.5. STEVE GUILD – 133 games, 26.3 ppg, 12.8rpg, 2.2 apg. Probably second to Flint as far as being a complete all-round player. Had a sweet shooting touch for a big man and did a power of work defensively. The fact Guild gave 100 per cent every time he pulled on a Braves singlet made him one of the club’s all-time most popular imports with his teammates and fans.The rest of the Braves' best as selected by The Advertiser sports team:6 Justin Cass7 Derrick Sanders8 Ben Hunt9 David Beks10 Jon Croft11 Ben Harvey12 Cameron Rigby13 Jason Cameron14 Mike Spears15 Chuck Rose16 Warren Randall17 Mick Spear18 Mark Holder19 Chris Hogan20 Adam Tanner21 Sam Fotu22 Kevin Probert23 Chris Novak24 Steve Kelly25 Tony Boniello