The Life Of Rillie

While putting the finishing touches on the Members-Only Workshop of the website, I came across the following historic article on John Rillie and his run with Gonzaga in the NCAA tournament. Click on the title below to read the full story.

Sports | The Life Of Rillie | Seattle Times Newspaper

By Craig Smith

ALTHOUGH TOO SMALL to entertain hopes of making a name for himself in the NBA, Australian John Rillie and his shooting have brought postseason life - and recognition - to Gonzaga. -----------------------------------------------------------------

SPOKANE - The Gonzaga Bulldogs are in the NCAA tournament for the first time because they followed some simple instructions from their coach in the West Coast Conference tournament:

'Get the round thing to the bald thing.'

The round thing was the basketball. The bald thing was senior guard John Rillie, who made 20 of 28 three-pointers and 22 of 24 free throws on his way to averaging 32 points in the three games.

Rillie is a 23-year-old Australian hoopaholic with a shaved head and a textbook jumpshot - beautiful arc and enough backspin to risk skid marks.

Rillie's out-of-body performance in the WCC Tournament in Santa Clara is one of the best performances by a college basketball player in state history.