No 74: Dickel leads NCAA in assists (2000)
This is one of those lesser known Otago sporting achievements that may never get the credit it deserves.
It happened far away, in Las Vegas, and at a level of basketball with which not every sports fan here is familiar.
But Mark Dickel's effort in leading all of American college basketball in the assists category in 1999-2000 was an extraordinary effort.
For the hoops-ignorant, an assist is a statistic credited to a player who has made a pass leading to a basket. For a point guard like Dickel, assists are the ultimate measurement of how unselfish he has been and how good he has made his team-mates look.
Dickel, nicknamed "Sparky" because of his speed and hyperactive manner, had been recruited out of Logan Park High School by the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
He was a steady contributor to the team in the intense arena of college basketball, but really flourished in his fourth - senior - year.
In 31 games that season, Dickel dished out 280 assists at the outstanding average of 9.03 per game.
It was good enough to lead all 340-plus schools in division one basketball. Previous winners of the assists title had included future NBA players Mark Jackson, Avery Johnson and Jason Kidd, who won the NBA title with the Dallas Mavericks this year.
Dickel has since travelled the world playing professional basketball: Australia, Turkey, Belgium Russia, Poland, Greece and Germany. He also coached in Albania.
This year, he played for the Southland Sharks under coach and brother Richard, and has resumed his Tall Blacks career.
