Darnell Mee on Adelaide's 2001 Heartbreak, Defending NBL legends and more

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Two-time NBL champion and five-time NBL Best Defensive Player Darnell Mee returns to the podcast to revisit Adelaide's back-to-back championships, the heartbreaking end to the 2001 season and why that loss ultimately led him to leave the 36ers.

Host Dan Boyce chats with Mee about watching his son Micale build his own basketball career in Australia, representing Adelaide at the McDonald's Championship, becoming teammates with Damon Lowery after their infamous 2001 playoff meeting, and the extraordinary sacrifices made by players to help save the Cairns Taipans. Darnell also breaks down how he approached defending some of the greatest players in NBL history.

Topics include:

• His current work as a teacher and basketball coach at Cleveland High School
• Watching his son Micale build his own basketball career in Australia
• Western Kentucky's 1992–93 team joining him in the school's Athletic Hall of Fame
• Representing Adelaide at the 1999 McDonald's Championship in Milan
• His time with Kinder Bologna and playing professionally in France and Germany
• How Adelaide figured out Brian Goorjian's South East Melbourne Magic and Victoria Titans teams
• The team chemistry and off-court bonding behind Adelaide's back-to-back championships
• The championship Adelaide believed it should have won in 1999–2000
• When the chemistry of the championship 36ers began to disappear
• The internal tension surrounding Adelaide's 2000–01 season
• His missed free throw and the heartbreaking end to Adelaide's 2001 playoff run
• What happened inside the silent Adelaide changeroom after the loss
• Why the 2001 defeat convinced him to leave Adelaide and return to Europe
• Becoming teammates with Damon Lowery at the Wollongong Hawks
• The Taipans entering voluntary administration and players accepting major salary cuts
• How the Cairns community helped prevent the club from disappearing
• How he approached defending Andrew Gaze, Ricky Grace, Daryl McDonald, Shane Heal and other NBL legends
• Whether he would consider returning to Australia in a coaching role

All of this and a whole lot more...