Mark Worthington

Mark Worthington
Personal information
Born (1983-06-08) 8 June 1983
Bunbury, Western Australia
Nationality Australian
Listed height 203 cm (6 ft 8 in)
Listed weight 107 kg (236 lb)
Career information
High school Australind Senior
(Australind, Western Australia)
College Metro State (2001–2005)
NBA draft 2005 / Undrafted
Playing career 2005–2017
Position Power forward / Small forward
Coaching career 2016–present
Career history
As player:
2005–2008 Sydney Kings
2008–2009 South Dragons
2009–2010 Melbourne Tigers
2010 Brose Baskets
2010–2012 Gold Coast Blaze
2011 Mets de Guaynabo
2011 Piratas de Quebradillas
2012–2013 Radnički Kragujevac
2013–2015 Melbourne Tigers/United
2015–2017 Cairns Taipans
As coach:
2016–2017 Cairns Dolphins
2017–present LMU (asst.)
Career highlights and awards

Mark Worthington (born 8 June 1983) is an Australian former professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL). On 10 October 2013, he was named in the Sydney Kings 25th Anniversary Team.[1]

College career

Worthington played college basketball at the Metropolitan State College of Denver under coach Mike Dunlap from 2001 to 2005. He won the NABC Division II Player of the Year award in 2004–05.

Professional career

After a standout career at Metro State, Worthington made his debut with the Sydney Kings of the National Basketball League, winning the NBL Rookie of the Year award in 2005–06. He played three seasons with the Kings, before signing with the South Dragons for the 2008–09 season. The Dragons went on to win the 2009 NBL championship. However, the Dragons folded following 2008–09, and Worthington signed with the Melbourne Tigers for the 2009–10 season.

Following the conclusion of the 2009–10 NBL season, he signed with Brose Baskets of Germany for the remainder of the 2009–10 BBL season.[2]

In September 2010, he signed with the Gold Coast Blaze for the 2010–11 season. Following the NBL season, he joined Mets de Guaynabo of Puerto Rico, before switching to Piratas de Quebradillas in May 2011, before returning to the Blaze for the 2011–12 season.

In July 2012, Worthington signed with Serbian team Radnički Kragujevac.[3] He suffered a season-ending injury in December 2012, forcing him to eventually leave Kragujevac in February 2013.[4] He played 14 games, averaging 10.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.

On 18 July 2013, Worthington signed with the Melbourne Tigers, returning to the club for a second stint.[5] In May 2014, the Tigers changed their name to United.

On 7 July 2015, Worthington signed a two-year deal with the Cairns Taipans.[6] On 13 January 2016, he played his 300th NBL game.[7]

On 22 January 2017, Worthington announced his decision to retire at the end of the 2016–17 NBL season.[8][9] His 335th and final NBL game came in the Taipans' Game 2 semi-final loss to the Perth Wildcats on 20 February 2017 at Perth Arena.[10]

National team career

Worthington made his debut for the Australian national team in 2005 at the FIBA Oceania Championship. He has since played for them at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and four years later in London, as well as at the FIBA World Championship in 2006 and 2010.

Coaching career

In February 2016, Worthington was appointed head coach of QBL women's side, the Cairns Dolphins.[11] After two seasons with the Dolphins, Worthington accepted an assistant-coaching role at Loyola Marymount University in September 2017.[12]

Personal

Worthington's father, Greg, is a basketball coach who has been involved with the South West Slammers. His brother, Trent, is also involved with the Slammers as he plays for the senior SBL team.[13]

Worthington and his wife, Andrea, have two sons, Taz and Axel.[14]

In August 2012, it was announced that Worthington was considering a switch to play Australian rules football for the West Coast Eagles. His uncle, Kevin Worthington played for the Collingwood, Claremont and Perth football clubs in the 1970s and 1980s.[15]

References

  1. Sydney Kings 25th anniversary team honour heals the wounds for Shane
  2. Brose Baskets Bamberg nab Aussie Worthington
  3. "Radnicki signs Mark Worthington". Sportando.com. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  4. Mark Worthington leaves Kragujevac
  5. "FORMER TIGERS MVP RETURNS". NBL.com.au. 18 July 2013. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  6. WORTHINGTON SIGNS TWO-YEAR DEAL IN CAIRNS
  7. MARK WORTHINGTON: LIVING THE DREAM
  8. NBL veteran Worthington to retire
  9. ANNOUNCEMENT: MARK WORTHINGTON
  10. WILDCATS SEND OFF WORTHINGTON, ADVANCE TO GF
  11. BASKETBALL: Worthington to coach Cairns Dolphins in QBL
  12. Wortho bound for US coaching gig
  13. Season Preview - Collie Crane Hire Southwest Slammers
  14. Mark Worthington set to mark 300 NBL games
  15. Eagles eye off Boomer Worthington
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