Dillon Stith

Dillon Stith
No. 3 – Cairns Taipans
PositionPower forward
LeagueNBL
Personal information
Born (1992-02-20) February 20, 1992 (age 32)
Bedford, Virginia, U.S.
NationalityAmerican / Australian
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High schoolLiberty High School (Bealeton, Virginia)
CollegeSaint Vincent (2010–2014)
NBA draft2014: undrafted
Playing career2015–present
Career history
2015Melbourne Tigers
2016–2019McKinnon Cougars
2016–2017Belfast Star
2019–2021Melbourne United
2021–2022Frankston Blues
2023Waverley Falcons
2023–2024BBC Arantia Larochette
2024Casey Cavaliers
2024–presentCairns Taipans
Career highlights and awards
  • Big V champion (2019)
  • 2× Big V MVP (2017, 2019)
  • 4× Big V All-Star Five (2015, 2017–2019)
  • Irish Super League All-Star Second Team (2017)
  • Irish Super League scoring champion (2017)
  • PAC Player of the Year (2014)
  • First-team All-PAC (2014)
  • Second-team All-PAC (2013)

Dillon Stith (born February 20, 1992) is an American-Australian professional basketball player for the Cairns Taipans of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for Saint Vincent College before moving to Australia in 2015 to play in the Big V. After one season with the Melbourne Tigers, he played four seasons for the McKinnon Cougars between 2016 and 2019, winning Big V MVPs in 2017 and 2019 and leading the Cougars to the championship in 2019. He played two seasons with Melbourne United of the NBL between 2019 and 2021.

Early life

Stith was born in Bedford, Virginia.[1] He attended Liberty High School in Bealeton, Virginia, where he was a two-time letterman and Senior Captain while earning First Team All-District and Second Team All-Area honors.[2]

College career

Stith played four seasons of college basketball for the Saint Vincent College Bearcats in the NCAA Division III between 2010 and 2014. As a freshman in 2010–11, he appeared in all 27 games and made one start while averaging 5.2 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.[2] As a sophomore in 2011–12, he appeared in all 27 games with 13 starts and averaged 9.8 points and a team-leading 5.6 rebounds per game. He also blocked a team-high 35 shots.[2] As a junior in 2012–13, he was named to All-PAC Second Team after averaging 11.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He appeared in all 29 games with 14 starts.[2] As a senior in 2013–14, he was named the PAC Player of the Year after being the only player in the conference to average a double-double with 19.5 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.[3]

Professional career

Stith arrived in Australia with a touring team.[4] After playing well in front of the Australian teams, he was offered a contract to play for the Melbourne Tigers in the Big V.[5] He averaged 22.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game in the 2015 season[5] and earned Big V All-Star Five honors.[6]

For the 2016 Big V season, Stith joined the McKinnon Cougars.[5] He averaged 21.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.[7]

In November 2016, Stith moved to Ireland to play for Belfast Star in the Super League.[8] He was named Player of the Month for December.[9] He left the team in February 2017.[10] He was named to the league's All-Star Second Team for the 2016–17 season[11] and was the league's scoring champion with 27.4 points per game.[12][13]

Stith returned to the McKinnon Cougars for the 2017 season. He was named co-MVP of the Big V and earned All-Star Five honors.[14]

In October 2017, Stith joined Melbourne United of the National Basketball League (NBL) for their trip to the United States to play an NBA preseason exhibition game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.[15][16]

With the Cougars in 2018, Stith was again named to the All-Star Five[17] while averaging 19.96 points per game.[7]

In 2019, Stith led the Cougars to the Big V grand final series, where they defeated the Hume City Broncos 2–0 to win the championship.[18] He had 37 points and 14 rebounds in the game two victory.[7] He averaged 26.5 points and 11.2 rebounds for the season[7] while earning league MVP honors and All-Star Five.[19]

On October 2, 2019, Stith joined the roster of Melbourne United as an injury replacement for Casey Prather.[20][21] He made his NBL debut the following day against the South East Melbourne Phoenix.[22] He travelled to the United States with Melbourne later that month to play two NBA preseason games.[23] As a result of an injury setback to Prather in both November and December, Stith remained in the line-up.[24][25] In eight games during the 2019–20 NBL season, Stith averaged 2.0 points per game.[26]

Stith had signed with the Knox Raiders of the NBL1 for the 2020 season,[27] but the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[28]

In February 2021, Stith re-joined Melbourne United as an injury replacement.[29] In seven games during the 2020–21 NBL season, he averaged 1.4 points per game.[26]

Stith joined the Frankston Blues of the NBL1 South for the 2021 season.[30][31] He scored double digits in all fifteen games for the Blues while averaging 22.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.[32]

Stith re-joined the Frankston Blues for the 2022 NBL1 South season.[32] In 24 games, he averaged 15.83 points, 6.83 rebounds, 1.54 assists and 1.17 steals per game.[33]

Stith joined the Waverley Falcons for the 2023 NBL1 South season.[34] He averaged 22 points and nine rebounds per game.[35]

For the 2023–24 season, Stith joined BBC Arantia Larochette of the Luxembourg Basketball League.[35]

Stith joined the Casey Cavaliers for the 2024 NBL1 South season.[35][36] In 22 games, he averaged 18.91 points, 7.68 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.14 steals per game.[37]

On July 2, 2024, Stith signed with the Cairns Taipans for the 2024–25 NBL season.[38]

Personal life

Stith's older brother, Jeff Mallory, also played professional basketball.[23]

Stith obtained Australian citizenship in February 2023.[39]

References

  1. ^ "Dillon Stith". espn.com. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d "Dillon Stith - Men's Basketball". Saint Vincent College. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  3. ^ D'Abruzzo, John (January 19, 2015). "Dillon Stith, Isaac Turner Look To Slam It Down Under". pacstream.net. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  4. ^ "From SVC Basketball to Australian Pro". The Review. 2019-11-21. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  5. ^ a b c "Cougars Sign Dillon Stith - McKinnon Basketball Association". SportsTG. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  6. ^ "2015 Big V Awards Winners!". BigV.com.au. September 20, 2015. Archived from the original on October 17, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d "Dillon Stith - Player Statistics". SportsTG. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  8. ^ Coughlan, John (November 11, 2016). "Basketball: Unbeaten Glanmire on Mercy mission". irishexaminer.com. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  9. ^ "PLAYERS AND COACHES OF THE MONTH FOR DECEMBER ANNOUNCED". BasketballIreland.ie. January 11, 2017. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  10. ^ Kelly, David (February 13, 2017). "Dillon Stith's departure is a hammer blow for Star". belfasttelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  11. ^ "BASKETBALL IRELAND 2017 ALL STARS AND PLAYERS OF THE YEAR". BasketballIreland.ie. April 12, 2017. Archived from the original on April 12, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  12. ^ "Basketball Ireland – Player Stats". BasketballIreland.ie. Archived from the original on March 23, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  13. ^ "Basketball Ireland – League Stats". BasketballIreland.ie. Archived from the original on March 23, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  14. ^ "2017 Big V Award Winners". bigv.com.au. Archived from the original on June 23, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  15. ^ Uluc, Olgun (October 8, 2017). "Oklahoma City Thunder v Melbourne United: Westbrook trashes NBL team, live scores, blog, updates, results, preview". foxsports.com.au. Archived from the original on October 8, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  16. ^ "Big V's MVP hits the NBA". bigv.com.au. Archived from the original on April 6, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  17. ^ "2018 Big V Awards winners announced". bigv.com.au. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  18. ^ Murray, Tara (August 26, 2019). "Hume City Broncos go down fighting". northern.starweekly.com.au. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  19. ^ "2019 Award Winners announced at Big V Awards Night". bigv.com.au. September 14, 2019. Archived from the original on October 2, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  20. ^ "Casey Prather injury update". melbourneutd.com.au. October 2, 2019. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  21. ^ "Prather Out Of Throwdown As Injuries Hit United, Phoenix". nbl.com.au. October 2, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  22. ^ "United vs Phoenix". fibalivestats.com. October 3, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  23. ^ a b Ward, Roy (2019-10-20). "Stith turns training chance into NBL, NBA opportunity with Melbourne United". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  24. ^ Gardiner, Gilbert (November 24, 2019). "Melbourne United to face Brisbane without import Casey Prather". news.com.au. Retrieved February 10, 2021. Athletic wing Dillon Stith will remain in the line-up as a result of Prather's latest setback.
  25. ^ "Casey Prather hamstring injury update". melbourneutd.com.au. December 15, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2021. As a result, Dillon Stith will return to the line-up.
  26. ^ a b "Dillon Stith". realgm.com. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  27. ^ "Dillon Stith Joins the Raiders for NBL1 – Knox Basketball". Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  28. ^ "NBL1 Season Cancelled". NBL.com.au. March 24, 2020. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  29. ^ "Melbourne United grind out impressive win over Illawarra". melbourneutd.com.au. February 10, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2021. United injury replacement player Dillon Stith checked in late in the quarter and had an immediate impact, scoring five quick points...
  30. ^ FDBA. "DILLON STITH JOINS THE FRANKSTON BLUES – Frankston & District Basketball Association". Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  31. ^ Williams, Peter (April 28, 2021). "NBL1 South Men's: Round 2 wrap – Miners split results on Apple Isle". basketball.draftcentral.com.au. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  32. ^ a b "DILLON STITH RE-SIGNS FOR TWO YEARS". fdba.com.au. February 24, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  33. ^ "Dillon Stith". nbl1.com.au. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  34. ^ "Dillon Stith Signs for NBL1 2023". waverleybasketball.com. October 27, 2022. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  35. ^ a b c "NBL1 South superstar changes teams for 2024". NBL1.com.au. December 1, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  36. ^ "Casey Cavaliers NBL1 Player Announcement". facebook.com/CaseyBasketball. December 1, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  37. ^ "Dillon Stith". nbl1.com.au. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  38. ^ "New Snake Stith passes ultimate test". NBL.com.au. July 2, 2024. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  39. ^ Uluc, Olgun (March 13, 2023). "ESPN's Ultimate Guide to NBL Free Agency". ESPN. Retrieved March 23, 2023.