https://www.dailymercury.com.au/news/tears-luck-and-championships-meteors-historic-mile/3789137/ HE WAS dragged to his first game kicking and screaming. Now, 28 years on, Brad Rasmussen is set to write himself into Mackay basketball's history books. The soon-to-be 245-game veteran will break the record for most games for the Mackay Meteors when they take on Brisbane Capitals tonight at Mackay McDonald's Stadium. Never did he think his first day on court would lead him to this point. "(Mum) brought me down here to play, and I always said I didn't want to play basketball - I wanted to play soccer,” Rasmussen said. "She brought me down here and I was bawling my eyes out. I finally got on the court and ended up loving it. "Mum's my number one supporter. She used to yell out and I used to swear back at her. She's slowed down a little on that thank God.” It has been a decorated career for the 1.98m forward in the black and red jersey.
Rasmussen featured in all three of the Meteors' premierships to date - including back-to-back trophies in 2011-12. He has played alongside Australian representatives such as Todd Blanchfield and Clint Steindl and Basketball Bundesliga point guard Braydon Hobbs. While Rasmussen said the championships would always stand out, a battle early in his career still featured in the memory bank. "I don't really remember the first game, but I do remember going up against Grant Kruger - who was our coach eventually,” he said. "He was known as the hard man of the NBL and I was absolutely packing when I had to go up against him. "I've seen my name on the board with the match up and I'm like 'oh no, this is going to be fun'.” In his 13th season with the club, Rasmussen will displace former Meteors coach and the club's current business development manager Wade Rebetzke for the record. The pair have a long history on the court together as teammates for Souths Sharks and in a player-coach dynamic. He might be knocked off the mantle, but there is no ill feeling from Rebetzke. It's great a Mackay product has reached the milestone, he said. "He's been around the program a number of years and I've coached him at one stage. To see him continue to play at the level he has for the number of years he has is fantastic for our program,” Rebetzke said. "He was always an athlete and had a nose for the ball. He's just developed as a leader and gets better with age - some of the stuff he's done this year has been fantastic for us. "It just shows all the local kids there's a pathway to play for a lot of years in the QBL.” There are no plans to hang up the boots in sight for Rasmussen, who believed he had at least another three years left in the QBL. Every year might get that bit harder to keep up, but the stalwart continues to perform at a high quality on the court - exemplified by his 16 points and 12 rebounds last weekend against Southern Districts Spartans. His secret to such longevity in the game: luck. "I wouldn't say I look after my body too well, but I do enough. It's mainly luck I would say,” Rasmussen said. "Surprisingly the off-season in the gym helped a lot I will say. The body is definitely holding up - no injuries - just a little bit slower than I was 10 years ago.” A capacity crowd is expected to watch Rasmussen bring up the milestone. They will be faced by ladder-leaders Brisbane Capitals - who have lost just one game all season - but the man of the hour is confident the Meteors have the team to come out on top. "We know every given night any team can win it. We've had a few tough losses which have put us down the ladder, but we know we can compete with them,” Rasmussen said. "Hopefully they get up a bit for me, we'll see.” Tip off will be at 8.30pm tonight at Mackay McDonald's Stadium.
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November 2019
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