Basketball On The Internet.

THE death on Sunday of 1988 Boomers Olympian, dual-NBL champion and Basketball Australia Hall of Famer Darryl "Iceman" Pearce at 64 was a shock, to say the least. It served as a timely reminder to reach out to those who matter to you and let them know what they mean to you, while you can.

To those of us old enough and fortunate enough to marvel at his feats on a basketball floor, we will always have the joy of those vivid memories, Darryl possessing one of the most fluid, sweet, almost effortless shooting actions of all time.

Accumulating 374 NBL games and a championship apiece with Adelaide 36ers (1986) and North Melbourne Giants (1994), he was such a beloved baller in SA that Sixers fans forgave him for his role in denying the club that 1994 title.

His retired #4 uniform hangs in the rafters at 36ers' home games, Darryl one of the key men on the club's original 1982 roster when he actually wore #6, albeit in deference to team captain Chris Stirling who wore that coveted No.4 back then.

Going on to play 232 NBL games with Adelaide, his averages as a 36ers' starter were 19.2ppg, 3.9 assists and 1.6 rebounds, and he was ahead of his time, flourishing from long range after the advent of the 3-point line in 1984 -his third year in the league.

He delivered from distance at 42 per cent, his numbers across his entire 13-year career 15.6 points, 3.2 assists and 2.1 rebounds.

Playing for the Boomers at the 1986 FIBA World Championship before suiting again for the Seoul Olympics, he was an NBL All Star in 1990 and inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.

But Darryl was about a lot more than the numbers. His quick wit and dry sense of humour made him a popular teammate and personality, not only coaching in the SA State League (now NBL1 Central) but also commentating on NBL games in an era when credibility mattered.

He had that, for sure. But his whole "Iceman" persona actually started as a joke. While still a rookie playing for South Adelaide in SA, he was subbed late into a game the Panthers had wrapped and were dominating.

Grabbing the courtside microphone, mischievous teammates Brian and David Lester called those final few minutes, much to the amusement of the few fans still at the Apollo Stadium.

Getting some garbage-time minutes, when Darryl struck a mostly meaningless basket (in the context of the rout) at the game's death, the brothers reacted by dubbing him with a fun nickname which steadily went from an inside joke to his most identifiable moniker.

His cool on-court demeanour meant "Iceman" and "Ice" stuck and one of his favourite stories was his meeting with the NBA's George Gervin.

The San Antonio Spurs sharpshooter was universally known as "The Iceman" and was touring Australia with an NBA All Star team playing games against the Boomers.

When Darryl was subbed in during the game - ironically to guard Gervin - the on-court announcer naturally introduced him as Darryl "The Iceman" Pearce.

Gervin's ears pricked up and he was clearly amused as Darryl ran over to take up his position. "Hello Little Ice", Gervin grinned at him, before schooling him for the next several minutes.

Post-game, Gervin threw his arm around Darryl's shoulders, hugging his Aussie namesake. "Little Ice," he called him again with affection. "We're going for a drink after. Come and join us."

And join them he did, finding Gervin a most gracious and gregarious host, who took "Little Ice" under his wing for a memorable evening.

Darryl and I developed a great friendship over the years, both of us attending the women's matches at Apollo to watch our respective girlfriends, who became our fiances, then wives.

We found each other highly amusing and looked forward to our Wednesday night catch-ups, having developed a series of on-going gags and observations we found hilarious.

Our friendship though taught me a valuable lesson as a young journalist and that was not to get too close to players or coaches. 

When Darryl played poorly in an NBL semi final series for the 36ers against Perth, maybe I was a little too harsh in my report. I didn't think so at the time, but our friendship had blurred the lines and he took great offence.

I heard often enough from his teammates that during the following NBL preseason, he was regularly disparaging me as a means of bolstering his motivation.

But by the time he departed to the Giants, we were friends again, courtesy of his wife at the time, Marina Moffa.

Attending a game at the old Athol Park Stadium, she came up and asked if I was free. I was, so she bade me follow her to a spot in the venue where she sat me down and said she'd be right back.

She was too, a sheepish Darryl in tow. "Now you sit down too and the two of you stop acting like a pair of immature children and sort this out," she declared.

Love Marina to this day.

And yes, that was when we sorted it out, both conceding we over-reacted, a friendship renewed.

I was a huge fan of his game, the under-appreciated brilliance of his passing lost in the shadow of his extraordinary shooting ability.

In 1988, he delivered a 36ers club record 48-point performance against the Falcons in Newcastle, a club which had an exceptional long-range shooter itself in Michael Johnson.

The subject of a protracted local clearance wrangle when he decided to leave South Adelaide Panthers and cross to Forestville Eagles, the $4,000 figure at the time was deemed outrageous.

So he had his moment of revenge - not that Darryl ever played with "a point to prove" or with a "chip on his shoulder" mentality - in the 1990 SA State League Grand Final against his former club.

Apollo Stadium was already rocking as he peeled off the Eagles' first 12 points without a miss, the writing on the wall.

On his way to the Grand Final MVP award, he shattered State League records scoring 52 points in the 40-minute playoff as Forestville won its first championship in 16 years, 94-88.

He shot at a mesmerising 60 per cent (18-of-30), was at a better clip of 64 per cent behind the 3-point arc (11-of-17) and was 5-of-5 from the free throw line.

Eagles teammate and another early days 36ers captain Dean Kinsman also relished the night, feeding a Grand Final record 16 assists as South Adelaide tried Mark Davis, Mark Sykes, Ricky Noack and Scott Ninnis to curtail Darryl, all with varying degrees of failure.

It was a night that further enriched The Iceman's legacy and legend and why many Sixers fans baulked when they found Isaac Humphries being referred to as "Ice".

There will only ever be one Iceman in Adelaide, NBL and Australian basketball. May he rest in peace.

THE INVINCIBLES: Darryl Pearce, second from left in the front was an integral superstar on the NBL's most successful single-season team of all-time. 

GIANT LEGACY: Darryl Pearce, front right, after North Melbourne swept Adelaide for the 1994 championship.