Basketball On The Internet.

RETIRING from fulltime writing in 2017, I penned a career retrospective and arrived at the conclusion Werner Linde nudged Brett Maher as the greatest South Australian basketballer I was lucky enough to chronicle. That said, if Werner was our 60s-70s superstar a la Michael Jordan, then Roger King was that era's Scottie Pippen.

I know that line tickled Roger because he mentioned it the next time we crossed paths and with considerable amusement. Truth is though, that is the truth.

Roger King was an extraordinary basketball player, a pure shooting forward in the days when teams simply boasted two guards, two forwards and a centre, with delineations such as point guard, off guard, small forward, power forward and pivot just machinations for future generations to create.

West Adelaide Bearcats were blessed with two of the all-time great forwards in Roger and Werner, plus a backcourt duo of Glenn Marsland and Alan Hughes that was second to none.

Really, legendary coach Alan Dawe only needed to plonk a decent centre in between that quartet and the Bearcats would perennially be competing in the season's final game.

Be it Bill Stuart, Geza Nagy, Bob Smith, Roger Boodnikoff, Don Atherton or Ken Richardson occupying the middle, it didn't really matter - just as long as the Bearcats' "awesome foursome" was in uniform.

Roger was a prodigy and a starter on West's SA State Championship-winning outfits in 1967, 68, 70, 71, 72 and 1975.

Interstate and overseas - notably in the Philippines and Singapore - West Adelaide was revered as the powerhouse of South Australian basketball.

Completely understandable.

From 1967 to 1983, the Bearcats competed in a record 17 consecutive SA Championship Grand Finals, Roger King one of the key men who set that foundation for prolonged success.

When the Australian Club Championship launched in 1970, bringing together the best club teams from every state, West was SA's pacesetter.

At that first ACC where Melbourne Church (with players such as Lindsay Gaze, Rocky Crosswhite, Toli Koltuniewicz, Billy Wyatt) narrowly escaped St Kilda (with Eddie Palubinskas, Brian Kerle, Ken Cole, Tony Barnett) in an epic Final at Albert Park Stadium, an injury-depleted West was one of the tournament's losing semi finallists.

In 1971, the Bearcats were playing in the Final against titleholder Melbourne who again prevailed.

There was good reason when the National Basketball League tipped off in 1979 that West Adelaide was one of its inaugural clubs. Fourth in 1979, a losing grand finallist in 1980, a losing semi finallist again in 1981, the Bearcats claimed the NBL championship for SA in 1982.

There is no question the "awesome foursome" underpinned everything West Adelaide was destined to become.

Roger was a senior state team regular, which now would translate to an Adelaide 36er, and in 1970 at 18, won the Milestone Medal (now Frank Angove Medal) as the highest votegetter in the Woollacott Medal for a player under 21.

That same year he was a key member of the victorious SA team which beat Victoria 77-70 in the Australian Championship grand final at Apollo Stadium.

Not sure exactly what it was, but Roger had a swagger that was irresistible.

He also had game from a very young age, starring for SA at junior national levels, including a (then record) 43 points against NSW at the Australian Under-16 championships in 1967.

That silky smooth baseline jumper, with his long hair waving as he released it, was a killer. (And a joy to behold - as long as West wasn't playing your team - with its copybook action.) Not that he couldn't get to the hoop.

Lucky enough to catch up with him far more in the past few years at various basketball-related social events, usually with his great running mate from those "good old days", Glenn Marsland, we had a memorable meet in a hospital waiting room.

We spotted each other sitting alone in the waiting room at Tennyson, both waiting to be called for those joyous specialist visits and scans that accompany ageing like a daily shadow.

Old times, the state of the 36ers, life in general - we were into the conversation with such gusto we both missed the fact we were independently being paged!

The chance meeting served to remind me just what a great bloke Roger was, far more meaningful than his incredible playing career. He was the voice of reason.

Roger King died this week, news so devastating for all who knew and loved him, and for those who also saw another door close on the greatest era of basketball in this state.

His backcourt partner Alan Hughes died earlier this year, as did their coach Alan Dawe. Truly, an era of excitement, promise and growth in our sport is passing into the ether. May the memory of such men and what they brought to us be remembered forever in the annals of the sport here.

Rest in Peace Roger.