By JARROD POTTER
SHE’S known as the Chameleon.
Easily adaptable to whatever role there is to fill, Dandenong Rangers basketballer Alison Downie has been happy to alter her game to the needs of the team rather than her own needs as a player.
That dogged, team-oriented determination had guided the 29-year-old veteran through 299 matches in the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) and led her into her 300th match to gain WNBL life member status.
It all started as a 16-year-old with her father, John, pushing her to move to Dandenong to continue her rise through the sport.
“Dad was the one who pushed me to come to Dandenong when I was playing juniors at Sandringham, even though I didn’t want to but father knows best,” Downie said.
“He wanted me to move because Dandenong was a better program at the time and we just missed on VC in qualifying – he said if you want to go anywhere in basketball you’ve got to move and that was top-age 16s.”
Despite starting her career at the turn of the century – first playing as a teenager in 2000/01 – it hasn’t felt like a lengthy WNBL journey for the star forward.
“It doesn’t really feel like I’ve played that long and then I think about it, ‘I’ve played 300 games that makes me old’ – because I don’t feel old,” Downie said.
“But then when I think about my age, I’m older than most of them by quite a bit.”
The calibre of her team mates and opponents has impressed significantly upon her, but most of all the calibre of Dandenong staff which helped her through the moments of self-doubt.
“It hasn’t changed a whole lot – I think we went through a little bit of a down time for a patch when we weren’t so successful, but we’ve built ourselves back up and it’s a good place,” Downie said.
“I’ve played all my games here so that means a lot.
“I love Dandenong and there have been times in my career where I haven’t had a lot of time and haven’t necessarily gotten along too well with the coaches or I’ve had great players ahead of me.
“So there’s been times were I thought about giving it away or going somewhere else but the support that Dandenong gave me, the club and girls, particularly Charles Ryan – he told me to stick with it and it would come.”
Charles Ryan, who passed away in 2011 from lymphoma, was a voice guiding Downie to stay invested and keep with her basketball, which has continued in the years since his death.
“Chuck was a big influence of me staying and that’s something the club is still like with the board… they all come up to me and say they love that I’m still playing here so that’s nice,” Downie said.
Adapting from a ‘run out and annoy people’ role as a younger player to filling the breach at centre and power-forward and locking down players in the opposing end, Downie has done it all with the Rangers.
“I’ve had to adapt my game to all the different coaches I’ve had, just to get that game,” Downie said. “The one thing I’ve always had was the athleticism and was told to use that.
“But I’ve had to be a scorer and a defender when Macca (Emily McInerny) was gone. There’s teams where I’ve had to score and haven’t had to score.
“The roles have changed but I guess that happens with everyone.”
While the rigours of playing a professional league while holding down a full-time job makes for tough times, Downie wouldn’t have it any other way, because basketball has meant more than a pay-cheque to her.
“You do it because you love it,” Downie said.
“I’ve had those times where I think is it worth it and I miss out on a lot of stuff and I’m tired and I’ve got to work, but work has always been great for me.
“If you love it and you’re winning, it always helps.
“When I look back I’ve had a pretty successful career and that comes again from the people that I’ve played with and the support that Dandenong has and the coaches so I can’t complain can I?”
Dandenong coach Mark Wright said having Downie stay with the club for her whole career is a credit to her loyalty and ability to become what the team needs of her.
“Massive – that’s against Canberra – in her 200th (match) she had 27 and maybe it will be Groundhog Day,” Wright said.
“She’s ridiculously important – to have a player that’s so loyal and so adaptable – I call her the chameleon cause she can change.
“There are not many players that can take it in and I think that she’s wonderful.”
