Kevin Lisch
Kevin John Lisch is an American former professional basketball player and coach, most known for his time spent in the Australian National Basketball League as a player. He also holds an Italian passport and is an Australian citizen.
Lisch played college basketball for the Saint Louis Billikens between 2005 and 2009, where he finished as the sixth-highest scorer in school history. After college, he made a name for himself in the NBL in Australia. He won an NBL championship and grand final MVP with the Perth Wildcats in his first professional season before winning the league MVP in 2012 and leading the Wildcats to another two grand finals in 2012 and 2013. He returned to the NBL in 2015 after two seasons playing in Europe, joining the Illawarra Hawks and winning his second league MVP. In 2016, he joined the Sydney Kings and made his debut for the Australian national team at the Rio Olympics. He played four seasons with the Kings and retired in 2020. He subsequently moved into an assistant coach position and helped the Kings win championships in 2022 and 2023.
Early life
Born and raised in Belleville, Illinois, Lisch grew up in a family of four kids. His faith was always important to him while attending Catholic schools as a youth, beginning with Blessed Sacrament for grade school and then Althoff Catholic High School.Lisch played basketball for Althoff Catholic and was often triple-defended on the court. He was an all-state guard and was twice named Belleville News-Democrat Player of the Year. He finished his tenure as the school's all-time leading scorer with 2,000 points. Lisch was also a bright student, joining the student council and the National Honor Society.
College career
Lisch continued on at a Catholic institute for college, joining Saint Louis University. At Saint Louis, Lisch played under coaches Brad Soderberg and Rick Majerus while earning a bachelor's degree in marketing and an MBA in four years.As a freshman playing for the Billikens in 2005–06, Lisch was selected to the A-10 All-Rookie Team and was a three-time recipient of the A-10 Rookie of the Week award. He was the team's second-leading scorer at 11.1 points per game and top three-point shooter with 58 treys, which set the SLU freshman single-season record.
As a sophomore in 2006–07, Lisch was on the A-10 All-Defensive Team and earned honorable mention All-Conference selection. He was also named to the Shelby Classic All-Tournament team. He was second on the team and 13th in the A-10 with 14.9 points per game, and dealt a team-high 3.47 assists per game to rank eighth in the league. He led the team in assists in 19 games and was the top scorer 13 times—he scored in double figures in 26 games, including the last 14.
As a junior in 2007–08, Lisch was named third-team All-Conference and to the All-Defensive team. He was also voted to the Academic All-Conference squad and was selected to the Hispanic College Fund Challenge All-Tournament team. He led the team in scoring at 14.6 points per game, assists with 97 and steals with 38.
As a senior in 2008–09, Lisch was named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American third team and was a first-team Academic All-District selection. He was chosen to the NABC All-District second team and voted the A-10 Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year. He was also third-team All-Conference and was named to the Las Vegas Classic All-Tournament team. In 31 games as a senior, he averaged 14.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
Lisch closed out his career in sixth place on SLU's scoring list with 1,687 points. His 325 assists rank ninth on the career chart and his 259 three-pointers are second only to the school-record 295 by Erwin Claggett. Lisch's 133 steals rank fifth at SLU also. As a result of his standout four-year tenure, Lisch was named to the Billikens' All-Century Team and was inducted into the SLU Hall of Fame.
Professional career
Perth Wildcats (2009–2013)
2009–10 season
In July 2009, Lisch signed with the Perth Wildcats of the Australian National Basketball League. He was swayed to come to Perth due to the close friendship between Billikens coach Rick Majerus and Wildcats coach Rob Beveridge. He struggled at the start of the 2009–10 season, and due to the high-profile imports traditionally signed by the Wildcats, some were calling for Lisch to be cut as early as the preseason tournament. Lisch debuted with a 12-point effort on September 25, 2009, against the Wollongong Hawks, and then had the game-winning, buzzer-beating 3-pointer the following game against the Townsville Crocodiles on October 2 to finish with 16 points. He scored in double figures in seven of his first eight games, including 21 points against the Melbourne Tigers on October 25, before registering 11 single-figure games throughout the rest of the season, including five straight games of under seven points between December 19 and January 8. To finish the regular season, he scored in double figures in four out of the final six games, including a 19-point effort in the regular-season finale on February 14 against the Crocodiles.The Wildcats finished the regular season as minor premiers with a 17–11 record, and faced the Gold Coast Blaze in the semi-finals. Behind Lisch's 19 points in Game 1 and 18 points in Game 2, the Wildcats swept the Blaze to move on to the 2010 NBL Grand Final series, where they faced Wollongong. With the series tied at 1–1, Lisch took over in Game 3 to score a game-high and season-high 29 points with five 3-pointers in leading the Wildcats to the championship with a 96–72 victory over the Hawks. Lisch, who posted 15 points in Game 1 and 11 in Game 2, was named grand final MVP. Lisch appeared in all 33 games for the Wildcats in 2009–10, averaging 12.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
2010–11 season
In April 2010, Lisch re-signed with the Wildcats for the 2010–11 NBL season. He reportedly knocked back a two-year contract offer in favour of a one-year deal. He had contemplated a move to Europe and was on the radar of several other NBL clubs. He came into the 2010–11 season sporting a more muscular tone, having bulked up for his second season after spending countless hours running and working out in the weights room. Lisch scored in double figures in all but nine games during the regular season, registering over 20 points three times. The Wildcats finished the regular season in fourth place with a 16–12 record, and faced the first-placed New Zealand Breakers in the semi-finals. Behind a 29-point effort, Lisch helped the Wildcats take Game 1 of the series in Auckland, before the Breakers came back to win Games 2 and 3. Lisch appeared in all 31 games for the Wildcats in 2010–11, averaging 13.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. He was named the team's co-MVP alongside Shawn Redhage.2011–12 season
In May 2011, Lisch re-signed with the Wildcats on a two-year deal. He helped the Wildcats start the 2011–12 season with a 3–1 record and averaged 22.0 points per game during the month of October. He was subsequently named the NBL Player of the Month. Lisch spent time as a ball handler early in the season in the absence of the injured Damian Martin, sharing the ball carrying role largely with co-captain Brad Robbins.Lisch scored in double figures in every game but three during the regular season, helping the Wildcats finish second on the ladder with a 19–9 record. He was subsequently named the NBL Most Valuable Player and to the All-NBL First Team. He joined Paul Rogers as the only Wildcats players to win league MVP. He helped the Wildcats defeat the Gold Coast Blaze 2–1 in the semi-finals to move on to the 2012 NBL Grand Final series. There the Wildcats faced the New Zealand Breakers, but despite Lisch averaging 19 points per game in the series, the Wildcats were defeated 2–1. He appeared in all 34 games for the Wildcats in 2011–12, averaging 17.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.
2012–13 season
Following his MVP season, Lisch became a defensive target in the 2012–13 season, with the extra attention creating more scoring opportunities for teammate Matthew Knight. Over the first half of the season, Lisch was named Player of the Week for Round 8 and earned selection to the South All-Stars team as the starting shooting guard for the 2012 NBL All-Star Game. However, he was forced to withdraw after being diagnosed with a Grade 2 groin strain. Additionally, against the Townsville Crocodiles on October 14, Lisch played his 100th consecutive NBL game, becoming the first player since Darryl McDonald 15 years earlier to achieve 100 consecutive games. Over the second half of the season, he set a season high with 26 points against the Cairns Taipans on January 5, and on February 4, he was named to the Perth Wildcats 30th Anniversary All-Star team.Lisch scored in double figures in every game but five during the regular season, helping the Wildcats finish second on the ladder with a 22–6 record. He was subsequently named in the All-NBL First Team for the second straight year. He helped the Wildcats sweep the Wollongong Hawks in the semi-finals to move on to the 2013 NBL Grand Final series. There the Wildcats once again faced the New Zealand Breakers, only to lose the series in straight sets. He appeared in all 32 games for the Wildcats in 2012–13, averaging 15.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. He was named the Wildcats' Club MVP for the third straight year.
In late May 2013, Lisch and coach Rob Beveridge parted ways with the Wildcats. In each of the Wildcats' 130 games since the beginning of the 2009–10 season, both Lisch and Beveridge took to the floor in every contest. In four seasons, Lisch averaged 14.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. He ended his tenure in Perth to pursue his European aspirations.