#MenWithMomentum - Michael Cedar

#MenWithMomentum Features – Michael Cedar

#MenWithMomentum is Basketball Queensland’s new campaign, highlighting the exceptional talent that has come out of our Queensland men’s basketball program. Each week, we’ll focus on a different player that has gone on to achieve great things in basketball.

Ever since he was a young boy living in Townsville, Michael Cedar has loved the game of basketball. After picking up a basketball at age 10, he hasn’t looked back. Forging his own path through Queensland Basketball and into the NBL, Cedar still plays as a veteran in the QBL. A father, a brother and an inspiration to young kids all over Queensland, Mick wants to see the game he loves grow, and for more children to have the opportunity to play basketball.

Michael Cedar on His Journey

Michael Cedar played for Townsville representative teams from U12 through to U18 and represented North Queensland as an U16 and U18 during that time as well. He won two State Championships for Townsville as an U14 and U18. Cedar won two silver National Championship medals in ’04 and ’05 as a member of the illustrious Town High Tropics. Then, in ’05 he became part of the Australian Schoolboys Team and played for his country in the U19 Oceania Tournament. Despite achieving a level of success early in his career, Mick

credits his growth to people who helped him on the road.

“My mentors, whether that be fellow teammates or coaches and even opposition players, helped mould the type of person I would become.”

Mick first entered the QBL as a member of the Townsville Heat when he was 17, and two years later donned a Crocodiles uniform for the first time in the NBL. He went from playing people his own age to playing grown men and veterans in the QBL and NBL, forcing him to quickly mature as a player.

“I grew up and became a man playing basketball.”

He was a spark plug and a leader on and off the court for the Townsville Crocodiles, eventually being named Captain for the 2012-2013 season. This followed an incredible championship-winning season with the Mackay Meteors where he was named league MVP.

Despite overcoming many obstacles, Mick still feels he has more to give to the game of basketball and continues to play for the QBL as part of the Logan Thunder.

“I’ve seen the QBL grow as a veteran. The competition that now exists is fantastic and the product is getting better and better. Not that teams weren’t better in the past, it’s just that all teams are recruiting well and giving themselves the best chance to win, and that makes for a great league.

“Playing at these levels helped with my on-court game, but more than anything it helped me grow as a person off the floor and taught me how to be the best person I could be.”

On Building Pathways

Cedar’s love for Townsville never waned and he poured his heart and soul into the community. A young boy from Townsville at heart, he’s focused on supporting and creating pathways for kids to play basketball, particularly children from remote and rural communities. Overall, Mick’s dream is that the game of basketball grows and strengthens across all of Queensland.

Mick works in spreading his love of basketball in Queensland and Australia through Australian Indigenous Basketball, which he has been a representative of since 2015.

“The work Australian Indigenous Basketball is trying to achieve is to build these pathways, but I know there is interest from organisations in Queensland who want to help make this happen, which is fantastic.”

On His Inspiration

Above everything, Mick is grateful for the influence the people in his life have had on him.

“From my coaches early in my career to now, my teammates who have become family, all the supporters and sponsors of all the programs I’ve been a part of, my family, my mother who would give my brother and I everything we ever needed, and my wife and two daughters who continue to influence me now.”