John Spooner commenced his Inter-Service Basketball career playing for RAAF v Army in 1964 while he was still a member of the Air Training Corps in South Australia. In a long career Spoons coached Basketball at ADFA in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s and coached Inter-Service for RAAF in both SA and interstate. He also coached Combined Defence Basketball since 1997. John Spooner, has been SA Defence Basketball Head Coach since 2007, and a ten year member of the Australian Defence Basketball Association.

Spoons was key to transforming the conduct of the SA men’s program into an annual program and laying a professional foundation promoting growth. His insight and mentoring developed other key individuals to further SADB and combined with his SA Country Basketball legacy provided a new platform to showcase Defence Basketball. This installed a tradition of Exhibition Games against SA Country Basketball’s State Men’s team and invitations from Pt Pirie and Mt Gambier Basketball Associations. The addition of the SA Police & Emergency Services Games and SA Masters Games were further expansions to the schedule, in which SADB won Gold in 2011.

His teams were notorious for being patient and proficient in offence, combined with ferocious rebounding. Coach Spoons always dedicated himself with passion and instilled pride in his charges for representing South Australia and Defence through basketball. In every facet of his basketball he has instilled prestige and heaped credit upon all those involved through breeding intense competition among SA Defence Basketball, SA Country Basketball and the Australian Defence Basketball Association. 

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John Spooner (3rd inductee) was inducted into the SADB Hall of Fame on Fri 16 Sep 2011 by SGT Tim Muehlberg (State Rep) at the SA Inter-Service Basketball Tournament.

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SA Country Basketball (SAC) also acknowledged John Spooner through the John Spooner Trophy and the following article: 

SA Country Basketball (1Oct20), 'SA Country Basketball acknowledges the longevity and service of John Spooner, SportingPulse (www.sacbc.basketball.net.au) 
https://websites.sportstg.com/assoc_page.cgi?client=1-4538-0-0-0&sID=52015&&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=69663059