History was made for the Horsham Hornets on Saturday, with club legend Tim Pickert becoming the first Hornets player to have their jersey retired.
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Horsham Amateur Basketball Association paid tribute to the Hornets only 300-gamer at half-time of Saturday night's CBL match between the Hornets and Terang at Horsham Basketball Stadium, unveiling his faithful number seven that will forever hang from the stadium's rafters.
Pickert was in attendance with close friends and family.
Speaking to The Wimmera Mail-Times on Thursday, Pickert said he was "very honoured" to be the first Hornets player to have their jersey retired.
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"It's not a thing you play basketball to get, but I'm very honoured to have it hung up in the stadium," Pickert said.
"I think it goes to show how loyal I was to the Hornets and just the amount of games I played, which I'm also pretty proud of.
"It's going to be a proud night and hopefully not an emotional night."
It's not a thing you play basketball to get, but I'm very honoured to have it hung up in the stadium.
- Tim Pickert
Pickert's achievements with the Hornets are countless.
He started playing for the men's side when he was just 14-years-old and only retired in 2020, after a mammoth 320 games and 18 years of commitment.
Success was a common theme amidst his tenure; he collected five championships, seven club MVPs and two league MVP awards.
His legacy extends both on and off the court for the generation of Hornets who grew up watching him and see him as a role model. Many of the current day Hornets (men's and women's) named him as their favourite Hornet of all time.
"It's always something that I prided myself on, to always perform on the court and to always be myself off the court," Pickert said.
"Kids look up to me so you've got to well-respected and behave off the court."
Since retiring Pickert has spent some time away from basketball, although he still plays locally on Wednesday nights.
Despite spending such a large portion of his life playing for the Hornets surprisingly he said he doesn't miss it.
"I thought once I finished two years ago I would, but I think the year off with COVID and all that, the body doesn't really hold up to it too well now," he said.
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"I still play local basketball, but even today I'm sore from last night."
These days outside of work, Pickert devotes time to going to the gym and playing golf and said his handicap is "dropping down slowly" - he currently plays off 12.
The Hornets' games record holder does however plan to return to the Hornets' fold once his son gets older.
"I said that when I retired I wanted to take 3-5 years away," he said.
"Just completely get away from it and refresh myself and hopefully when my young boy Nate comes back through that's probably a good time to get back involved."
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