Basketball England Announce NBL Players of the Year - Hoopsfix.com

Basketball England Announce NBL Players of the Year

The Player of the Year awards for the respective NBL Divisions have been announced by Basketball England.

Here is a list of the awards in full:

NBL Division 1 Player of the Year: Ellis Cooper

The American out of Franklin Pierce University had a stellar season with Manchester Magic, before having his season cut short due to a visa issue that surfaced just before the Final Fours weekend. Cooper adds the D1 Player of the Year accolade to Finals MVP awards he earned in helping Manchester claim National Cup and National Trophy titles. According to BE’s statistics, Cooper averaged 19.9 points and 11.1 rebounds per game as well as 3.1 assists and 2.9 steals. He recorded a triple-double against Hemel Storm in March with 25, 12 and 11, whilst also producing a huge double-double earlier in the season with 30 points and 22 boards in an overtime game against Derby. Cooper was key in helping Magic win their last 11 league games to finish third in the league, before scoring a season-high 38 points against Team Northumbria in the playoffs quarter-final.

Hoopsfix Honourable Mentions :

Milton Chavis, Hank Rivers, JP Davis, Chris Shalvoy, Chris Hatch, Bola Adeluola, Tola Akomolafe, Will Ashby, David Ajumobi, Byron Richards, Josh Steel, Akwasi Yeboah, Alex Dorr, Lewis Champion, Raheem May-Thompson

Hoopsfix D1 Awards:

Hoopsfix Player of the Year- Ellis Cooper
Hoopsfix Coach of the Year – Lloyd Gardner
Hoopsfix All-First Team- JP Davis, Chris Shalvoy, Milton Chavis, Ellis Cooper, Chris Hatch
Hoopsfix All-Second Team- Bola Adeluola, Will Ashby, David Ajumobi, Hank Rivers, Derek Knutty
Hoopsfix Young Player of the Year- Akwasi Yeboah
Hoopsfix Sixth Man of the Year- Raheem May-Thompson

NBL Division 2 Player of the Year: Ausridas Petraitis

London Lituanica were dominant in D2 this season, and secured the league-playoffs double with Petraitis a major factor. He set the tone in the very first game with 29 points in the season-opener before coming up with a couple of monster double-doubles with 41 points and 23 rebounds, as well as 30 points and 39 rebounds against rivals Lancashire in January. In the title decider, Petraitis had another strong game against the Spinners with 35 points to wrap up the league.

Hoopsfix Honourable Mentions:

Steven Gayle, Mark Rangeley, Josh Houghton, Jerelle Okoro, Josh Johnson, Leigh Greenan, Sam Newman, Corey Standerfer

NBL Division 3 North Player of the Year: Calvin Morant-Hudson
NBL Division 3 South Player of the Year: Phillip Perre

Neither award winner was part of the league-winning team in D3, but Mansfield’s Calvin Morant-Hudson and Thames Valley Cavaliers’ Phillip Perre were rewarded for their strong individual seasons. Morant-Hudson set a new club record and career-high after going off for an incredible 54 points. Meanwhile, Perre helped TV Cavaliers to a second place finish in the South with 15 wins in their 18 games. He opened with back-to-back 20-point games before posting 31 in a loss against Plymouth. Perre hit a season-high 34 points against Middlesex LTBC, and finished with back-to-back 25+ games.

Hoopsfix Honourable Mentions:

Louie Kirkman, Chris Bigley, Martin Calvo, Mike Buffalo, Kieran Jones, Jason Carr

NBL Division 4 East Midlands Player of the Year: Marlan Henry

Henry helped Barking & Dagenham Thunder to a 12-2 record in their group, but they missed out on top spot. The club founder made a total of 62 triples throughout the season and scored 28 points on two occasions against Hertfordshire Warriors.

NBL Division 4 Midlands Player of the Year: Matthew Martin

Doncaster’s Martin, son of Head Coach Bob Martin, led from the front to guide Danum Eagles to victory in the Midlands division as they narrowly missed out on a ‘perfect’ league campaign. The 6’6″ forward was a consistent scorer for Doncaster throughout the season helping them to a 15-1 record.

NBL Division 4 North Player of the Year: Maurice Cole

The American helped Team Newcastle University to a perfect 20-0 record in the league, and also helped his side to victory in the Patrons Cup as well as inspiring an impressive comeback in the playoffs with a late 3-pointer forcing overtime.

NBL Division 4 South East Player of the Year: Michael Romyn

Bud Johnston was a dominant scorer for Sussex Bears with a number of 30+ games, including a 40-point haul against group winners Brunel, but it was his team-mate Mike Romyn who claims the award after earning the recognition from rival coaches. Sussex finished third with a 15-5 record.

NBL Division 4 South West Player of the Year: Akim Sylla

Sylla was dominant for Oxford Brookes throughout the campaign as they went through the league and playoffs without suffering a defeat. He led the group in scoring and also earned the Finals MVP award with an impressive display in the D4 playoff final against CWA Fury.

Image credit: Manchester Magic

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