Shepparton Gators capped a spectacular season with their awards night at Shepparton Sports Complex on Friday night, September 1.
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The Big V division one winners got into the spirit of the off-season, celebrating with club representatives, sponsors and fans alike.
While the team didn’t have a single player make the league’s starting five (despite being the most dominant force all year), the club didn’t forget to honour its players, handing out awards on the night.
Here are the winners.
Defensive Player of the Year
Nick Dodd was as consistent a performer as you’d find in division one.
Dodd used his solid build to lock down his opponents and stayed disciplined throughout the season, rarely getting in foul trouble or biting on pump fakes.
While he’s no Dennis Rodman, he gave you six rebounds a night, along with his on-ball defence.
On offence, he had a stretch of not missing from behind the arc in the middle of the season, culminating in a 28-point outing in the Bill McCarthy Memorial Shield victory over Warrnambool.
Generally, though, he made the open shot and moved the ball along quickly, taking advantage of his size on smaller defenders when given the opportunity.
Dodd’s consistent output beat Lachlan Kego’s rim protection and Derek Murphy’s physical presence to win Shepparton Gators’ Defensive Player of the Year award.
Most improved
Starting the season off the bench Lachlan Kego ended his campaign with the Gators as arguably the best player in the grand final.
While he was beaten out for the honour by Murphy, he completely outplayed his opposing big man in the two final games.
RMIT centre Louse Agon had a couple of inches on Kego, who’s no shorty at 6’8“.
But Agon was no match for Kego’s solid frame.
He dominated the league’s Defensive Player of the Year on both ends and made several huge plays down the stretch, particularly in the semi-final, where he came up with crucial buckets and blocks.
With a great vertical at his size, Kego was always a dunk threat.
This also helped him get rebounds and clean up missed shots for easy twos.
Beyond that he displayed excellent footwork and touch around the basket, creating his own shot in the post.
He also showcased his range with a developing jump shot that consistently punished his defenders for not stepping up.
His improvement in such a short time will have coach Josh Waight (who took home division one Coach of the Year honours at the Big V awards) anxious to secure the Benalla big man for another season at The Swamp.
Most Valuable Player runner-up
He’s 20 years old.
Just a reminder, in case you forgot.
Kiwi import Josh Kooiman was one of the league’s most polished shooters, shooting 38 per cent on almost eight threes a game.
He was also pure cash from the mid-range and added a great floater as the season progressed.
He was a confident player; if you gave Kooiman an open shot, he would shoot it every time, regardless of how many he had missed.
That’s not to say he didn’t share the ball, though, using his basketball intelligence to make the simple but correct read every time and set up teammates.
Kooiman also proved a useful player on the defensive end, routinely being assigned the most formidable perimeter player to guard.
He put in an admirable effort against RMIT star Steve Coffey, sharing the duty with defensive specialist Tom Frame during their finals run.
He also put on a fabulous all-around display for Shepparton in the grand final, putting up 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
Most Valuable Player
Fan favourite and walking highlight reel Derek Murphy led the Gators in scoring and rebounding.
At 6’4“, Murphy wielded athleticism unrivalled across Big V.
Be it for a high-flying rebound, block or dunk, Murphy was always looking for an excuse to show off his vertical prowess.
He was an elite defender, able to leverage his size to contest with taller defenders and use his agility to slide his feet and keep up with smaller guards on the perimeter.
Murphy drew a handful of defenders on every drive and could kick out to the open shooter or dump the ball off for easy assists in transition.
That’s not to say he was without his flaws.
To say he struggled from the three-point line is an understatement ― he shot 11 per cent from the perimeter.
Also, despite being great at drawing them, he struggled to convert his free throw attempts, ending the season at 42 per cent from the line.
Having such an unreliable jump shot at this level of basketball and still putting up the scoring numbers he did speaks to just how devastating Murphy is on the interior.
It doesn’t matter if it’s cutting to the basket for layups, running in transition, throwing down alley-oops, floaters, posting up or even fade-aways.
If you let Murphy near the basket, he will ruin you.
And that’s exactly what RMIT did.
Seemingly content to let him handle the ball on the perimeter and force his way into the paint, Murphy responded by giving his opponents 36 points, 35 rebounds, seven assists, a game-winning block and a grand final MVP over two games.
He was the perfect final piece to add to the polished squad of Shepparton Gators.
A blend of controlled discipline and a touch of Derek Murphy chaos put them over the top and got them the title belt.
Cadet Journalist