Basketball awards: Elijah Tillman and Sarah Hickey are MVP's
BASKETBALL AWARDS: MVP's Sarah Hickey and Elijah Tillman.
The regular season has ended and we are heading into what should be a brilliant playoffs, in both the men’s and women’s league. As the regular season ends, it’s time to look back at who the top performers were in both leagues and hand out some unofficial awards.
For me there’s only one possible winner for the men’s MVP, and ironically, he didn’t win a single Player of the Month award. Elijah Tillman is the most dominant force in Irish basketball and his presence on the floor instantly changes Demons. The 6’9 big man, attracts more attention than any other player in the country and was 2nd in total points scored to go along with leading the league in rebounds. Tillman’s presence goes well beyond stats though as he puts defenses under so much pressure that they are forced to foul him constantly.Â
As a result Demons get to the line more than any team in the country. Patrick Robinson is one of the biggest beneficiaries of Tillman’s ability to draw fouls and get teams into the bonus, as the guard gets to line over seven times a game which helps him lead the league in scoring. Demons have been incredibly consistent this year and deservedly finished with the best record in the league, take Tillman out of that equation and replace him with a league average big man and I think Demons would have been in the battle for playoff spots.
Outside of Tillman I think Paul Dick was the top Irish player and had a good argument for MVP too. His ability to guard four positions unlocked Killester’s small ball lineups. Dick’s injury absence strengthened his case, when Killester struggled without him, but overall I think Tillman deserves it.
There have been some good coaching performances in the league this year, but I think the top jobs have been done by Danny O’Mahony and Ioannis Liapakis. Last year Demons were inconsistent, and you couldn’t trust them to perform on a weekly basis. Danny has addressed that this year and Demons were the top team in the league deservedly.Â
That improvement from last season to this year is why I have O’Mahony ahead of Jonny Grennell in particular. It’s hard not to be a homer though and I’ll back Ioannis for the job he’s done with UCD Marian. In their first year back in the league, UCD Marian were aiming to avoid relegation and instead finished an impressive fifth place. Beating everyone in the league aside from Demons was a great achievement and I think in terms of delivery against expectations this could be Ioannis’ best year for Marian.
My young player of the year has to be 23 or younger. I’ve chosen Rap Buivydas who had a strong season for Tralee averaging 14.5ppg and 5.6 rebounds. Rap has been one of the constant forces for Tralee this year and has produced at a level higher than many of the Bosman players who came into the league.Â
Jake Mullins and Callum McGrail both had moments for Templeogue and McGrail in particular is one to watch. I also liked what I saw from Cathal O’Sullivan for Eanna who will take a big step forward next year. Overall, I have to admit that it’s a concern how few 20–23-year-olds are getting solid minutes and producing, it’s something the league needs to be careful about.
I don’t think the women’s MVP was as clear cut but when I looked through it all I felt it was a two-contender race between Killester’s star American Samantha Halby and Irish International Sarah Hickey. Halby averaged 21.9 points a game and drew huge attention from defenses all over the country. Killester have had a very strong year, especially considering that Claire Melia left the team this past summer to star in Spain.Â
Mimi Clarke and Halby were two of the main factors for that and Halby certainly has the ability to go and get a good contract in mainland Europe next year. I think Sarah Hickey’s impact for Wildcats has been phenomenal though, she stayed healthy all year and averaged 19.3ppg and 10.2 rebounds a game, while leading Wildcats to a 15-3 finish.Â
For a young Irish player to produce like that and lead her home club to the best record in the league was enough to tip a tight battle to Hickey. Another honorable mention goes to Sorcha Tiernan who was brilliant again this season averaging 15.8ppg for Cup Champions Liffey Celtics.
I think there are arguments for Mark Grennell for the job he’s done post Claire Melia, and Hilary Nets also gets in the conversation for helping Trinity Meteors to a top four finish with a 10-8 record. I think Jillian Hayes deserves the award this year though.Â
She was part of the coaching ticket last year but took over the hotseat this year. Wildcats finished the regular season in third with six losses last year and this year they halved those losses and have finished the regular season in top spot.Â
Given that one of those losses was in the last week when they had nothing to play for, this regular season has been incredible for Wildcats. Add in the extra ingredient that Jillian is coaching her two daughters and it’s a cherry on the top for me.
Given Sarah Hickey still qualifies as the Young Player, she is the obvious winner. We’ll look beyond her though and there are other good options. Hazel Finn grabbed headlines in the Cup Final and is incredibly talented. She’s already an Irish International but is only scratching the surface on what she can do, and I’d love to see her push on next season.Â
The young player that really grabbed my attention was Meteor’s Grace Prenter. The young guard is in her second year playing Super League and averaged 11.8 points a game, her second year in double figures. After a slow start averaging four points a game, she exploded with 20 points against Wildcats and averaged 14 points for the rest of the season only scoring in single figures once.Â
How long we’ll get to enjoy Finn and Prenter remains to be seen as Finn is a multi-sport Star and Prenter is likely NCAA bound.
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