THE Mount Gambier Pioneers held their end-of-season awards this week, with recognition of both players and support staff for their input into the championship-winning season.
On the playing side of proceedings, American import Daniel Alexander claimed the coveted Allan Scott Medal for the most valuable player.
Close behind was 2017 captain Tom Daly, who also received the honours for the finals MVP.
Brad Hill claimed the golden hands award, Luke Jamieson was named best defensive player and Jack Madgen received the coach’s award for commitment to excellence.
Head coach Richard Hill said the season saw another big commitment across the board from players, resulting in the impressive season results.
He said Alexander was a worthy winner of the MVP award.
“Daniel was a deserved winner,” he said.
“We were probably lucky to get him here in the end – he was cut from the team he was with and if that happened a week later we would have signed someone else.
“It has been a really good journey and I think it has been great for him as well.
“It is not easy to win an MVP in our team – it is a pretty rock solid team.”
In his acceptance speech Alexander said he had previously been a selfish player and acknowledged his team mates for teaching him how to play as part of a team.
Unfortunately for the team and the city, Alexander will not return for the 2018 season.
Despite changes to import players over the years, Hill said one constant had been Daly, who continues to improve at the point guard position.
“Tom has really grown into his role,” he said.
“He has been here five years now and he has learnt a lot.
“He stepped into a leadership role, taking over from Matt Sutton as captain this year, which has been a smooth transition.
“Tom is still not the best player he can be – he will continue to grow and develop as a player.
“The Pioneers have got the best of him to look forward to I hope.”
Brad Hill has been a multiple MVP winner in recent seasons, but this year saw him play a different role in the side.
That reflected through his award, which is calculated from most assists and steals combined, minus turnovers.
“Brad was our leading assists and steals guy and that was probably a change for him,” Richard Hill said.
“With Daniel coming in, Brad didn’t have to score as much and he was prepared to take on a different role this year.
“He has been our leading scorer for four years, but this year he was third in scoring.
“But he led the team in assists and steals, which are two areas where he hadn’t done that previously.”
Richard Hill noted how Brad Hill had a major impact in the finals, specifically in the championship playoff where Dandenong appeared to be on top with the momentum late in the game.
“In the final at Kilsyth he made a big play when we couldn’t score and knocked down a big shot, then got to the rim on the next play and sealed the game for us,” he said.
“He is at the point in his career where he doesn’t seek the limelight and that is his personality.
“He is happy to do whatever it takes.”
Jamieson is a player who has improved greatly since joining the Pioneers, with his defensive award no surprise to Hill.
“Luke’s last third of the season was great – he probably polled more votes than anyone,” Hill said.
“All round he has improved tremendously.
“He was third in the league in blocked shots and was fifth in steals.
“We led the league in defence in every category, which was a huge part of what we did.
“We are extremely pleased with Luke and would hope to have him back in a Pioneers uniform next year.”
The coach’s commitment to excellence was an almost obvious choice for Hill.
He said Madgen was focused completely on improving his own game and subsequently the performance of the team overall, working tirelessly off the court to make that happen.
“Jack works out harder than anybody else, lifts more in the gym than anybody else, he works individually more than anybody else, trains harder than anybody else and his desire to get better in my view is stronger than anyone else,” Hill said.
“We have some guys who are close, no question about that, but Jack is one of those guys who is unbelievably passionate about what he does.
“He is just so competitive, so committed and such a hard worker – that has to rub off on his team mates.
“He sacrifices – he has to come off the bench – but that is part of the unselfishness of the group.
“His fitness has improved out of sight and his game has improved out of sight as well.”
