Townsville’s electrifying point guard Corey ‘Homicide’ Williams and Gold Coast Blaze coach Joey Wright have been named the National Basketball League’s Player and Coach of the Month respectively for December.
Williams left rivals in his wake this month polling 38 votes. The closest anyone came to the Crocs’ guard was Tywain McKee from the Wollongong Hawks with 27 votes, followed by Adam Ballinger from the Adelaide 36ers with 18 votes.
Over Townsville’s five games in the month of December, Williams averaged 22.0 points per game, shooting the ball at a scorching 56% from the field. Williams also averaged 4.6 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.2 steals during the period.
Homicide’s star contributions helped Townsville go 4-1 for the month, allowing them to climb the ladder and move into serious finals contention
A highlight of Williams’ amazing month was his performance against the Perth Wildcats on New Year’s Eve where he had 24 points, seven rebounds and three assists, leaving the Townsville faithful with something to celebrate well into the early hours of 2010.
The Blaze’s Joey Wright must surely now be a hot contender for Coach of the Year after receiving back-to-back Coach of the Month awards. Wright was a step ahead of the rest yet again this month polling 45 votes, with Townsville’s Trevor Gleeson eight votes behind with 37. Rob Beveridge from the Perth Wildcats was third with 17 votes.
The Gold Coast Blaze have been on fire of late and Wright has his troops clicking on all cylinders. After recording a 4-1 record in December Wright had helped his team to the top of the NBL ladder by the end of Round 14. During December Wright conducted wins against Cairns, Wollongong, New Zealand and Adelaide.
The NBL’s Player and Coach of the Month for December took into account Rounds 11 to 14 inclusive. All NBL Head Coaches and accredited media were eligible to vote for the awards.
NBL Player of the Month - December 2009
Corey Williams (Townsville) 38
Tywain McKee (Wollongong) 27
Adam Ballinger (Adelaide) 18
Anthony Petrie (Gold Coast) 12
John Gilchrist (Adelaide) 3
Shawn Redhage (Perth) 3
CJ Bruton (New Zealand) 3
Kirk Penney (New Zealand) 3
Jess Wagstaff (Perth) 2
Cameron Tragardh (Wollongong) 2
Rick Rickert (New Zealand) 2
James Harvey (Gold Coast) 1
NBL Coach of the Month - December 2009
Joey Wright (Gold Coast) 45
Trevor Gleeson (Townsville) 37
Rob Beveridge (Perth) 17
Aaron Fearne (Cairns) 14
Gordie McLeod (Wollongong) 1
