MARK
BRADTKE WINS NBL MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARD
10
Apr 2002
One
of the most dominant big-men ever to compete in the National Basketball League
has won the League's highest honour with Mark Bradtke named as the NBL's Most
Valuable Player today.
With
121 votes, Bradtke won the award ahead of Perth's Ricky Grace and Townsville's
Robert Rose who both tallied 120 votes, with Adelaide's Brett Maher (107
votes), and West Sydney's John Rillie (104 votes) rounding out the top five.
A
veteran of 402 NBL games, the NBL Most Valuable Player award further enhances a
career that includes two NBL Championships (1993, 1997), seven selections to
the All-NBL First Team, five rebounding titles, and a berth in the NBL 20th
Season Team.
Bradtke
competed for Australia at the 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games, as well
as the 1990 and 1994 World Championships.
In
addition, Bradtke also competed for NBA team the Philadelphia 76ers as well as
for Juver Mercia in Spain.
Over
the course of his NBL career, Bradtke has averaged 18.1 points and 11.8
rebounds per game while making an outstanding 54 percent of his shots.
In
2001/02, the 209cm centre averaged 24 points and 13.2 rebounds per regular
season game, and was on the court for 45.6 minutes per game, the most of any
player in the League.
Over
the course of the NBL Finals, where the Tigers eventually fell to the West
Sydney Razorbacks in the Semi Finals on Monday night, Bradtke averaged 17
points and 12.5 rebounds per game.
NBL
Coach of the Year
Victoria
Titans head coach Brian Goorjian has won his fourth NBL Coach of the Year award
having previously been honoured in 1992, 1997, and 1998.
Goorjian
tallied 54 votes to lead the award ahead of Alan Black from the Perth Wildcats
(45 votes) and Richard Orlick from the Brisbane Bullets (36 votes).
The
most successful coach ever in the NBL in terms of victories with 321 wins,
Goorjian led the Titans to first place at the end of the regular season with a
21-9 win-loss record before being defeated in the Semi Finals by the Adelaide
36ers.
A
winner of two NBL Championships in 1992 and 1996, Goorjian is the current head
coach of the Australian national team, the Boomers.
Goorjian's
consistency is illustrated in that his teams have qualified for the NBL Semi
Finals or better every season since 1990.
All-NBL
Teams
The
2002 All-NBL First Team has been dominated by the League's best centres, with
2002 NBL Most Valuable Player Mark Bradtke, Perth Wildcats big-man Paul Rogers,
and athletic Victoria Titan Chris Anstey all gaining selection.
It
is the seventh time Bradtke has been named in the All-NBL First Team, while
Rogers makes his second appearance, and Anstey his first.
Veteran
Wildcats guard Ricky Grace was voted into the team for the third time in his
career, while Tigers scoring machine Lanard Copeland was previously named in
the team in 1999.
Bradtke,
Anstey, Grace and Rogers have all competed in the NBA, while Rogers was drafted
by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1997.
All-NBL
teams are voted on by NBL head coaches, assistant coaches (one per team) and
team captains (one per team).
All-NBL
First Team
Mark Bradtke (Melbourne Tigers)
90 votes
Ricky Grace (Perth Wildcats)
88 votes
Lanard Copeland (Melbourne Tigers)
74 votes
Paul Rogers (Perth Wildcats)
71 votes
Chris Anstey (Victoria Titans)
67 votes
All-NBL
Second Team
Willie Farley (Adelaide 36ers)
63 votes
John Rillie (West Sydney Razorbacks) 57 votes
Simon Dwight (West Sydney Razorbacks) 53 votes
Randy Rutherford (Brisbane Bullets)
52 votes
Robert Rose (Townsville Crocodiles)
51 votes
All-NBL
Third Team
Brett Maher (Adelaide 36ers)
36 votes
Tony Ronaldson (Victoria
Titans)
35 votes
Darryl McDonald (Victoria Titans)
28 votes
Shane Heal (Sydney Kings)
26 votes
George Banks (Canberra Cannons)
18 votes
