The NT News rates the performances of the eight men’s Darwin Basketball sides
The NT News grades the eight 2020 Men’s Darwin Basketball sides, selecting an MVP from each squad
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THE 2020 Darwin Basketball Championship has been a highly competitive one with teams right across the competition pulling off stunning results.
Eagles, Tracy Village, Ansett and Essington have made it into finals topping the eight team competition on the back of some brilliant individual showings.
As such the NT News has graded the eight Championship sides and has selected an MVP from each squad.
EAGLES (A+)
MVP: Joseph Jackson
To finish at the top of the table in such a competitive season is no mean feat but for Eagles to have done it with an ongoing streak of 17-wins speaks volumes of the side.
They undoubtedly have three of the best players in the championship in Joseph Jackson, Chris Elder and Ambros Eugster forming a formidable trio.
Elder brings plenty of aggression and is perhaps the hardest player to defend against with a league high points total of 514.
Jackson and Eugster aren’t far behind on the scoring tally and can easily pile 20-30 points on any side when on the front foot.
David Oates and Pat Golong have also been great servants to the Eagles’ cause and round out the starting five nicely while their bench can also deliver a decent shift.
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TRACY VILLAGE JETS (A)
MVP: Jerron Jamerson
The youth of Jets have arrived this season and have made it known to the rest of the league that they will be here to stay.
Will Burton, Thomas Malseed and the Stevens brothers Joel and Ned have been leading the charge of youth and there are more to follow including Dante Ah Sam and Daniel Yak.
But perhaps the biggest boon for the Jets this season has been the inclusion of former Razzle import Jerron Jamerson who has since been the named the player of the season enhancing the already skilful squad.
The popular teams takes plenty of energy from their audience and each other leading to some outstanding final quarter showings including Yak’s three-pointer spree against Cannons and Burton’s Round 20 showing against Ansett.
ANSETT (A)
MVP: Freddy Webb
If there’s one word to describe the 2020 edition of Ansett it’s ‘depth’. Club seniors, standout juniors and impressive imports have made up the side this season.
Ansett pinned themselves as a finals bound team from the outset of the season and have mounted up to those expectations ever since.
Younger players such as Joel De Barros, Freddy Webb and James Toohey have cemented their positions in the starting five, while the more experienced Matty Hunt and Henry Bui continue to perform.
New inclusion Fred Williams has been a crucial pick up with the import making pivotal points and being another to mesh well into the high flying club.
ESSINGTON CANNONS (B+)
MVP: Elijah Barbour
Cannons have undoubtedly been the best of the chasing pack behind the big three and deserve their spot in the finals.
Import pairing Elijah Barbour and Raymond Jarrett have proved formidable offensively with captain Lachlan Shipway completing the club’s main three.
Jarret and Barbour are both within the top five point scorers of the league seasona and are playing into some massive form with finals looming.
Narrow losses to the top three sides through the season will give them hope of a major scalp in finals though they will go in with the underdogs tag.
Will Tollner, Bumi Tut and Tully Hemsley are also important cogs in the side and when on the up can provide space for their big shooters to go on a massive run.
ELLAS TITANS (C)
MVP: Willie Shackleford
If you had asked who would make finals at the start of the season Ellas Titans would have been one of the first teams mentioned by anyone. They burst onto the scene for the 2019-20 Challenge season where they were almost unstoppable and so it would surprise many to see them miss out on finals.
Willie Shackleford was the side’s most consistent playing gathering the most rebounds of the season and playing in all but one of the side’s games.
Though that stability was not there in the remainder of the squad with the likes of club stalwart Deola D’Brown making just eight appearances.
The inclusion of Albury Bandits player Deba George mid-season added plenty to the squad and results started to come their way but the game of catch-up saw them narrowly miss out on their finals goal.
PALMERSTON POWER (C+)
MVP: Steven Sing
There’s no doubting that Power have depth of their own having introduced Jesse Bell, Shaquille Hophia-Wilson and Sing brothers Steven and Jordan to the side this season.
However, injuries and commitments have meant Palmerston has enjoyed few games with their entire squad on the court.
Captain Tom Godwin has also been in good form and with Steven Sing perhaps the side’s standout player there will be hope around Palmerston for an even stronger 2021 season.
It’s a building team though and with each game that they play together the closer they come to the force that was expected in the pre-season.
LIGHTNING (D)
MVP: Brodie Hertel
It’s been a tough season for the men at Lightning who have focused on building their local players this season.
While their haven’t been many massive standout performances from the side they will have been happy to have scored two wins over Uni Rebels to win that series.
Jake Geer, Brodie Hertel and Chris Charman have consistently turned out for the squad that has focused on building young talent such as Luca Tutty late in the season.
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UNI REBELS (D)
MVP: Mixon Laurel
Struggles for player numbers have hurt the Rebel late in the season with the side withdrawing on more than one occasion later in the season.
Though there were signs of promise early in the season with Mixon Laurel, Eric Klenke and Julian Punsalang all firing to see the side manage wins over Ellas Titans and Lightning.
But the rails came off from there and the side struggled to be competitive in what has been a difficult season.
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