The Hawkies: Presenting the Illawarra Hawks Mid-Season Awards

The Illawarra Hawks are half-way through the 2020-21 season, arguably the most successful since 2016. While the NBL awards are set to be handed out prior to the beginning of the playoffs, the efforts of this Hawks team deserves to be recognised up to this point, and who doesn’t like to hand out trophies?

The awards handed out are purely a reflection of the seasons first half, not a projection of the full season.

MVP: TYLER HARVEY

Runner-up: JUSTINIAN JESSUP

No one player has put the Hawks on their back this season like Tyler Harvey has, the dynamic scorer able to lift them to victory with scoring inside and out. Harvey leads all Hawks in scoring, 20 points per game on 43% shooting, 39% from three. This ties him for fourth in the league with Daniel Johnson. He leads the team in assists, dishining 2.9 a game, showing his abilities not just as a scorer but as a playmaker. He has also been a sneakily good defender; his 1.4 steals is good for fifth in the league. The only Hawk with more is Justin Simon, who leads the league with 1.9. More than anything, Tyler has led by example, a cool hand in tight moments who has steered the ship to victory in many instances.

The other player who has at times had to shoulder the Hawks offensive load is prolific shooter Justinian Jessup. Jessup scores a highly efficient 14.4 points per game, 47% from the field and 45% from three. Jessup is undoubtedly the best shooter the Hawks have, but no one has been more valuable this season than Harvey.

Best Shot

Tyler Harvey’s three from the Chemist Warehouse logo, versus Melbourne United:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr">??? <a href="https://twitter.com/YoungTRaaw?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YoungTRaaw</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IllawarraProud?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IllawarraProud</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://t.co/gPNVvvsamA">pic.twitter.com/gPNVvvsamA</a></p>— Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1370675674638282752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Defensive Player of the Year: JUSTIN SIMON

Runner-up: AJ OGILVY

Sometimes, defensive metrics can be hard to quantify, and figuring out who the best defender is can get complicated. But when a player leads the entire league in steals per game, it makes that job a lot easier. The Hawks brought Justin Simon in for his defence and he has more than delivered, suffocating players on the court and bringing maximum energy to every defensive and hustle play. Along with the league-leading steals, Simon is fourth on the team in blocks, with 0.7 a game. He is also tasked with defending the opposition's best player night in, night out, never backing down from the assignment.

Captain AJ Ogilvy also has a good argument for DPOY, a stalwart on the defensive end who leads the team in blocks, 1.6 per game, and is fourth in steals, 0.9 per game. This is made more impressive given he is not in the top five Hawks of minutes played, seeing the court for 17 minutes each night.

Best Assist

Deng Adel crosses Chris Goulding, before delivering a sweet dime to AJ Ogilvy for the two handed flush:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Skip with the flush ? <a href="https://twitter.com/AJ_Ogilvy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AJ_Ogilvy</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IllawarraProud?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IllawarraProud</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://t.co/jfX4czbs5w">pic.twitter.com/jfX4czbs5w</a></p>— Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1373503994941775889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 21, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Rookie of the Year: JUSTINIAN JESSUP

Runner-up: ISAAC WHITE

Out of Boise State, Hawks Next-Star Justinian Jessup is a player who has made the trip to the Illawarra for his first stint as a professional basketballer, a decision which is paying dividends for both sides involved. As previously stated, Jessup is a key offensive piece for the Hawks, and arguably one of the best shooters in the league. Starting all games he has played in in the NBL, this award is fairly clear cut, with Jessup being not just the Hawks best rookie, but flat out one of their best players.

If the idea of another Hawks Next-Star winning Rookie of the Year isn’t up your alley, Isaac White may seem like a better fit. White has been a spark plug off the bench for Illawarra, hitting big threes in crunch time and generally providing energy if the offence at all stagnates. White joined the Hawks this season following three years at Stanford University, and if this season is any indication, he has a long NBL career ahead of him.

Best Dunk

Sam Froling dropping the hammer against the Sydney Kings:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WITH AUTHORITY ? <a href="https://twitter.com/sfrol13?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sfrol13</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IllawarraProud?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IllawarraProud</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://t.co/i6fYy5rMfz">pic.twitter.com/i6fYy5rMfz</a></p>— Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1369936591121121280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 11, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Sixth-man of the Year: CAMERON BAIRSTOW

Runner-up: DENG DENG

Being the Hawks sixth-man was most likely not what Cameron Bairstow envisioned when he signed with the Illawarra Hawks, and there’s no guarantee he will continue coming off the bench as the season continues. But for now, he has been a reliable and efficient force for the Hawk’s second unit, coming back from injuries to contribute in a meaningful way. Bairstow is averaging 11.3 points and 6.3 points per game, which are third and second across the team, respectively. In all honesty, it is nothing but a positive sign for the Hawks that they are able to bring a player of Bairstow’s calibre off of the bench, but coach Goorjian has convinced Bairstow to buy in to this point, and the Hawks have reaped the rewards.

Speaking of consistency off of the bench, Deng Deng has also been providing solid play throughout the first half of this season. With 5.6 points and 3 rebounds in just over 12 minutes a game, Deng has been somewhat of a swiss-army knife for the Hawks, providing whatever is lacking for the group when he is put in the game.

Best Block

Justin Simon skies for the rejection on S.E. Melbourne Phoenix’s Kendall Stephens:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">GET. THAT. OUTTA. HERE!<a href="https://twitter.com/simon_Says_so?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@simon_Says_so</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IllawarraProud?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IllawarraProud</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://t.co/8dSlXzpmn8">pic.twitter.com/8dSlXzpmn8</a></p>— Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1365876124216008707?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Most Improved Player: SAM FROLING

This may be the most obvious award given out amongst this slate, but it is undeniable that Sam Froling is the Hawks most improved player, and quite possibly the most improved player in the entire NBL. Frolings playing time has essentially doubled from last season, and the versatile seven-footer has established himself as a key part of the Hawks lineup for the future. He is scoring 10.4 points per game, up 4 points from last year. His rebounds have doubled this season, pulling down 7.6 a game. Defensively he has become much more multi-faceted, and is blocking 0.8 shots per game, a drastic increase from the 0.12 rejections he had last year. Overall, Froling has had possibly the biggest glow-up in the league, and at 21 years old, is just getting started.

Well there you have it. The mid-season Hawkies are in the books and although the Hawks have been playing their best basketball in a long time this season, it is only halfway done. The Hawks still have a long way to go if they want to be lifting any hardware by the end of the year.