Top five:

Brian Wethers - NBL MVP
Willie Farley
Chris Burgess
Dusty Rychart
Glen Saville

Congratulations to Willie and Dusty for both making the top four!

Wethers wins MVP
Thursday, March 24, 2005 - 12:33 PM
NBL

Hunter Pirates import Brian Wethers has capped off a sensational debut season in the National Basketball League by being named the Most Valuable Player of the 2004/05 Philips Championship season.

Wethers won the NBL's scoring title, averaging 24.3 points per game and led the Pirates to their first-ever Finals berth. The 195cm swingman also averaged 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game and also recently collected the Hunter Pirates club Most Valuable Player award.

The Hunter star polled 126 votes to take out the NBL's most prestigious individual award from Adelaide 36ers star Willie Farley (111) and Cairns Taipans big man Chris Burgess (110). Fourth in voting was Adelaide's Dusty Rychart (107) and fifth was Glen Saville of Wollongong (105).

Wethers helped the Pirates to a 13-game improvement as they went from a 2-31 record in their inaugural season in the Philips Championship to a 15-17 record in their second season.

The consistency of the silky smooth Wethers proved to be the key factor in his MVP win, as the former University of California (Berkeley) standout recorded votes in every round of the season bar two.

He topped 30 points on nine separate occasions this season, including a 37-point outburst against the Townsville Crocodiles on 13 November.

Wethers, who returned to the US following his team's exit from the Finals at the hands of Brisbane, was a worthy winner of the award according to his coach Adrian Hurley.

"Brian is an outstanding athlete," aid Hurley. "One-on-one he is tremendous. He can shoot the three, yet his main strength is driving into the lane and finishing with a sweet pull-up jumper or a spectacular hang-time lay-up."

"He provided our young club with that special talent to get us going in games, finishing games, and attracting the attention of the opposition's best defenders. His combination with Kavossy Franklin gave our team a potent attack from the perimeter."

"I recruited him because I saw his all-round talents on offence, but also because he was a tremendous defender in college. He understands the game, and is extremely coachable. His attitude is terrific."

"People are probably unaware that Brian carried injuries for the second half of the season, was not able to train on a consistent basis, but nevertheless he played every game and withstood the physical attention from the best defenders and double teams that the opposition could throw at him."

"Brian is above all a very good person. He was a great example to his team-mates and understood very well his responsibilities to our club and to our team."

"Brian is hopeful of making it into the NBA. His progress as a player this year and his undeniable talent suggests that he has a very good chance of playing in the NBA in the future."

The Pirates will accept the MVP award on Wethers' behalf at the annual NBL awards dinner in Sydney tonight.

NBL Most Valuable Player - Previous Winners
1979 Ken Richardson (West Adelaide Bearcats)
1980 Rocky Smith (St. Kilda Saints)
1981 Mike Jones (Illawarra Hawks)
1982 Al Green (West Adelaide Bearcats)
1983 Owen Wells (Sydney Supersonics)
1984 Leroy Loggins (Brisbane Bullets)
1985 Ray Borner (Coburg Giants)
1986 Leroy Loggins (Brisbane Bullets)
1987 Mark Davis (Adelaide 36ers) &
Leroy Loggins (Brisbane Bullets)
1988 Joe Hurst (Hobart Tassie Devils)
1989 Scott Fisher (North Melbourne Giants)
1990 Derek Rucker (Brisbane Bullets)
1991 Andrew Gaze (Melbourne Tigers)
1992 Scott Fisher (North Melbourne Giants) &
Andrew Gaze (Melbourne Tigers)
1993 Robert Rose (South East Melbourne Magic)
1994 Andrew Gaze (Melbourne Tigers)
1995 Andrew Gaze (Melbourne Tigers)
1996 Andrew Gaze (Melbourne Tigers)
1997 Andrew Gaze (Melbourne Tigers)
1998 Andrew Gaze (Melbourne Tigers)
1999 Steve Woodberry (Brisbane Bullets)
2000 Paul Rogers (Perth Wildcats)
2001 Robert Rose (Townsville Crocodiles)
2002 Mark Bradtke (Melbourne Tigers)
2003 Chris Williams (Sydney Kings)
2004 Matthew Nielsen (Sydney Kings)
2005 Brian Wethers (Hunter Pirates)

Hi, I am a BIG FAN of Brian Wethers!
Does he have a fan club contact?
Christina
Oceanside, Calif