LJ, Batkovic and Mills win Player of the Year honours

Basketball Australia is pleased to announce the winners of the Maher and Gaze Medals for the 2008 Female and Male International Players of the Year.

THE MAHER MEDAL

The Maher Medal is named after one of Australia’s greatest sporting families, the Mahers, honouring husband and wife Tom and Robyn Maher who have been involved in 566 games for Australia as either a player or a coach, playing an instrumental role in Australia’s rise to world prominence. The medal recipient is determined after a vote from all members of the women’s senior national team after each game, with the player receiving the most votes awarded the Maher Medal.

The 2008 Maher Medal for Female International Player of the Year was awarded to LAUREN JACKSON and SUZY BATKOVIC (shared) after their significant contributions on the world stage. Jackson has now been the recipient of the Maher Medal an unprecedented six times in its 20-year history, first winning the medal in 1999 at the age of 18, while Batkovic was honoured for the second time, after winning the award in 2001. Jackson was Australia’s leading scorer at the Beijing Olympics with 17.3 points per game.

PREVIOUS MAHER MEDAL WINNERS: 1988 Robyn Maher; 1989 Samantha Thornton; 1990 Robyn Maher; 1991 Robyn Maher; 1992 Sandy Brondello; 1993 Rachael Sporn; 1994 Michele Timms; 1995 Michelle Brogan; 1996 Michele Timms; 1997 Michelle Brogan; 1998 Carla Porter; 1999 Lauren Jackson; 2000 Lauren Jackson; 2001 Suzy Batkovic; 2002 Lauren Jackson; 2003 Trish Fallon; 2004 Lauren Jackson; 2005 Hollie Grima; 2006 Lauren Jackson; 2007 Rohanee Cox; 2008 Lauren Jackson and Suzy Batkovic.

THE GAZE MEDAL

The Gaze Medal is named after one of Australia’s greatest sporting families, the Gazes, after the father and son combination of Lindsay and Andrew that attended nine Olympics and eight World Championships between them. The Medal is voted on by all members of the senior national team after each game, with the player who receives the most votes being awarded the Gaze Medal.

The 2008 Gaze Medal for Male International Player of the Year was awarded to PATRICK MILLS for his outstanding impact on the senior men’s national team. At just 20 years of age, Patrick made his Olympic Games debut as a back-up point guard and led the team in scoring at 14.2 points per game, including high scores of 22 points against Athens Olympic Gold Medallists Argentina and 20 points against Beijing Olympic Gold Medallists, the United States. It is the first time Patrick has won the award.

PREVIOUS GAZE MEDAL WINNERS: 1988 Phil Smyth; 1989 Luc Longley; 1990 Andrew Gaze; 1991 Andrew Vlahov; 1992 Mark Bradtke; 1993 Andrew Vlahov; 1994 Andrew Gaze; 1995 Andrew Gaze; 1996 Andrew Gaze; 1997 Shane Heal; 1998 Andrew Gaze; 1999 Mark Bradtke; 2000 Andrew Gaze; 2001 Brett Maher; 2002 Chris Anstey; 2003 Matthew Nielsen; 2004 Shane Heal; 2005 CJ Bruton; 2006 Sam Mackinnon; 2007 Sam Mackinnon; 2008 Patrick Mills.

Photos courtesy of Kangaroo Photos