Julian Khazzouh has been named a very deserving NBL Player of the Week for the first round of the 2010/11 season after a huge performance punctuated by his 24 point, 17 rebound, 3 steal, 3 block performance in leading the reborn Sydney Kings to a first-up victory over the more-fancied Melbourne Tigers.
Read on for the NBL press release…
KING KHAZZOUH NAMED NBL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The National Basketball League has named Sydney Kings’ centre Julian Khazzouh as Player of the Week for Round One of the 2010/11 iiNet NBL Championship Season, after he recorded a pair of outstanding performances in the opening week.
Khazzouh averaged 20.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 4.5 blocks, 3.0 steals and 1.5 assists for the week, shooting the ball at 56% from the field and 85% from the free-throw line. More importantly, he led Sydney to a first-up 84-68 win on the road against the Melbourne Tigers on Friday night to celebrate the Kings’ return to the NBL.
Whilst most pundits have tabbed Sydney as the likely wooden spooners at season’s end, Khazzouh and the Kings defied that tag by scoring an impressive road win against Melbourne to open their 2010/11 iiNet NBL Championship campaign. Despite facing a Melbourne front line that is the biggest in the league and contains four seven-footers, Khazzouh was simply dominant. He scored 24 points against the Tigers and added 17 rebounds, three blocks, three steals and one assist, while making 7-of-14 field goals and 10-of-11 free-throws.
The Kings then backed-up within 24 hours to play the highly-fancied New Zealand Breakers at home, but Khazzouh’s performance showed little sign of fatigue. The 209cm pivot had 16 points, six rebounds, three steals, two assists and an amazing six blocks. He also made 7-of-11 field goal attempts and 2-of-3 free-throws. Despite his Herculean efforts, the Kings narrowly dropped their home opener to New Zealand, 83-70, but managed a 1-1 split of their two Round One games.
Adelaide 36ers import Troy DeVries also turned heads in his debut as a Sixer on the weekend and was unlucky not to take out the NBL weekly award. The talented guard scored 20 points and added eight rebounds, five assists and one steal in a first class all-round performance as Adelaide upset defending NBL Champions Perth at The Dome on Sunday, 74-69.
Another leading contender for the NBL’s weekly honour was new Wollongong Hawks import guard Gary Ervin, who was impressive in his league debut. Ervin scored a round-high 27 points while also chipping in with five rebounds, three assists and one steal as the Hawks won their home opener against Gold Coast, 83-77, on Friday night.
Others who were in the running for Player of the Week included Kevin Braswell (NZ), Alex Loughton (Cairns), Jacob Holmes (Adelaide), James Harvey (Gold Coast), Luke Nevill (Melbourne), Kevin Lisch (Perth), Shawn Redhage (Perth), Russell Hinder (Townsville), Ayinde Ubaka (Cairns), Gabe Freeman (Townsville), Glen Saville (Wollongong) and Adam Gibson (Gold Coast).
