Tara Murray
Whittlesea Pacers star Meekness Payne ended his stint in Australia on the perfect note, claiming the Big V division 1 most valuable player award.
Having only heard of the Australian Boomers before he had the offer to come to play for the Pacers, Payne had an instant impact.
He finished the season averaging 26.57 points, the second highest in division 1, while he was also top 10 in the division for rebounds per game.
Speaking from back in America, Payne said it feels great to have taken home the MVP award.
“I kind of had it in the back of my mind at the start of the season,” he said. “As it got closer and closer, I was anxious to see who would end up winning it.
“Winning it is a great feeling.”
Payne deliberately booked his flight back to America for after the awards night so he could be in attendance.
He said he knew he was in the running for both the MVP and all-star 5 and wanted to be part of that night.
Payne said it was a great send off to a really strong season in which he was also named in the all-star 5 team.
“Going into the season, my focus was winning games and competing at a high level and developing my game,” he said. “I knew if I set out and did those things, good things would come and it all worked out in the end.”
It was a strong season for the Pacers in their first season back in division 1, before a disappointing finals series where they missed out on the grand final.
Payne said he felt like they had a solid season other than not winning the grand final.
He said he loved playing in Australia for the first time.
“It was everything that I wanted it to be and more,” he said. “It was a great experience with the Pacers and their whole organisation was great.
“My teammates were great, [coach] Des [Radoslovic] was great, so it was a 10 out of 10 experience for sure.”
Australia made such an impact on Payne that he is already planning to return next season.
“Next season in February, I’ll be back,” he said. “I can’t really say which team as of right now, but I will be back in Australia for February for basketball season.
“It had a great impact on me. I’ll have a week and half break and then after that hit the road running, back with training.
“Going to have a short break and then back into the mix with basketball.”
Meanwhile, Pacers skipper Jason Dirkx claimed the defensive player of the year award.
In youth league 1 women’s, Isabella Ryan won the scoring award, while in youth league 2 men’s, Max D’Maro was named in the all-star five team.
