The New Zealand Breakers have swept the National Basketball League’s monthly awards for January, with American import big man Gary Wilkinson named the Player of the Month and Andrej Lemanis winning the Coach of the Month award.
 
Wilkinson and Lemanis helped the Breakers stay atop the iiNet NBL Championship by going a perfect 4-0 for the month of January.
 
Wilkinson received 28 votes, to narrowly beat Sydney’s Julian Khazzouh (22 votes) for the monthly honour.  Gold Coast’s Mark Worthington received the third-highest score with 17 votes.
 
Between Rounds 13 and 16, Wilkinson averaged 20.3 points per game, shooting the ball at 61% from the field and 42% from the perimeter.  He also made 82% of his freethrows and averaged 8.0 rebounds per game.
 
Lemanis was the clear winner of Coach of the Month for January with 54 votes, over Townsville’s Trevor Gleeson (29 votes) and Adelaide’s Marty Clarke (17 votes).
 
Lemanis guided the Breakers to two wins each over second-placed Cairns and playoff contender Adelaide during January.
 
Particularly impressive was New Zealand’s 77-74 Round 16 road win over the Taipans.  The Breakers came from behind to hand the Taipans their first loss at home all season.
 
The NBL’s Player and Coach of the Month for January took into account Rounds 13 to 16 of the iiNet NBL Championship inclusive. All NBL Head Coaches and accredited media were eligible to vote for the awards.
 
 
Player of the Month – January 2011

28 - Gary Wilkinson (New Zealand)
22 - Julian Khazzouh (Sydney)
17 - Mark Worthington (Gold Coast)
16 -Kirk Penney (New Zealand)
10 - Adam Ballinger (Adelaide) 
9 - Ira Clark (Gold Coast)
4 - Ronald Dorsey (Cairns)
4 - Ian Crosswhite (Cairns)
2 - Mark Dickel (Sydney)
1 - Kevin Braswell (New Zealand)
1 - Shawn Redhage (Perth)

Coach of the Month – January 2011

54 - Andrej Lemanis (New Zealand)
29 - Trevor Gleeson (Townsville)
17 - Marty Clarke (Adelaide)
9 - Ian Robilliard (Sydney)
2 - Joey Wright (Gold Coast)
2 - Aaron Fearne (Cairns)
1 - Rob Beveridge (Perth)