New Zealand Breakers’ star shooting guard Kirk Penney has been named as the National Basketball League’s Player of the Month for December, while Perth Wildcats’ mentor Rob Beveridge has taken out Coach of the Month honours.
 
Penney took out the award for December after polling 38 votes to finish ahead of Melbourne Tigers’ guard Corey ‘Homicide’ Williams (25 votes) and Perth’s Shawn Redhage (15).
 
For December, Penney averaged 20.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists over the course of the Breakers’ five games.  He shot the ball at 45% from the field, including a scorching 51% from the perimeter.
 
Penney’s efforts helped the Breakers go 4-1 for the month as they surged to the top of the iiNet NBL Championship table.
 
Impressive as the Breakers’ record was for December, the Perth Wildcats had a perfect month with a 5-0 win-loss ratio and their head coach Rob Beveridge was rewarded accordingly with Coach of the Month honours.
 
‘Bevo’ was a clear winner, receiving 46 votes to finish well ahead of New Zealand coach Andrej Lemanis who received 27 votes and Cairns Taipans’ leader Aaron Fearne on 20.
 
The Wildcats recorded wins over Townsville, Melbourne, Sydney (twice) and Gold Coast during December.
 
The NBL’s Player and Coach of the Month for December took into account Rounds 8 to 12 of the iiNet NBL Championship inclusive. All NBL Head Coaches and accredited media were eligible to vote for the awards.
 
 
Player of the Month
Kirk Penney (New Zealand) - 38
Corey Williams (Melbourne) - 25
Shawn Redhage (Perth) - 15
Julian Khazzouh (Sydney) - 8
Luke Schenscher (Townsville) - 6
Gary Ervin (Wollongong) - 4
Mark Worthington (Gold Coast) - 2
Gary Wilkinson (New Zealand) - 1
Eric Devendorf (Melbourne) - 1
Ayinde Ubaka (Cairns) - 1
           
Coach of the Month
Rob Beveridge (Perth) - 46
Andrej Lemanis (New Zealand) - 27
Aaron Fearne (Cairns) - 20
Al Westover (Melbourne) - 5
Marty Clarke (Adelaide) - 3
Joey Wright (Gold Coast) - 1