Chavis heads end of season Thunder awards

Hind-Wills, Allen and Chavis collect individual awards

Milton Chavis, Louis Allen and Selby Hind-Wills all featured as Worthing Thunder revealed its individual award winners after the last home game of the season against Derby Trailblazers.

COACHES PLAYER OF THE YEAR: SELBY HIND-WILLS

To say that Selby Hind-Wills exceeded all expectations is an understatement, the 18-year-old will tell you that himself.

Signed in the summer originally as the last player off the bench, Hind-Wills’ contribution has rapidly increased and as the season progressed, his minutes soared and for Thunder coach Daniel Hildreth, this was a no brainer.

“Selby was only signed so that he could gain experience from the senior team and transfer that to the under-18 side,” Hildreth said. “But as this season has gone on, Selby’s work rate and skill set has climbed with it and now he’s a big part of this basketball club.”

Hind-Wills’ entire day is based around his education, as he still goes to college in Crawley, but in that time, he is often spotted on a basketball court practicing and his evenings are taken up by training either with the under-18s or the senior side. 

“This has been really tiring but at the same time, really rewarding and I have loved every minute of it,” Hind-Wills said.

“From September until now, my life has been college and basketball with some sleep thrown in there too but it’s been fun and getting the respect from my coach is the ultimate reward and I couldn’t be happier.”

PLAYER’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR: LOUIS ALLEN

The first thing Louis wanted to do when he collected his award for Player’s Player of the Year was to text his family and Michigan-based girlfriend, Morgan.

“I need to text them now I think, they’ve all been so supportive,” he said.

But Allen’s award for Player’s Player is a big reward for someone who joined the club in October, and has gone on to be the team’s leading three-point specialist. And for Allen, this recognition means the most to him.

“To get the respect from your team-mates is an incredible feeling and I’m truly honoured,” Allen said. “My family, my friends and God have played a big part in this and I’m thankful.”

SEASON MVP: MILTON CHAVIS

The Worthing Thunder Supporters Club announced American Milton Chavis as the season’s Most Valuable Player for the 2014-15 season.

This is Chavis’ first award as a professional basketball player after coming to England from the NCAA and Morehead State in the summer.

And now that Chavis has that first season nearly under his belt, he aims for one more thing.

“Get to the Playoffs and win the Playoffs,” he stated.

“That’s the aim right now. Getting this award is great and I’m so thankful for the fans and everyone associated with this great organisation to hand me the MVP for the season and for me, it’s extra motivation to not let these people down.”

In his first year, Chavis is averaging 28.3 points a game with one still to play at Newham Neptunes on Saturday afternoon.