John Thomas of the Chester Jets has been voted the BBL Player of the Year for 2001/02.

Thanks to votes cast by the 12 BBL head coaches, the 5’10” American guard becomes
only the fourth rookie player ever to win the award and the second in as many years
(following Chester’s Loren Meyer last season). He was awarded the BBL’s top individual accolade following an outstanding season that has yielded three winner’s medals to date.

Thomas and his Chester Jets’ team-mates have won the Northern Conference title as
well as the ntl:home National Cup and the BBL Trophy. Thomas was particularly
impressive in the latter final, producing an MVP display that included 38 personal
points.

The 25-year-old New York-native joined Chester late last summer following a spell in
the IBA with Fargo Beez. The pocket dynamo has been a revelation - earning the attentions of scouts in mainland Europe which might see him move immediately on this summer.

He was one of four Chester players to earn a place in the BBL All Star Game and his
statistics saw him ranked in the BBL Top 20 in four categories. His average of 20.80
points per game ranked him sixth in terms of scoring, while he was second for assists (6.20 apg), third for steals (2.37 spg) and third in free throw shooting (85.56%).

Thomas was also one of three Chester Jets players to make the All-League team.

Towers’ American guard Terrell Myers – a former BBL Player of the Year in 1998/99 –
was runner-up in terms of the Nurishment Player of the Year award, while another of
Chester’s rookie players, Calvin Davis, was ranked third.

Thomas and Davis were two of five rookies to make the All Star Team, with Brighton
Bears’ duo of Albert White and Sterling Davis also ranked highly, along with Newcastle Eagles’ star forward Shawn Myers.

That haul of five rookie players equals the 1997 record for the number of rookies in
the All Star Team. Four of the five rookie players in the 1997 team are still playing in the BBL today.

As well as the five rookies in this season’s All Star Team, established BBL stars,
John McCord (Chester Jets), TJ Walker (Newcastle Eagles), Brant Bailey (Pertemps
Bullets Birmingham) and Rico Alderson (Leopards) were also honoured alongside Myers.

The full BBL All Star Team for 2001/02 is as follows:

        1        John Thomas       Chester Jets
        2        Terrell Myers       Kinder London Towers
        3        Calvin Davis         Chester Jets
        4        Shawn Myers       Newcastle Eagles
        5        Albert White        Brighton Bears
        6        John McCord       Chester Jets
        7        Sterling Davis      Brighton Bears
        8        TJ Walker           Newcastle Eagles
        9        Brant Bailey        Pertemps Bullets Birmingham 
       10        Rico Alderson    Leopards 

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