Championship Men

The premier division of Big V Men has returned after several years featuring 12 teams for 2024. In 2023, the top 6 teams created a small gulf between themselves and the other 4 teams but reflecting on the competitiveness within that top 6, it was 5^th placed McKinnon that stormed through the playoffs and defeated the 3^rd placed Hume City Broncos in the Grand Final. 2023 saw more depth in terms of title contenders than can be recalled for over a decade – maybe longer, and we suspect 2024 might be deeper again!

The New Kids on the Block

It has been almost 20 years since Shepparton played in the Championship Men’s competition. Guess what? The Gators from the Goulburn Valley are back and they mean business! They dominated the Division 1 Grand Final and took the title. They have also upgraded in a few areas and we’re tipping them to be right amongst the top contenders in their first year back in Championship. Jayden Coke from Canada and American, Devin Thomas on the back of several years in Europe are amongst the inclusions placed alongside some long-time cornerstones from the region. Including Matt Bartlett, Sam Beks and Lachlan Kego. With Kooiman from New Zealand returning, this is a group that many thought that last season they could have competed in Championship, - in 2024, they can now prove it! We know the Shepparton community gets behind their boys; and we highly recommend making the trip to enjoy a great game and atmosphere this season.

The Warriors from Pakenham venture into Championship Men’s competition for the first time. The Men join their Women’s teams in the highest Big V division, making them the 7^th association to achieve this in 2024. The Warriors have seen a rise in recent years and have been rewarded for the direction of their on-court development and off court professionalism, with an eye towards the growth in the region and burgeoning basketball numbers. New import Malik Colvin-Seldon joins Pakenham and is sure to make an impact, but importantly the Warriors have kept Division 1 All Star 5 member Joe Davis.

You must admire that Pakenham are building a squad that is strongly supported by a local core group. With key figures of Berkec, Weidemann, Dow and Johns all returning, alongside graduates of the Youth team on the bench; Pakenham appear to have an eye to the future. The top end talent is certainly enough to see Pakenham collect their fair share of wins in 2024 and you know Rob Roberts as Head Coach is going to have his group in a position to contend with the established Championship teams. Don’t sleep on the Warriors, and again, if you want a night of fun and entertainment, make the trip to Cardinia Leisure in Pakenham for a great night! The toughest part might be finding a seat!

The Big Dogs

Wyndham – you just expect them to be back there in contention, don’t you? A 34-8 regular season record over the last two years, a Championship title in 2022 and looking to avenge for losing their chance at the banner in 2023 after finishing atop the table.

Whilst the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year, Kavione Green isn’t back with Wyndham, Myles Thomas comes to Australia for the first time after travels through Luxembourg, Romania and Malta. Excitingly for Wyndham, however, is a familiar name in Victorian basketball circles, that of Troyce Manassa who reacquaints himself with Head Coach Lucas Allen, with whom he played for in 2019 at Southern Peninsula. Manassa has moved across from Hume City, where he was named in the Championship Men’s ‘All Star 5’ for 2023 and won the Golden Hands award in 2022, whilst with Western Port. Wyndham in recent years have also invested time in many players who’ve now grown into their early 20’s and have progressed through their Youth team.

Wyndham will be back in the mix, don’t worry about that, and they might do so, with more depth than we saw in 2023. It has been tough to get a win in Werribee for a couple of years and it looks like that will remain the same in 2024!

The defending champions of McKinnon are back with few similarities to 2023, but you can’t hide the fact there are also major personnel changes. Sharif Black has moved to Woodville in NBL1 Central, Grand Final superstar and MVP Tom Carroll has moved on, whilst Jayce Beasley is not back in 2024 and Malvaso was injured in the Grand Final game. Alarm bells ringing? Maybe.

There is plenty of light for the Cougars though – a big signing is Shaquille Maharaj. Maharaj has travelled around Australia and Asia, playing FIBA 3x3 in Asia, whilst playing for a variety of NBL1 programs across Western Australia, South Australian and most recently with Albury/Wodonga Bandits.

Alongside Shaq and sure to make a considerable impact will be Adam Anderson who moves across from Altona. Anderson from Saratooga Springs NY, dominated in Division 2 on the way to guiding Altona to a Division 2 championship title. Anderson was recognised with the ‘Leading Scorer’ award and a position in the ‘All Star 5’ and is sure to be another to have played his trade in a lower division to then successfully convert in the Championship competition.

Mitch Barry returns alongside big man Vandenberg and a strong support cast led by Kobe Baird. Therefore, McKinnon will be back amongst the top contenders but with some big changes to key pieces, maybe it will take some time to come together. You only need to be at your best come playoff time – right Cougars? We’re suggesting there are plenty of contenders – McKinnon will be in the thick of it!

A constant going back approximately 20 years when Hume City (Broadmeadows) came into the Big V ranks has been seeing the Broncos in the playoff mix of Championship. In fact, it was 20 years ago that the Men took out their one and only Championship title at this level. Once again in 2023 however, Hume City were there at the Grand Final, losing by 16 points to an all-conquering McKinnon.

Saddle in, as there are some significant losses from the 2023 lineup, with the entire starting 5 gone! Head Coach Matt Foster is an experienced leader at this level, and you can be assured that he has restocked, reloaded and is ready to fire another shot in 2024 to go one step further with these Broncos!

2023 Championship Leading Scorer and All Star 5 member Scott Stone moves across from Western Port and will immediately cover any scoring concerns. Long time success across Big V, Trevon Clayton moves in from Sunbury and his import partner will be Malik McKinney coming out West Liberty University.

Carlo Camp makes the move across from Keilor and will be ready to take on a larger role with the Broncos. He was one of the strongest guards only a couple of years in the Youth Championship division. Zach McKenzie has been recruited out of the Franklin Bulls in the NZ NBL and Keenan Gorski will make the jump from a successful Division 2 year with Wallan.

Are they Ready?

Keysborough have shocked many in recent years as they’ve stormed their way up the ladder and moved themselves into contention. Whilst they finished with a 14-7 record, the Cougars were the first victim to the McKinnon playoff storm that took place and were bundled out. Coach Nathan Vogt has kept a core group together as a sign of the team moving in a positive direction.

Derrick McDonald will add significant experience to a group that maybe lost their way in some big moments in 2023. Trent Andre will be ready to make an impact, moving across from Dandenong NBL1 South, whilst the recruit of Puoch Puoc from an RMIT team that were Runners-Up in Division 1 will add additional size and athleticism to this group.

What do we make of Camberwell? Does a new venue mark the start of new fortune in 2024? Mark Jeffers returns to take the reins after a year off, having led the team from Division 2 to their inaugural Championship season in recent times. Max Barkeley has returned to the Den from Sunbury, Luke Shelley returns after a stint at Ringwood in NBL1 and Luke Liesegang will add considerable size moving across from NBL1 at Diamond Valley, teaming up with Tom O’Connor in a big front court.

Then at the last moment, Camberwell drop another bombshell, the signing of Chris Elder from the Hume City lineup! Scoring for these Dragons shouldn’t be the issue.

We share two concerns. One is the loss of Jay McKenzie. Was he the best Australian young talent in 2023? Debatable, but certainly he was the leading rebounder for the competition. The other is age and injury. The talent is unquestionable, but can they keep them on the floor and challenge the big boys on campus? Guley, Clarke, Dean and Veitch will all be strong contributors in a variety of ways. However, to compete at the next level, will Shelley, Barkeley and Elder be able to shoulder the load?

Head Coach of Melbourne University, Shaun King has been gradually adding the pieces to a Black Angels outfit that moves its way up the ladder. Is the inclusion of Lukas Kafritsas out of Diamond Valley the piece that takes them into the playoffs? This essentially all-Australian lineup is a group of 20 something year-olds that have had strong junior careers. In some cases, dominant Youth careers are now truly establishing themselves as a team ready to contend at senior level. The leader of this young group of men, long time gun Nicholas Masunda. 2024 is the year that the Black Angels don’t just enter the conversation for playoffs, but they’re amongst it!

The Unknowns?

There are big changes at the Hangar for Sunbury. Four of the starting five have moved on, but long time Jet Nathan Marshall returns to ensure his club goes through this transition smoothly and will lead the next phase for this great program.

7-foot New Zealander, Joel Coffey enters the Big V Championship and looks like he has the pedigree to make an immediate positive impact. Koby Skenderis is looking for his opportunity at this level after a strong season for Melton in Division 2.

After a few years toward the lower end of the ladder, Head Coach, Matt Brooks and his Blackburn Vikings have steered things in a different direction in 2024. It is almost an entirely new roster with the likes of New Zealander Dylan Ryburn a key figure returning, and Michael Zuccolo, a long time Viking to be joined by Bul Niop - most recently with Hume City int 2022 and US import Kortland Martin.

The 2023 season saw a 3-18 record for the Steelers of Western Port. Both Daryl Corletto and Scott Stone have new homes in 2024 and Western Port is repositioning itself to make moves up the ladder. Key figures of Gaze, Theobald, Permenter and McAuliffe are all back. A significant piece to the Steeler puzzle will be that of recruit Elijah Davy, coming across from Division 1 at Chelsea.

The bench is looking young for Western Port, but the key starting pieces are there and will cause many teams some trouble. Coach, Karl Loh will be looking for his younger types to be ready to take some of the load to move them back up the ladder.

There is no doubt that Bellarine had an abrupt introduction to Championship Men’s competition finishing with a 3-18 record and holding up the ladder.

Improving at the defensive end is always an important step in turning things around and securing the Championship ‘Defensive Player of the Year’ in Kavione Green goes a long way to helping! Kavione also knows how to win, coming out of the Wyndham stable bringing with him Championship title in 2022. There is no doubt that he has been helping the coaching staff set some new standards in the off-season.

Bellarine then announced another major piece, with the recruitment of Liam McInerny, the long-time champion for Geelong in NBL1.

But they weren’t finished yet! Nicholas Velasquez decided to make the move from Geelong NBL1 to Bellarine and suddenly, with the likes of locals Varley, Kos, Jarvie and Hultgren all returning from their core group, the signs are looking very good for the boys down on the Bellarine Peninsula!

The Storm are our tip for the sharp riser! How far – well that is, the unknown!

Big V Championship Men hasn’t been healthier than it is right now. We’ll naturally see an injection of talent, crowds and excitement with the introduction of Shepparton and Pakenham to the division. However, it is the work of the middle to lower end teams that appear ready to make the 2024 season the most competitive we’ve seen in decades!

Bellarine will bounce, they’ve learnt from the mistakes of 2023. Camberwell have reloaded, there is no doubt about that. You just feel that for both Keysborough and Melbourne University, that the big steps they took in 2023 are the launchpad for a 2024 assault on the Championship.

Let’s not forget that a relegation system is back in play. Last placed will be relegated to Division 1, so they’ll all be working to avoid that too! But in the positive, is the opportunity and possibility of promotion to NBL1 after 2025. Whilst accumulated wins across men’s and women’s over two seasons plays its part, for any of the seven associations with teams at this level, it is something they can work toward!

One thing is for sure, the games are going to be red hot this season. Bring on 2024!

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05 April, 2024

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