Perth Wildcats star import guard Kevin Lisch has taken out the National Basketball League’s Andrew Gaze Trophy for the Most Valuable Player of the 2011/12 iiNet NBL Championship season.

The rugged American took the award after polling 105 votes during the course of the regular season to finish ahead of Cairns Taipans guard Jamar Wilson on 97. Sydney centre Julian Khazzouh finished third with 94 votes and New Zealand’s Cedric Jackson came fourth with 86.

Lisch led the NBL in scoring at 17.6 points per game and also averaged 3.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game, appearing in all 28 of the Wildcats matches. The award was presented at a glittering ceremony at Melbourne’s Crown Entertainment Complex last Monday night.

A full list of winners is below.

Coach of the Year (Lindsay Gaze Trophy) – Andrej Lemanis (NZ Breakers)

Andrej Lemanis of the New Zealand Breakers took out the Lindsay Gaze Trophy as Coach of the Year after polling 53 votes to finish narrowly ahead of Aaron Fearne of the Cairns Taipans on 50 votes. Paul Woolpert of the Townsville Crocodiles came third on 23 votes and Rob Beveridge of Perth fourth on 22. Lemanis led the Breakers to their second successive minor premiership with a league-best 21-7 record.

Rookie of the Year – Anatoly Bose (Sydney Kings)

Sydney Kings young star Anatoly Bose was announced as the winner of the Rookie of the Year award. The lanky Bose entered the NBL with high expectations after a stellar college career that saw him as one of the top scorers in college basketball in the US. He didn’t disappoint, averaging 15.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists for the season. He took out the award as a clear winner with 68 votes, to finish a full 30 ahead of second-placed Everard Bartlett (Adelaide) with 38. Chris Cedar of Townsville came third with 28 votes.

Most Improved Player – Daniel Johnson (Adelaide36ers)

Adelaide 36ers centre Daniel Johnson has been rewarded for his break-out season by being named as the Most Improved Player of 2011/12. Johnson won the award narrowly from Perth’s Jesse Wagstaff and Townsville’s Jacob Holmes, who finished in a tie for second. Johnson polled 40 votes, while Holmes and Wagstaff each had 38. Alex Pledger (New Zealand) and Cameron Tragardh (Melbourne) finished tied for fourth with nine votes apiece. He averaged 16.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.0 blocks, all of which were up from his previous career highs of 10.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 0.7 blocks.

Best Defensive Player – Damian Martin (Perth Wildcats)

Perth Wildcats guard Damian Martin has joined a select list of NBL superstars by being named the Best Defensive Player for the second year in a row. Martin took out the award for the NBL’s best defender last season and went back-to-back this year to become just the eighth player in NBL history to win the award more than once. He joins the likes of Phil Smyth, Darnell Mee, Mike Kelly, Darren Lucas and Terry Dozier as multiple winners of the award. For the second straight year Martin beat out New Zealand’s Mika Vukona for the award, polling 59 votes to Vukona’s 44. Martin’s teammate on the Boomers, Adam Gibson of Gold Coast, came third with 21 votes while Sydney’s shotblocker extraordinaire Jerai Grant came fourth with 11.

Best Sixth Man – Jesse Wagstaff (Perth Wildcats)

After putting in the sort of performances that usually demand a starter’s role, Perth Wildcats forward Jesse Wagstaff has been named as the NBL’s Best Sixth Man. Wagstaff took out the award in a canter, polling 67 votes to finish well clear of New Zealand’s Alex Pledger in second place on 20. Aaron Grabau of Cairns polled third with 15 votes. The Wildcats star averaged a career-high 11.6 points per game in his reserve role, as well as 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists.

All-NBL First Team

Kevin Lisch (Perth)

Cedric Jackson (NZ)

Julian Khazzouh (Sydney)

Mark Worthington (Gold Coast)

Tom Abercrombie (NZ)

All-NBL Second Team

Jamar Wilson (Cairns)

Adam Gibson (Gold Coast)

Cameron Tragardh (Melbourne)

Gary Wilkinson (NZ)

Peter Crawford (Townsville)

All-NBL Third Team

Daniel Johnson (Adelaide)

Eddie Gill (Townsville)

Damian Martin (Perth)

Adris Deleon (Gold Coast)

Jesse Wagstaff (Perth)

Referee of the Year

Michael Aylen