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MVP this season? No surprise – Devin Gilligan. He avergaed second-to-most points this season with 22,9, and the most rebounds with 13,4 per game. The 27 year old from New Hampshire was a key factor to why Frøya won 12 of their last 16 games this season, before the virus ended the season early.
For those who don’t know Devin that well – he wrote this about himself before the season:
Born in Keene, New Hampshire. Have played at Southern New Hampshire University, drafted to NBA G League, Sweden Basketligan, National Basketball League of Canada, NBL1 Central Australia, Liga Sudamericana in Colombia and Indonesian Basketball League. I chose BLNO because of the opportunity to play for a respected and successful coach (Baard Stoller), and live in a great country. The welcome has been great, club and city are amazing.
I grew up playing with and against Duncan Robinson, Wenyen Gabriel and Noah Vonleh. I have played against many stars like DeMarcus Cousins, Emeka Okafor, Donovan Mitchell, Georges Niang, Wayne Seldon, Glen Davis, Pat Connaughton, Mo Wagner, Nerlens Noel, Nik Stauskas etc.
My favorite NBA team is the Celtics, I grew up close to Boston. Favorite NBA player all time is Allen Iverson.
We did a Q&A with Devin, some days after he got the MVP-title with Frøya. We decided to keep it in English, so even more people can read it!
– What do you think of your first season in norway? Describe how it felt to play in Frøya:
– I loved playing in Norway and for Froya. The Norwegian league is a good league that is definitly getting stronger every year. Froya as a club is great they treated my wife and I really well from the time we got there and went above and beyond to make sure our time there was comfortable and enjoyable. Really need to thank Coach Baard, Alexander Loseth, Havard Tveeito, Richard Brukvall, Arne Ingrebrigsten, Coach Edmunds and everyone else from the club for all they did for us while we were in Bergen.
– How was it outside basketball? Did you enjoy Bergen? Was it like you expected?
Living in Bergen was incredible. The city is amazing and I enjoyed everyday. I loved being able to walk around the city and enjoyed hiking many of the local mountains with my guy Birge Nagle Alne. I formed friendships with my teammates and many of the up and coming Froya players that I know will last a lifetime.
– Which games do you remember the most this season?
– Three games that I remember the most were wins at Baerum, at home vs Fyllingen and home against Kongsberg. The win at Baerum was a back to back and came the day after our first loss. Being such a young team I wasn’t sure how we would responded but we came out and played one of our best games. A lot of young players stepped up and played really well and it made the trip home much more enjoyable.
The win at home against Fyllingen was one of the crazier games I have ever been apart of, we were losing the whole game and Bouna and Jay were having really strong games. Coach Baard made some changes to the game plan and we were able to make big plays down the stretch for a huge come from behind win. The last game of the season at home vs Kongsberg was probably our best game as a team and I really thought we were hitting our top level with the playoffs coming up soon. Nikola was incredible scoring 36 points and making huge defensive plays and young players like Hakkon and Ulrik made big plays to help us beat the defending champs.
– Other good players this season, in your eyes?
Too many good players to name them all, I was really impressed with the level of import players that the league was able to attract and the level of Norwegian players. I believe that the young Norwegian players are really good and will help the game continue to grow in Norway. If I have to pick one player who really stood out to me for an import was my teammate Ljubomir Campara, he is big strong, has an amazing basketball IQ and the best hook shots I have ever seen.
For Norwegian players Bouna Ndiyae is a super talented player who can score in every way and plays unselfishly. Aksell Barkvoll is another Norwegian player, who to me didn’t get enough recognition, I think he shoots that ball as well as any player I have seen at any level.
– What will happen for you next year?
At this point I am not sure what will happen next year. I am already back to training at home and I am working with a basketball agent Jeff Allen from Probasket Consulting to find next opportunity. I am always open to any possibilities whether that is returning to Norway or playing in another country.
Would highly appriciate a donation to our web page if you like our work – either at VIPPS to 90280763 or to bank account 1204.48.14747!! Thanks!——-Setter alltid stor pris på Vipps-bidrag til 90280763 eller bankkontonummer 1204.48.14747 – hvis du liker jobben vi gjør og vil at vi skal fortsette!