JUST 12 months ago, playing in his rookie year at senior level, young basketball sensation Tom Dawson was the toast of the 2009 NSW State League Basketball competition.
Despite being one of the youngest players in the awesome Penrith Panthers squad, Dawson was instrumental in leading the Panthers to their third consecutive State League title.
Along the way, the South Windsor youngster simply dominated the competition; his impact reflected in the yearly player awards.
Dawson's outstanding debut senior season saw him win three highly-coveted awards, as the Most Valuable Player of the Year, All-Star Five and Rookie of the Year ? a very rare treble for any one player.
To cap off that outstanding effort, Dawson went a step further and also won the Most Valuable Player and Best Defensive Player awards in the State League grand final, outshining a host of highly talented players on the biggest stage of the season.
Fast forward 12 months and the talented young giant is once again at the top of everyone's list of outstanding debutantes in a whole new league, this time playing with the Hornsby Spiders in the higher-ranked Waratah Basketball League competition.
Whilst the Spiders are admittedly languishing near the bottom of the WBL competition ladder, Dawson and two other youngsters (former Panther Ben Hollis and Hornsby junior Jarrad Weeks) have all been in red-hot form this season, doing their best to make the very young Spiders squad competitive.
Dawson's stats on the Spiders' roster this year make astonishing reading, including 144 points (4th in team), 154 rebounds (2nd), 25 blocked shots (1st), 14 assists (6th) and 8 steals (4th) from just 16 games.
Those impressive stats also rank Dawson highly against players from all other teams in the competition, including second for blocked shots behind Goran Veg (Parramatta Wildcats), third for total rebounds behind team-mate Hollis and former West Sydney Razorbacks and Gold Coast Blaze forward Scott McGregor (Maitland Mustangs) and 21st for point-scoring.
The 21-year-old, who studies Physio- therapy at Sydney University, said he was gradually adjusting to the switch from State League to the WBL.
"Initially it's a big step up, it's a lot faster and more physical," Dawson said, "It took me probably half a season to adjust."
"But I'm learning a lot ? you play with and against a lot of players who have played in the NBL ? we've got three or four guys in our team who have played overseas and professionally."
"I know we're something like eighth out of twelve teams, but every time we've lost it's been by a narrow margin. We just haven't quite clicked when it's counted."
"In saying that, we've got one of the youngest teams in the comp and we'll definitely be a stronger side next season."
Spiders head coach Greg Jones is one of the most highly-rated coaches in NSW and has been involved at all levels at basketball, including playing at the top level in his younger days.
He said that Dawson's attitude, both on and away from the court, made him an asset to the team and a real star of the future.
"When Tom first came to us he found it a bit of a challenge ? the action was quicker than State League, opposing players had a higher level of talent and he was up against some better athletes," said Jones.
"However, Tom has learnt very quickly and his efforts for us in the latter part of the season ? and particularly in the past two weeks ? have just been exceptional."
"Tom's skill levels, fitness and court speed have improved out of sight and he now has a real presence in the WBL and can play either front or back to the basket ? at times he can be just unstoppable."
Jones added, "Tom's game has gone to an entirely new level this season ? he doesn't realise just how strong a player he is but when he does, he'll be simply awesome."
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