Basketball-wise, the boys in purple soared all the way to the Big V division one grand final, which they ultimately lost to Bellarine Storm.
But off the court was where the program really shone.
Putting a major emphasis on fan engagement and upping its presence on social media, the Gators had the entire town swept up in basketball fever — to the point where its finals matches at Shepparton Sports Stadium were sold out.
Last week Greater Shepparton Basketball Association (GSBA) received acknowledgement for its hard work, as it claimed the 2022 Basketball Victoria Chairman’s Award.
The award recognises outstanding performance in basketball operations, ranging from game-day experience to general day-to-day operations.
Gators publicity officer Stephen Beks said it was a surreal feeling to be bestowed such an honour.
“This award is massive because it goes throughout the entire Big V from championship down to all the different divisions in the state,” Beks said.
“So this is a monumental achievement for our basketball program and something that we can really be proud of.
“This is a testament to the small group that took over at the start of last year, we had a clear vision as to where we wanted to take the program, but to get this far so quickly it is beyond our wildest dreams.”
Prior to the 2022 season the GSBA found itself at a crossroads after its manager stepped down.
Following this departure, a group that consisted of Beks, captain Matt Bartlett, coach Josh Waight, board member Mary Ann Barton and president Pete Sutherland got together to formulate a masterplan to take the program to the next level.
“Basically we just got together and started to formulate a plan of first and foremost getting a season under way and then bringing in some exciting and innovative ideas,” Beks said.
“We delegated different roles out to people throughout the organisation and once we got started we knew exactly the direction we wanted to go.
“As the games went on and the team had success we just kept going and bringing in new ideas to the point where we put on a fantastic finals series and sold out our stadium on a number of occasions.
“So this award is great recognition for the framework those handful of people put in place at the beginning of the season.”
While this award is a wonderful accomplishment for the organisation, Beks and the Gators crew are certainly not resting on their laurels.
He said he hoped this would spark the beginning of an exciting era for Shepparton basketball — which hopefully includes an upgraded stadium.
“The biggest thing we want to come out of this is the fact that our stadiums were at capacity towards finals, we were knocking people back saying they can’t come in,” he said.
“So we need a facility where we can house all of our supporters, we need a bigger stadium to take this to another level.
“We are aiming pretty high, we want to go one better than last year on the court, and off the court we want to keep growing the game in the region.”
