The Mandurah Magic have bolstered the stocks of their Men’s State Basketball League outfit with the signing of Travis Durnin.
The club announced their acquisition of the league’s 2018 most improved player via their Facebook page on Friday morning, snaring the up-and-coming star from their rival South West Slammers.
It’s a move with the potential to be a huge coup for a Magic side looking to climb from the depths of the ladder, with Durnin instantly adding more scoring firepower to their roster.
The rising star impressed mightily across his 2018 campaign for the Slammers, averaging 16.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game on his way to being crowned the most improved.
He also showed the ability to overcome shooting slumps after turning in some big performances following a couple of horror nights to start the year.
His 15 points against Lakeside in round five ignited what turned into a stellar run of scoring.
Following that game he notched 17 points, six rebounds and two assists against East Perth before exploding in back-to-back games against Cockburn (22 points, seven rebounds) and the Goldfields (26 points, six rebounds, three assists).
But it wasn’t until later in the season that Durnin truly came into his own.
He breached into the 30s in consecutive games putting up 32 points and seven rebounds against the Goldfields before backing it up with 36 points, eight rebounds against Lakeside the next week.
But those stats paled in comparison to his amazing night against Kalamunda in late July, where he turned in what was arguably the best individual performance from any player across the 2018 season.
Durnin went berserk scoring 45 points (on 16/23 shooting) and hauling in 18 rebounds to dominate the stat sheet.
Following his outstanding season he was awarded a spot in the 2018-19 Perth Wildcats Development Academy program.
The Magic will be hoping Durnin’s stunning numbers continue into the 2019 season, as they continue to build their young group.