But the modest 24-year-old said he would gladly swap the individual honour if it meant the Hunters were still alive and playing in the WABL semi-finals at Broadmeadow on Saturday.

Newcastle finished fourth but were knocked out last Saturday because they lost 88-75 to Sydney and Maitland upset second-placed Parramatta 87-86.

Maitland will play Sydney and Manly will play Parramatta in the semi-finals on Saturday, and the winners will meet in Sunday’s final.

Basketball NSW will announce all award winners this weekend, but because Freer is flying home to Michigan tonight the state association allowed Newcastle Basketball general manager Ivan Spyrdz to break the news to Freer yesterday.

‘‘Not even close,’’ Freer said when asked if the MVP award had eased the pain of elimination.

‘‘We didn’t expect much at the beginning of the year, and I don’t think anyone expected us to win, but we definitely expected to win.’’

Freer played all 21 games, averaging 22.7 points, nine rebounds, and 1.8 assists, and attracted attention throughout the WABL for his spectacular dunks and all-round athleticism.

He arrived in Newcastle last summer while travelling around Australia on a working holiday and stayed to transform the 2009 wooden spooners into 2010 title contenders.

‘‘Coming in, I didn’t really know what to expect . . . and I wasn’t really sure how the season would go,’’ he said.

‘‘I think last year, the guys always fought hard but they were kind of used to losing, but that completely changed throughout this year and we went into games expecting to win, as opposed to going in and playing as hard as we could and hoping it was close at the end.

‘‘Definitely, the guys on the team have grown this year and I have as well. For the whole association, it was great that we were able to do what we did this year and show people that Newcastle is a force to be reckoned with in the basketball world.’’

Freer will catch up briefly with family and friends in Michigan before moving on to Germany to continue his career in the same league his childhood friend and Hunters teammate Marcus Vanderheide has played the past two seasons.

They have trained with National Basketball League club Wollongong Hawks in recent weeks, and Freer said Vanderheide was staying in Australia to pursue his options.