Danny Mills Urges Wildcats Fans to “Stick With Us"

Perth Wildcats General Manager of Basketball Danny Mills has urged fans to “stick with us” while they work through a challenging start to the NBL23 season.

Mills told The Dribble Podcast while Perth have been under pressure and are 4-5 for the season, the group will be able to overcome the early barriers they've been forced to face.

“Stick with us. There’s going to be ups and downs," Mills said. "Progress isn’t linear. We’re going to have to ride it. We’re coming together as a group.

“These guys are professionals. They understand pressure. Obviously, it’s heightened in a place like Perth as it should. That’s why we’re all here. That’s why we’re in these roles.”

The Wildcats are notorious for their strong demeanour and are well known for their on-court success, having won 10 NBL championships in their history and making the playoffs for a record 35 straight seasons - a run that was ended with last season's sixth-place finish.

Mills explained how the high level of sustained success adds pressure for the ‘Cats to find their feet again, and it serves as the club’s “motivating factor”.

“Is there pressure for every game? Yes, and that’s probably not going to go away,” he said.

“That’s the motivating factor, how can we get back to that elite level and that’s what we’re building towards on and off the court.

“It’s much better to be in a place like Perth where you have these expectations than going to a place where there are no expectations.

“There’s been a lot of change on and off the court. But we feel like we have the right structure to get this thing going.”

Mills praised head coach John Rillie and assistant coach Mike Kelly for their consistency in helping the players focus on present games instead of finals and championships.

“John (Rillie) and Mike (Kelly) especially do a fantastic job of having the guys understand, let’s take this game to game as appose to looking at it as, we have to make finals, we have to make championships,” Mills said.

The Wildcats defeated Adelaide 94-89 in their last game and Mills is positive Perth will take that momentum and run with it at home against the South East Melbourne Phoenix on Thursday at 9:30pm AEDT.

“We’ve got some really good momentum behind us, and we’re excited to get on the court,” he said.