How John Rillie finally got his man

New Perth signing Elijah Pepper may be a new commodity to NBL fans, but Wildcats head coach John Rillie has been chasing the sharpshooter’s signature for years.

The 22-year-old was announced as a Wildcats player on Friday afternoon following five seasons with collegiate side UC Davis. He’s finished his college career as the school’s all-time leader in both points and steals.

Rillie spent five seasons as an assistant coach at UC Santa Barbara between 2017 and 2022, and was a Big West conference rival of Pepper’s UC Davis.

Pepper says Rillie attempted to recruit him to Santa Barbara, and again assessed his availability ahead of NBL24.

“He recruited me through high school. I ended up going to a different school that was in his conference and we ended up playing against each other twice a year,” Pepper told Wildcats Media.

“We maintained a little bit of a relationship outside of season – because you don’t want to talk with the enemy, so to speak – but he was in close contact with my family.

“He got the job over here and when I entered the draft last year he reached out and said ‘hey, we’re still really interested. We’d love to be a part of that conversation to make something happen’. 

“After this season ended, we started that conversation up again and decided it would be a really good fit and now we’re here and I’m a Wildcat.”

While Pepper will arrive in Perth sporting an American accent and a CV that boasts extensive high school and college experience in the United States, he will be classified as a local player due to being born in Shepparton.

His father, Ryan, played for the Hobart Chargers in what is now NBL1 South, and returned to America when Elijah was a young child.

“He (Elijah's father Ryan) played in Australia for seven years, he met my mum here, I was born in Australia and lived there for four or five years, and then we moved back here to Washington state,” Pepper said. “That’s where I’ve grown up and it’s while there’s no accent.

“He’s one of the main reasons I play the game of basketball. I grew up watching him and I came to the gym with him every day, he raised myself, my two younger brothers and my sister in it, so basketball has been not only my life, but his life as well.

“I’m super grateful to carry on the tradition of going to the NBL.”