Rillie Looks to Emulate Boomers Success

By Dan Woods - NBL Media

New Perth Wildcats head coach John Rillie is looking to use his Olympic experience with the Boomers as a blueprint with which to build his side.

Rillie was one of Brian Goorjian’s assistants at the recent Tokyo Olympics, where Australia overcame a Luka Doncic led Slovenia side to win bronze – the country’s first ever men’s basketball medal.

He'll be looking to revamp the side which missed out on finals last season, breaking the streak of 35 years in a row where Perth competed in the post-season.

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“We’ve really emphasised defence and rebounding which is what I believe is really going to take us to another level,” Rillie said.

“I was fortunate enough to be around one of the greats, Goorjian, and one of the beliefs of us getting the bronze medal was our attention to detail in that area, so I want to bring that aspect here.

“I’ve preached our versatility and our basketball IQ is what’s really going to separate us and be our signature as a team. What I saw today, is although it’s a small sample size, I was really impressed with.

“We’re going to screw it up every now and then, but as long as we do it with a purpose and we’re helping our teammates then I’m going to be happy with that.”

A key part of the team’s defensive intensity will be Luke Travers, The young guard/forward has been tasked with once again elevating his game as he enters his fourth NBL season.

Travers, who was selected by Cleveland with the 56^th pick in the recent NBA Draft, will return to play with the Wildcats after making a strong impression in the Summer League.

Rillie says the key will be to manage the expectations placed on his young star.

“I think [Las] Vegas (Summer League) was a great stepping stone and understanding of what you need to be at that level. For us, the responsibilities of what my opinion is [Travers] should be an elite defender in this league,” Rillie said.

“I’m going to look at him to be that, that’s his purpose, and then his offence will flow from that because he’s going to get steals, he’s going to rebound, he’s going to push the ball, but that’s where I’m going to be really demanding of him … because he’s like a Swiss army knife down there.

“[His goals] have to be achievable so he grows in confidence. Absolutely getting to an All-NBL level as far as second or third team, but you also have to make it believable and achievable as well.”

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For now though, this early stage of pre-season is about the team’s new signings linking up and starting to build the chemistry that is crucial to a championship run.

Imports Brady Manek and TaShawn Thomas have begun training with the group, as have star signing Corey Webster and in-form development player Michael Harris, however fan favourite Bryce Cotton is still yet to land at the training base.

Manek and Thomas both completed Monday's session, while Webster and Harris were straight into the action just days after arriving in Perth.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">?? Corey Webster<br>?? TaShawn Thomas<br>?? Brady Manek<br><br>The lads arrived safely in Perth and met their new teammates for the first time this morning! <a href="https://t.co/1DiUKMjcsE">pic.twitter.com/1DiUKMjcsE</a></p>&mdash; Perth Wildcats (@PerthWildcats) <a href="https://twitter.com/PerthWildcats/status/1557983134603685888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“It was good the last couple of weeks to have seven or eight of the Aussie contingent, now we have the imports and the Kiwi join us, and as you said a very important piece of the puzzle isn’t here yet,” Rillie said.

“Every day is going to have a purpose or a theme. Most of the themes are going to be centred around rebounding, defence and being a great teammate. I need to see those characters built over time.

“The guys who have bene around for a couple of weeks, you can see that progressing which is encouraging. That’s progressing and it seems like the group really enjoys what we’re doing so far.”

The Wildcats welcomed new recruits TaShawn Thomas, Brady Manek and Corey Webster to practice for the first time on Monday. 

Corey Webster, TaShawn Thomas and Brady Manek.

Brady Manek.

Luke Travers.

TaShawn Thomas.