Roth: “I couldn’t tell you two cents about Perth”

The Perth Wildcats have built a star-studded roster across the off-season, the envy of most teams … but try telling Scott Roth that.

From Jo Lual-Acuil Jr to Mason Jones, Sunday Dech and Lat Mayen, it’s been a strong acquisition period, even after the loss of Bryce Cotton.

But Roth says he hasn't even looked at Perth in the pre-season and has only one focus ahead of Saturday’s matchup, Tasmania.

“I have no idea who’s on Perth’s roster or anything because I don’t follow the NBL stuff,” he said after the JackJumpers’ loss to Melbourne.

“I’ll get all that stuff loaded up on my computer tomorrow morning and watch on the flight over there.

“But I couldn’t tell you two cents about Perth. I haven’t seen them play this year. I’ve got no clue.”

It was a promising first-up display from the JackJumpers, despite a four-point loss, with all their new faces having an impact at various stages.

Imports Bryce Hamilton (24 points) and David Johnson (22 points, 10 rebounds) were particularly impressive.

“I just told those guys, the five young guys we’ve got, (Josh) Bannan and (Nick) Marshall, and then the three imports (Hamilton, Johnson, Tyger Campbell), there’s just a tremendous amount of growth with those guys over the course of this season,” Roth said.

“The excitement of our group is the unknown, because I just don’t know what’s going to happen next with them.

“They’re super coachable and I thought it was a classic game against them (United), just a smashmouth kind of back-and-forth game.

“They beat us up on the glass, which was really the big difference, and then the foul count. Those two have always been tough to overcome and 11 in the first half was disastrous.”

Roth gave special mention to former Adelaide 36er, Nick Marshall, who finished with eight points in 14 minutes of action.

“The guy that’s really been impressive for us also has been Nick Marshall. I think he’s just scratching the surface with us,” he said.

“He’s been fantastic and he’s going to get plenty of opportunities with us. The last two or three weeks he’s just continued to grow in a lot of areas and he’s really prided himself on becoming a better defender. In our group he can make shots, he’s got good size and athletic ability, so he’s got a bright future with us.

“Those five young guys we have, the three imports are 24 and 25, and Bannan’s super young, and obviously Nick Marshall. So those five guys have a huge growth spurt that hopefully will go over the next few months. We’ll continue to push them and I’m excited about those five.”

The JackJumpers take on Perth on Saturday night at RAC Arena, with tip-off from 8pm AEST, live on ESPN.
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