The young gun set for NBL25 stardom?

Perth GM of Basketball Operations Danny Mills has said the Wildcats are targeting two areas in this free agency period. Shooting, and rebounding. But Lanard Copeland has asserted the answer to one of those potential problems is already at the club and ready to make a statement.

Ben Henshall arrived at the Wildcats ahead of last season with a level of intrigue surrounding his offensive skillset, and after he exploded for 24 points in the Wildcats’ Round 2 defeat to South East Melbourne, that intrigue turned to a cacophony of excitement.

That was the only time the rookie hit double-digit scoring in the season though, as he averaged 3.1 points per game across 16 appearances, during a campaign in which he struggled to crack John Rillie’s rotation.

Henshall is currently playing for Perth’s affiliated NZNBL side the Otago Nuggets, and two-time NBL champion Copeland says playing Henshall alongside Bryce Cotton could turn the Wildcats into an offensive juggernaut next season.

“If Perth don’t play him, other teams will,” Copeland said on NBL Now. “Other teams will pick him up because he’s athletic and can shoot the ball, but more importantly he’s brave.

“He’s not afraid of the talent that’s in front of him, he doesn’t play like a rookie, he plays like a veteran, and he can certainly help the Wildcats.

“I was lucky enough to call that game Ben Henshall came in and played [against South East Melbourne], and I was like ‘who is this guy, where is he from, and where has he been?’

“You take some of that pressure off Cotton and you put this guy on the wing, kicking it up the floor and letting him go to work, and now you’ve got to guard Cotton on one wing, him on another wing, and you’ve got (Keanu) Pinder and (Kristian) Doolittle hitting the boards.

“I like the way the Perth Wildcats look.”

Henshall is currently averaging 26 points per game across his first three appearances for the Nuggets, where he is playing alongside NBL24 Wildcats teammates Tai Webster, Dontae Russo-Nance, and Jack Andrew.

He was also part of Australia’s recent 2025 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers against South Korea and Indonesia, where he scored an impressive 14 points in the 14-point win over South Korea, before adding four points in the 55-point demolition of Indonesia.

Former Melbourne United guard Pete Hooley says Henshall needs to lock in on the defensive end if he wants to properly crack into Perth’s rotation next season.

“It’s all about the defensive end, because that’s the reason he didn’t play in his rookie year. We know that’s not his strength, his strength is scoring the ball and creating, but I still think there’s a way you can get consistent minutes into him and also set the challenge for him,” Hooley said.

“What’s going to get you into the rotation is a little bit less mistakes by focusing on the defensive end. When you come in as a rookie and you come in as an elite offensive talent you can overlook that.

“But in the NBL if a team wants to win you’ve got to be able to play defence. I think he’ll do that, work his way into the rotation, and have a good year.”