Will Manek Be Back in Perth?

Tuesday, July 4, 2023

With rising links to Lithuanian powerhouse Zalgiris, Brady Manek's potential NBL24 return is looking increasingly unlikely.

NBL23 Perth import Brady Manek is currently being heavily linked with a move to European powerhouse Zalgiris, and the return of the former UNC Tar Heel to the NBL is beginning to look increasingly unlikely.

Manek’s solitary season with Perth represented his first campaign as a professional, and despite early season struggles he developed into a key piece on the offensive end for the Wildcats. Following the conclusion of the NBL season, he linked up with Tasmania import Milton Doyle in Turkey with Tofas.

He averaged 15.4 points per game on almost 60 per cent shooting with the Turkish side, after shooting just 46.4 per cent from the field in his season with the Wildcats.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BRADY MANEK PUTS A MASSIVE FULL STOP ON THE CATS' WIN ?‍? <a href="https://t.co/TpNqqm9M1a">pic.twitter.com/TpNqqm9M1a</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1618944286661414914?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Wildcats legend Damian Martin says while he wouldn’t be surprised if Manek continues his career in Europe, he hopes to see the 24-year-old back in the NBL at some point in his career.

“The way he celebrated and showed emotion, people fell in love with that,” Martin told NBL Media. “I think they hope to see him again someday.

“I think he’ll travel and play abroad and use this game as a bit of a passport. I didn’t think he’d be coming back to the Wildcats, but it wouldn’t surprise me if in a few years’ time he was back in the NBL.

“He can flat out shoot the rock, buit there’s more to his game I think he can add, and over time as he continues to get more experience, I think he’ll appreciate the time he had in Perth a little bit more.

“I wouldn’t rule out a return to the NBL at some stage.”

Manek is set to become the latest of a long line of links between the NBL and Zalgiris, and will join a group of some of the competition’s all-time greats in representing the Lithuanian giants.

Former Larry Sengstock Medal winner Jock Landale represented the club across 2019-2020, while former league MVPs Jerome Randle and Steve Woodberry also spent time at the club.

Incoming Breakers Next Star Mantas Rubstavicius also represented Zalgiris at various levels between 2019 and 2021.