I would probably have Todd Lichti in the honorable mentions and maybe Cattalini (not sure his stats back it up though).
Otherwise can't think of anyone who would break into that top 10.

The 30th anniversary team:
Grace/Ellis
Lisch/Harvey
Vlahov/Redhage
Fisher/Pinder
Crawford/Rogers

Cotton and Martin have to come in. Harvey's obviously out as a result, then it's just a question of whether you drop Ellis or Lisch. It's really hard to drop Ellis, who was basically the entire team in the early 80s and captained for a decade, so I'm very tempted to drop Lisch.

Hard to ignore Kay in the front court, even without much longevity, and replacing Pinder is always a good idea. Dunigan could slot in for Rogers were it not for the minimum number of seasons requirement.

Cattalini played two seasons as a young kid who couldn't really break into the rotation, left and played his best years elsewhere, and then came back for a retirement tour. He's nowhere near this conversation.

I would take Kay above Pinder.

The only change I'd consider from the OP team is Knight over Kay. Other than that, looks good.

Crawford still favourite Wildcat of all time. Absolute legend. Still remember his tip in dunk to beat the Cannons and his block on Reese to stop the Giants knocking us out of the playoffs (won that game in overtime).

Thank you #488. You have integrity re: Pinder.
Just wish everyone did.

They should just reflect to themselves if they must that yes he was indeed a very talented basketball player, but then please leave the nostalgia there because he is a serial sex offender who has caused trauma to many people and continues to do so. A quick search on the daily telegraph newspaper will show that he is currently serving more prison time and in the court process for two more very serious offenses as recent as 2021. So it would be a lot less hurtful if the people making these all time team lists would stop including this person on them and stop including him on any honourable lists.

Harvey Weinstein was a very talented film producer but I'm sure he doesn’t get included in all time/honourable lists anywhere.

Nostalgia out.
Integrity and sensitivity in, please.

Seeing Kendall Tiny Linder's name hurts you?

You precious little petal.

Grace/Lisch
Cotton/Beal
Fisher/Martin
Vlahov/Redhage
Crawford/Clausen

I'm struggling to figure out which of your picks is the worst.

McGowan is protecting his piggy bank....the mining sector

when virus hits mine sites they'll shut down for weeks at a time.

big dent to his income stream

#536 Also these charges in 2021

September 16, 2021 - 7:40AM dailytelegraph.com.au

A former Harlem Globetrotter who once had a high-profile Australian basketball career is behind bars on remand charged with two sexual assaults - one of which allegedly left a woman injured – more than a decade apart.

Kendal "Tiny" Pinder, once a celebrated international basketball player who performed with the Harlem Globetrotters in the 1980s has been charged over allegations he sexually assaulted the same woman twice over more than a decade.

His Australian NBL career spanned stints with the Sydney Supersonics, Perth Wildcats and Illawarra Hawks after a brief and unimpressive career which never truly got off the ground in America's NBA.

An investigation by Bankstown police into allegations of sexual assault resulted in him being charged with aggravated sexual assault and sexual intercourse without consent. Documents tendered to Bankstown Local Court, where Pinder appeared on Tuesday via audiovisual link from the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre at Silverwater, reveal new details of the police allegations against Pinder. Police will allege Pinder had non-consensual sex with a woman in “circumstances of aggravation” which relate to allegations he did “intentionally or recklessly inflict actual bodily harm” on the complainant.
Police will further allege Pinder then had sexual intercourse without consent with the same female complainant in March 2021, at which time she made a complaint to the police over the alleged incidents. The matter was briefly mentioned and the court heard he would next face Burwood Local Court in November 2021. Pinder is yet to enter any pleas.

Grace/Ellis
Cotton/Martin
Vlahov/Redhage
Fisher/Knight
Crawford/Rogers

Martin out of position, but on this team he'd be coming in as a defensive stopper and gave him the nod over Lisch for the extra longevity in a Cats uniform.

You think a thread is going to just be about the Cats 40th anniversary team, but you click on it and it's got everything!


My vote goes to Mike Ellis in that fight for the 4th guard spot. Longevity & leadership gets him over the line a nose in front of Lisch for mine.

The on topic parts of the thread show just how lucky Wildcats fans have been.

As an outsider who missed basically all of Ellis' career, I favour Lisch getting that last guard spot, but I could see a long time Cats fan not agreeing with that.

Pretty much everyone missed a lot of Ellis's career - his peak was in the early 80s in front of 500 people at Perry Lakes Stadium with no TV.

Yeah but at least a Perth fan will have grown up with him around the club, stories etc so may have a stronger attachment

Lists like these always end up being mostly disagreements based on peak quality vs longevity.
Peak Lisch was better than peak Ellis. I doubt there would be any disagreement about that.

If the "best possible roster of Wildcats players to take to the court" means they're playing one hypothetical game, so which team has the best chance of winning, then Lisch has to get the spot.
But f*ck it, my vote still goes to Mike :p

Where is RaMarQabLe to cast his vote for the greatest Cats of all time? Rashad Tucker played 2 seasons here so is eligible!

I like this squad a lot but I've never liked Redhage so I’d exclude him and he provides absolutely nothing that you won’t get from Vlahov, Fisher, Kay and Crawford (inside presence that can hit the 3 pointer and post up opponents) and whilst I want to put in Marcus Timmons for being such a hero in 2000 or a Casey Prather that are so dynamic and offer what Redhage doesn’t or can’t I think this side needs a gunslinger...
We are in a fantasy world where there are no double teams as everyone is too good to need them but if by chance they double Grace to stop him going left then I want a bloke standing on the perimeter that I know can hit that open look and Steindl, Stewart, Harvey, Dolla types definitely come to mind here and being Stiendl was my favourite then I’ll select him and hear how I can justify Clint over Shawn!

Honorable mentions Matty is coming off an injury so I want him cherry ripe so he just missed out.
David Van Dyke was so great with rim protection and rebounding but Crawford has that.
Mooney was so impressive.

Good luck to the selection panel and I like that they aren’t all Wildcats fans judging

Yeah, I suppose calling Pinder an "Honourable" omission was wrong.
And I agree, naming him in any celebratory team is wrong.

Ellis is a legend, no doubt.
My first problem is my OCD says I can only have 2 PGs. So do I omit Martin or Ellis? I've met Ellis, we used to be involved in the same tee-ball club, and he is a genuinely good guy. But I can't overlook Martin.

Now if we go to the requirement to simply have two guards, it opens another possibility, but it's still tough.
Lisch was exceptional for us, especially in big games. Won the GF MVP in his debut season, and went on to win only our 2nd League MVP.

"his peak was in the early 80s in front of 500 people at Perry Lakes Stadium with no TV."

His peak was his matchup against me at Loftus Rec when I was about 21 which would make him 45. I dropped 30pts on him...he dropped 40pts on me, career high maybe. :P

My first problem is my OCD says I can only have 2 PGs. So do I omit Martin or Ellis?

The two season requirement eliminates guys like Ellis and Mooney from discussion, but allows Kay to squeak in.
But what a 2 seasons. Huge part of b2b championships, and was 1st-team both years.

If you go the longevity route, then I think a strong case exists for Wagstaff.

Did the Hawks announce a 40th anniversary team a few years ago?

"If you go the longevity route, then I think a strong case exists for Wagstaff."

You've got to combine it with individual excellence too, can't just have him in it due to longevity. He's played his part over his time, made big shots when required, played big minutes when required, but he's not on the level of the other players.

I think Wagstaff sacrificed a bit to stay with Perth, he could have been a starter in other teams.

Grace / Martin
Cotton / Lisch
Redhage / Fisher
Vlahov / Knight
Crawford / Rogers

"Assuming Grace is your lock at the one, Ellis started alongside him on two championship teams,"

Yeah, as I said, naming 2 guards (plus 2 on the bench) opens up another opportunity for Ellis.
For mine Grace, Cotton, and Martin are locks. That leaves me tossing up between Ellis and Lisch.

I certainly won't be complaining if Ellis is named.

I generally go the Longevity option, but have somewhat reverted this time by naming Kay & Lisch. I can understand why some would prefer Knight and Ellis

Grace/Lisch
Cotton/Tucker
Fisher/Redhage
Vlahov/Kay
Crawford/Rogers

I'm picking the team to win me a game

Tough team to pick, would be hard to omit Jesse Wagstaff though. 6x time champion, second all time games played. These lists don't always comes down to stats, he's been a strong part of the identify of the club for nearly 15 years. Maybe all the flopping will hurt his chances... ;)

haha just re-read the original post. If they are picking a team to win you can remove Wagstaff. Dont mind me.

Trev has been named Coach. Hardly surprising.

Wildcats have opened a competition: https://bit.ly/AllTimeDreamTeam

The banner on that link has me thinking - we have had four logos in our history, averaged out one per decade. I wouldn't mind a revamped design as the current one is stale and going on twenty years.

NB: As discussed above, one name is conspicuously absent from the list of selectables.

Grace/Lisch
Cotton/Tucker
Fisher/Redhage
Vlahov/Kay
Crawford/Rogers

This line-up would have reversed the NBL's rule of allowing only 3 imports, to allowing only 3 NON-imports.

However, as 5 of the 7 are now Aussies (4 plus Cotton). Fisher(?) may make it 6 of the 7 (what happened, Tucker?), that line up could well be NBL-legal!

That is some team. Arguably, half of that team would make the All NBL All Time Dream Team. IMO, Grace, Cotton, Fisher and Crawford would be starters and at least 1 of Vlahov or Kay, off the bench. Lisch, Tucker and Redhage may be considered but tough comp for those spots. Bradtke replaces Rogers, for mine.

And we all wonder how the Wildcats stay at, or near, the top year after year!?

The Starting Five is in:
Grace, Cotton, Redhage, Vlahov, Crawford.

Redhage over Fish is a big call, but not unwarranted.

Neither lineup reflects modern reality, as both Shawn and Scot were at best stretch-4's. But that's ok for a team covering 40 years.

Even during his time at the Cats, I personally believe that Fisher was the better player. But Redhage certainly gets the points for longevity.

Fisher was way better than Redhage for sure. The rest of the five is fine.

Redhage played during the worst era of the NBL.

Yes and he won his first title in 2009-10 which as you say was the beginning of that stinky stretch of the NBL and 2010 was the weakest GF series of all time.

How did they leave Billy Keys? Yes, I was there at the start.

C'mon Anon, Tim Evans was better than Billy!

As someone who has watched them from 1986, I would think perhaps they are reasoning that Fisher and Vlahov play the same spot?

As much as I love JC (my all time favourite), some serious thought must have been given to Rogers. First Wildcat to ever win the league MVP.

A bench of Damian Martin, Lisch, Kay, Fisher and Rogers though. Yikes we have been spoiled over here.

Yes you have!

Yes, Bench is In:

Grace / Martin (C)
Cotton / Lisch
Redhage / Fisher
Vlahov / Kay
Crawford / Rogers

Coach: Gleeson

(apart from transposing Redhage & Fisher) it is as I predicted. Great players all, and really picked themselves.

That is some team, and as I've stated, with the Bradtke/Rogers change that as about as good as it gets. Very glad that Martin made that team.

For the ALL-NBL-ALL-TIME-DREAM-TEAM I want to get DMac in as a PG. Couldn't shoot to save his life, could score but with difficulty but could ball-handle and pass better than anyone and his defence was legendary. Only because Martin's claim to fame is his defence, I would prob leave him out for DMac. As defensively gifted as Martin and more of an offensive threat.

Any interest in starting an, "ALL NBL, ALL TIME DREAM TEAM" thread?

Cats have released the Fans Team, as voted by over a thousand fans.

In a vote for Longevity over Short-term Excellence, Ellis and Wagstaff replaced Lisch and Kay.
That's always a tough decision to make, and I'm ok with those picks.

But the breakdown is a little strange:
Bryce Cotton (voted into 96.9% of teams)
Ricky Grace (95.0%)
James Crawford (93.3%)
Andrew Vlahov (91.8%)
Damian Martin (912%)
Shawn Redhage (83.5%)
Scott Fisher (79.4%)
Jesse Wagstaff (51.2%)
Paul Rogers (47.7%)
Mike Ellis (41.9%)

So 5% of fans did not have Grace in a 10 man team??

Damo being in over 900% of the teams is no surprise.

So 5% of fans did not have Grace in a 10 man team??

^ Presumably
Would have been interesting to see which 4 guards they picked instead
(Or other 2, besides Damo and Cotton)

Cotton still not knowing when his citizenship is happening, slowest and worst federal government ever at everything.

Why would the NBL have a news article about Zero Progress?

It's interesting news, certainly if you are a Perth supporter and he becomes a local.

With the WA border finally re-opening next week Cotton can fulfill the exit/re-entry to Australia requirement of his application once the season ends.

Why would the NBL have a news article about Zero Progress?