i was hoping Alan williams was going to sign

PERTH
PG: Norton | Zunic
SG: Cotton* | Webster
SF: Travers | Blanchfield | Shervill
PF: Manek* | Wagstaff
C: Thomas* | Majok | Hayes-Brown


Good squad, NS pg? Or dp

There is no question in terms of shot creation & guards when 2x of them are Bryce Cotton & C.Web lol

Two Larry Bird look alikes in one team ..

At 2.06 he will be the cats 5. With Thomas at the 4. I like the fact he has a decent 3 point pullup , something like 40% clip. So a definitely an upgrade over last years centres at the cats and ignoring the monster over at Brisbane, most teams in the NBL are downgrading on height at the centre spot this season.

Main concern is bench depth if injuries kick in.

I would have thought Thomas will be defending the 5s. He's shown he can do that.

Rillie's goal of versatility is demonstrated here with either being able to likely play the 4/5 for periods of the game.

Love Manek! Played summer league with Charlotte, smart player, good hustle and good shot.


I think people will love him

Does it really matter who is listed at the 4 or 5 these days? Not sure it really means anything any more.

Frothing for the season tipoff let the games begin!

Played five years of college. Not many guys do that.

they wouldn't have elevated zunic if they didn't feel like he could do the job but doesn't stop getting a dp pg just not a next star

AngusH - yes it does matter because this isn't position-less NBA where zone defence isn't played. Need someone to clog up the paint and be a rim protector.

Frothing for the season tipoff let the games begin!

watched a bit of the College finals and Manek did fine defending opposition bigs.

LOL!

When I read rumours Trev might return I was glee son...

"AngusH - yes it does matter because this isn't position-less NBA where zone defence isn't played. Need someone to clog up the paint and be a rim protector."

I'd argue that considering the small % of games where zone is played it basically is "positonless" even in the NBL, especially with the offenses that teams run a large percentage of the time. Having a big "clog the paint and protect the rim"... I mean, that sounds good in theory, but it rarely works that way. When you do play a zone, sure, ideally you want a big dude in the middle who can challenge shots, but it's just not cut and dry for a large percentage of the game.

Certainly looks fantastic, I believe this will be a very entertaining side, run and gun at every opportunity. Play quality D and cats will be up there.

Have there been any recent updates regarding Cotton's naturalisation? If it's going to happen, surely it must not be far off?

Angus - id argue that we play a lot more zone than you might be giving credit for... I hope to be wrong but personally I think the Cats needed more size, thought we would have fixed that from last season.

Can he Rillie coach?

If he can, this team's headed back to the playoffs and the Red Army will Rillie appreciate that

You don't have to play zone to be able to take advantage of your big guy hanging out in the paint more on D.

Sydney has just hired a 211 centre, question will be whether height (sydney) or versality (cats) will work better in the 5.

"Have there been any recent updates regarding Cotton's naturalisation? If it's going to happen, surely it must not be far off?"

Last month there were rumours that his Citizenship had been approved but no announcements. My guess is he had his formal interview/test and was approved and then just has to wait for a ceremony.

Nothing is official until the ceremony. This is usually handled by your local council. Mine does 6 per year.

For my wife, who had her interview and test at about the same time as those latest rumours about Cotton has been told it could take 8 months but that it may be possible to get the November intake.

I wouldnt be surprised if someone with some power can get him into an earlier ceremony, but if not you're looking at maybe Australia Day.

Yes that's the question, can Rillie coach, if yes this side is good barring injuries.

Sydney ran Cooks and Martin through the 5 last season, neither of them are monsters, seven footers got be mobile or like Qi get caught out defensively.

They still have Majok to throw in if size becomes an issue, 210cms, but zone can help a lack of height as you clog up the middle.

Manek will be drawing his man out of the paint, as he is pretty deadly from 3

Majok Majok isn't 6'11" he's 6'9" (206 cm).

I know some sites including the NBL have him listed as 6'11" but he's probably fortunate to even be listed as 6'9", eye test suggests 6'8"/6'9", 6'11" guys stand out on NBL courts, Majok certainly doesn't he's a natural PF / undersized centre.

Manek is a great signing and will definitely fit well into the Wildcats culture/system. Most of his tangible strengths have been mentioned but I think his greatest strength is his toughness which has undoubtedly stemmed from playing alongside Armando Bacot. Together they anchored UNC's interior all year and were the key reason the Tar Heels made it all the way to the tournament final against Kansas (both had double doubles). While it’s unlikely he will be an all NBL 1st teamer, Manek will be a great contributor, likely a John Mooney lite

Loved watching him in college last year! Great signing.

When I read rumours Trev might return I was glee son...

A few other charlotte fans on another forum were hoping he would sign there, that's how much he impressed them.

Good to see the new management bringing in two well credentialed imports, its almost unusual for the cats to see all of the imports for the start of the season looking as if they could be good for the whole season.

In previous years the cats ownership would cheap out on a Cookie Jnr , Dario Hunt type player that was never going to cut it from day one.

Yeah in previous years we've put together half-arsed rosters with no chance of getting anywhere

Lol ^^

@Luuuc - we missed the finals last year ? You do remember ? With a team that did actually "not go anywhere" lol - short memory.

In the past we had to sack poor performing imports to actually make finals or win championships. Cotton , Plumlee classic examples brought in to turn failing season into success.

Budget signing for todays NBL.

Do not see Perth improving on last year, but who can really tell lol.

Really felt that thr 3rd import needed to be a proven star...

Also I don't understand where people are getting this idea Thomas and Manek aren't NBL centre size?

The wildcats have had multiple undersized centres over the years (Mooney, Knight, Majok) as have other teams...

Both Manek and Thomas can play centre in the NBL.

They are undersized for centres in the NBL. Doesn't mean they can't play the position though.

Probably worth noting both Manek and TT have wingspans around 7'2 inches and a standing reach of 9 feet.

Manek probably the bigger concern on the defensive side of the ball (going off his college career) but both have the necessary length (remembering defence is not played with the top of your head) to defend the rim in the NBL.

Manek will need to improve his lateral quickness, as both he and Majok are likely to be attacked in the PnR and thus may not spend a lot of time on the floor together.

I think the issue is more that Manek is a SF/PF, how much C has he actually played?

As I understand it Thomas will be playing the 5 and Manek at the 4. I don't know as a non-Perth fan I'm not sold on either of these two signings getting the Cats back into the playoffs. I think they've lost too much with the departures of Law & Hodgson.

Without Law's injury last year they made the playoffs. Not to mention the other key injuries they suffered. It won't take much improvement to get back to the playoffs. Thomas is a very good signing in terms of addressing their deficiencies.

Great recruiting by Perth on this selection

I'm tipping Perth to return to the playoffs

Cotton is the alpha Dog of the NBL and they've put a solid enough group around him.

My only query would be rebounding- Manek averaged 5.7 rebounds in 28 minutes in his college career, Thomas 6.2 and 6.6 in 28 mins in his previous 2 pro seasons

Majok and Travers are good rebounders, they should be alright

My other question is how well Webster fits alongside Cotton

But I reckon they'll work it out

At this rate I feel like Sydney, Perth, SEM, Melbourne, Adelaide will end up with lists are legitimate top 4 contenders.

Brisbane, NZ, Hawks, Tassie with new imports are tough to gauge but I could see any of those doing what Hawks and Tassie have done last few years and legitimately surprised/contended.

Only really Cairns where you'd like and go....a bridge too far?

With that in mind, fairly happy for there to be a top 6 situation given the probable even-ness and anyone could beat anyone scenario that should reach 6 clubs at a minimum.

Early to gauge but other than swani I don't see to many quality defenders at hawks, I can see a big slide, Brisbane unknown but I don’t see to much improvement. Cairns will be better and NZ as well.
Sydney and Perth at this early stage. Can CJ get Sixers playing team D, will move up, possibly, if achieved.
Most seasons are won by the team that plays the best defensively.

Championships are won by teams who are good at both ends of the floor

United last season were one of the best defensive teams in NBL history but they only had two scorers. When one got injured they lost the Semi Final

The United were not the best dens I've team in history. Some of the Damian Martin led teams of the tester years or the Magic with Darren Lucas were nightmarish

Note I said "one of"