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2016–17 Perth Wildcats season

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2016–17 Perth Wildcats season
Head coachTrevor Gleeson
CaptainDamian Martin
ArenaPerth Arena
NBL results
Record15–13 (53.6%)
Ladder3rd
Finals finishChampions
Stats at NBL.com.au

The 2016–17 NBL season was the 36th season for the Perth Wildcats in the National Basketball League (NBL).

Season synopsis

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The 2016 off-season saw the Wildcats part ways with Tom Jervis, Jermaine Beal (both to Brisbane) and Nathan Jawai (Cairns)—three cogs in the team's seventh championship. The trio was replaced with Angus Brandt (Sydney), Jaron Johnson (NBA D-League) and Jameel McKay (college). With the NBL altering its import restriction in 2016 from two to three foreign-born players,[1] the Wildcats were also able to retain Casey Prather for the 2016–17 season.[2] In addition, the Wildcats signed 2015–16 training player Dexter Kernich-Drew to a full-time contract, and retained the core group behind captain and Olympian Damian Martin. In an all too recurring theme for the Wildcats however, big man Matthew Knight injured his right shoulder at training in early September and was ruled out for two months. To replace him, the team recruited former Adelaide 36ers forward Lucas Walker.[3][4]

Trevor Gleeson became the most decorated Wildcats coach in 2017 after winning his third title
Bryce Cotton on 6 March 2017, a day after scoring 45 points in Game 3 of the 2017 NBL Grand Final series.

After a lacklustre season opener in Brisbane against the reintroduced Brisbane Bullets on 6 October, in which they were defeated 72–65, the Wildcats turned it on two days later in Perth to defeat the Cairns Taipans 84–74 in overtime. The hero of the game was Jaron Johnson, who, after struggling over the first three quarters of the game, stepped up his play in the fourth quarter to nail four triples, including a game-typing three-pointer that sent the game into overtime.[5] Just three games into the season, the Wildcats felt Johnson was not the right fit for the team and replaced him with three-point specialist Andre Ingram.[6][7] However, Ingram managed just two games for the Wildcats before leaving Perth due to mental health concerns.[8] Injuries to Martin (jaw & knee) and Kenny (groin)[9] left the Wildcats no choice but to reactivate Johnson's contract, elevate development player Corban Wroe, and sign Jackson Hussey. Martin's absence throughout November and December showed, as the Wildcats dropped from a 4–1 record to 7–9 (last place) following a Round 12 loss to Adelaide. As a result of their poor run of form—losing six of their previous seven games and recording a 1–6 road record on the season—the team made the tough decision to release Johnson for a second time just two days before Christmas.[10] Johnson's replacement, Bryce Cotton, made an immediate impact with 26 points on 7 January against Sydney—the most by a Wildcat on NBL debut, surpassing James Ennis' 25-point NBL debut with the Wildcats in 2013.[11]

A rejuvenated Wildcats side, led by Prather, Cotton and Martin (who returned from injury on 7 January), finished their annual five-game road stretch in December and January with a three-game winning streak, lifting them from last place to second place with a 10–9 record. Their 72–68 victory over the Bullets on 9 January marked the first time in three years that the team managed to win three consecutive games on the road.[12] Coming into the final round of the regular season, the Wildcats had a 13–13 record and needed to win both of their Round 19 games to cement a place in the finals. Behind a 55-point weekend from Prather,[13] the Wildcats were successful in defeating Sydney and Melbourne, extending their NBL Finals streak to 31 seasons by sneaking into third spot.[14][15] The Cotton-Prather duo went on to lead the Wildcats to a Game 1 semi-final win over the second-seeded Taipans in Cairns, with Cotton (34 points) scoring the most points by a Wildcat in a post-season game since Shawn Redhage's 35-point effort in 2008.[16] In Game 2, Prather (24 points, 10 rebounds) and Jesse Wagstaff (20 points, five threes) led the Wildcats to a 74–66 win.[17] The series sweep earned the Wildcats a trip to their sixth NBL Grand Final in eight years and their 13th in franchise history.[18] The Wildcats were matched-up with the fourth-seeded Illawarra Hawks in the grand final, after they defeated the Adelaide 36ers—who were minor premiers—in their semi-final series. As a result, the Wildcats attained home-court advantage in the best-of-five grand final series; the NBL opted for a best-of-five series for the first time since 2009. The Wildcats went on to sweep the Hawks 3–0 to claim their eighth title, going back-to-back for the first time since 1990/1991. Bryce Cotton was named Grand Final MVP after averaging 27.7 points over the three games, including a 45-point effort in Game 3, setting the new all-time Grand Final scoring record in NBL history.[19]

The Wildcats won seven straight games to finish the 2016–17 season and amassed a 13–4 record between 31 December and 5 March, after starting out 7–9 and being ruled out of playoff contention in December. By going back-to-back in 2017, the Wildcats defended their title for just the second in their history, while Trevor Gleeson became the first Wildcats coach to guide the team to a successful title-defence campaign.[20]

Roster

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The Wildcats' 2017 championship trophy

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Perth Wildcats roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt.
G 0 United States Cotton, Bryce (I) 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 75 kg (165 lb)
F 2 Australia Walker, Lucas (TP) 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) 102 kg (225 lb)
G/F 4 Australia Hire, Greg 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 99 kg (218 lb)
F/C 5 United States McKay, Jameel (I) 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 96 kg (212 lb)
G 8 New Zealand Kenny, Jarrod 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 87 kg (192 lb)
F/C 9 Australia Knight, Matthew 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) 109 kg (240 lb)
G 10 Australia Kernich-Drew, Dexter 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 83 kg (183 lb)
G 11 Australia Bragg, Mason (DP) 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) 75 kg (165 lb)
C 12 Australia Brandt, Angus 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 110 kg (243 lb)
G/F 23 United States Prather, Casey (I) 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 94 kg (207 lb)
F 24 Australia Wagstaff, Jesse 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 100 kg (220 lb)
F 25 Australia Vague, Rhys (DP) 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in)
F 42 Australia Redhage, Shawn 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 103 kg (227 lb)
G 44 Australia Wroe, Corban (DP) 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 86 kg (190 lb)
G 53 Australia Martin, Damian (C) 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) 92 kg (203 lb)
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Strength & conditioning coach(es)
  • Australia Josh Cavanagh
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Development player
  • (I) Import player
  • (TP) Training player
  • Injured Injured
Updated: 3 January 2017

Ladder

[edit]
Pos 2016–17 NBL season
Team Pld W L PCT Last 5 Streak Home Away PF PA PP
1 Adelaide 36ers 28 17 11 60.71% 1–4 L4 9–5 8–6 2582 2505 103.07%
2 Cairns Taipans1 28 15 13 53.57% 4–1 W3 10–4 5–9 2305 2301 100.17%
3 Perth Wildcats1 28 15 13 53.57% 4–1 W2 10–4 5–9 2294 2257 101.64%
4 Illawarra Hawks1 28 15 13 53.57% 3–2 W1 9–5 6–8 2486 2444 101.72%
5 New Zealand Breakers 28 14 14 50.00% 3–2 W2 9–5 5–9 2353 2387 98.58%
6 Melbourne United2 28 13 15 46.43% 2–3 L2 9–5 4–10 2351 2337 100.60%
7 Sydney Kings2 28 13 15 46.43% 2–3 L2 7–7 6–8 2295 2311 99.31%
8 Brisbane Bullets 28 10 18 35.71% 1–4 L4 6–8 4–10 2268 2392 94.82%

Updated to match(es) played on 12 February 2017. Source: NBL.com.au

Ladder progression

[edit]
  • Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top four.
  • Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
  • Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished last place on the ladder in that round.
2016–17 NBL season
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Adelaide 36ers 5 6 4 4 6 7 8 7 5 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Brisbane Bullets 2 2 3 3 5 4 2 3 2 6 4 7 5 6 8 8 8 8 8
Cairns Taipans 8 8 8 7 4 6 6 6 4 8 6 6 8 7 7 7 4 5 2
Illawarra Hawks 1 7 7 8 7 5 5 4 3 3 2 2 3 3 2 2 2 2 4
Melbourne United 7 4 5 5 8 8 7 8 6 5 8 4 2 4 3 4 7 3 6
New Zealand Breakers 3 5 6 6 3 3 4 5 8 7 5 5 7 8 6 3 6 7 5
Perth Wildcats 4 3 2 2 2 2 3 2 7 4 7 8 6 2 5 5 5 4 3
Sydney Kings 6 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 4 5 4 6 3 6 7

References

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  1. ^ Nagy, Boti (30 March 2016). "NBL goes to three imports and opens door to Aussies abroad returning as 'marquee players'". AdelaideNow.com.au. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  2. ^ Robinson, Chris (2 August 2016). "Perth Wildcats set to sign 206cm American Jameel McKay as third import for 2016-17 NBL season". PerthNow.com.au. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  3. ^ "Matt Knight to miss start of season". Wildcats.com.au. 12 September 2016. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  4. ^ "Lucas Walker joins Wildcats". Wildcats.com.au. 12 September 2016. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  5. ^ "Johnson, clutch Cats down Taipans in OT". NBL.com.au. 8 October 2016. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  6. ^ "Jaron Johnson deactivated". Wildcats.com.au. 17 October 2016. Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  7. ^ "Perth Wildcats sign sharp-shooter Andre Ingram". Wildcats.com.au. 18 October 2016. Archived from the original on 10 January 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  8. ^ "Andre Ingram departs Wildcats". Wildcats.com.au. 26 October 2016. Archived from the original on 25 February 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  9. ^ "Martin, Kenny ruled out with injury". Wildcats.com.au. 25 October 2016. Archived from the original on 25 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  10. ^ "Jaron Johnson released". Wildcats.com.au. 23 December 2016. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  11. ^ Butler, Steve (17 February 2017). "Wildcats star Bryce Cotton has the Ricky Grace factor". TheWest.com.au. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  12. ^ "'Cats backcourt comes up clutch against Bullets". NBL.com.au. 9 January 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  13. ^ "Perth Wildcats sweep Melbourne, clinch finals berth". Wildcats.com.au. 12 February 2017. Archived from the original on 13 February 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  14. ^ "Brilliant Prather takes 'Cats to post-season". NBL.com.au. 12 February 2017. Archived from the original on 13 February 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  15. ^ Hope, Shayne (12 February 2017). "Perth Wildcats extend playoff streak into 31st season with nervy win over Melbourne United". TheWest.com.au. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  16. ^ "Wildcats smash Taipans, take Game One". Wildcats.com.au. 17 February 2017. Archived from the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  17. ^ "Perth Wildcats sweep Taipans, qualify for grand final". Wildcats.com.au. 20 February 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  18. ^ "2017 NBL Grand Final ticketing information". Wildcats.com.au. 20 February 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  19. ^ "Cotton drops 45 to complete 'Cats GF sweep". NBL.com.au. 5 March 2017. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  20. ^ "Perth Wildcats win back-to-back NBL Championships". Wildcats.com.au. 5 March 2017. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
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