Rillie Praised for “Unbelievable” Coaching Effort

Perth Wildcats GM of Basketball Danny Mills has hailed the job coach John Rillie has done to engineer the club’s midseason turnaround.

The Wildcats had a shaky start to the season at 3-5, before Rillie steadied the ship and led Perth back to the Finals.

As the Cats prepare to face the South East Melbourne Phoenix in tomorrow night’s do-or-die Play-In Qualifier, Mills reflected on how Rillie has managed to grow into his coaching role throughout the campaign.

“John’s been absolutely unbelievable this season through the ups and downs,” Mills told The West Australian’s The Dribble Podcast.

“He’s made some big calls and that’s what you have to do in that top job.

“At the end of the day, you take advice, you talk to your assistants, we have big discussions, you look at data and then you go with your gut feel. He’s done it on multiple occasions.

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“I would say for the better part of it he has come out on top.

“That was him as a player. He was an aggressive risk taker as a player and an elite player.

“I think you can see some of that in his coaching. He’s very confident and comfortable in his own skin. He’s going to have one hell of a head coaching career.”

Mills added the Wildcats have packed their bags for 11 days, with a potentially gruelling travel schedule facing them if they advance in the Finals.

A win in Melbourne tomorrow night would see Perth then play in either Cairns or Tasmania on Sunday in the Play-In Game. If the Wildcats get past that point, they head to Sydney to battle the Kings in Game 1 of the Playoffs next Wednesday night.

Tip-off between the Wildcats and Phoenix is 6:30pm AEDT tomorrow night live on ESPN via Kayo Freebies.