NBL25 season review - Todd Withers

The former Adelaide 36ers import first started at the Wildcats as a training player before flying with the team on their pre-season tour of Japan and Gold Coast.

Withers ended up staying with the team the entire season, tallying 14 games as a Nominated Replacement Player for imports Bryce Cotton, Dylan Windler and Kristian Doolittle who all spent time on the sidelines due to injury.

The popular and versatile forward had some important performances along the way to help cover the loss of his star teammates in impressive fashion.

He averaged 5.8 points and 2.6 rebounds across his 14 appearances, which included three starts and a touch over 20 minutes per game.

Withers’ three-pointing shooting percentage of 42.9 was second at the club to only superstar Bryce Cotton’s 43.1, nailing 23 triples across NBL25.

The 28-year-old’s standout game came in the hard-fought win over Tasmania at RAC Arena in early November, hitting a perfect four of four from long-range for 12 points in 20 minutes.

It earned him plenty of praise from Wildcats head coach John Rillie and import Kristian Doolittle post-match for making the most of an uncertain situation.

"I can only talk about Todd Withers in this moment and that guy doesn’t understand what's going to happen from him day-to-day, and game-to-game," Rillie said.

"So for him to come in and take that opportunity tonight is a great story and it's unbelievable for Todd, and also for his teammates for the way they embrace him and what he is for this team.

"It was tremendous that he wanted to be part of it in that situation.

"It's tough being an import let alone an import in that type of situation, so for him to be comfortable with that, and for our team to embrace and hopefully make it an easy transition for him that means it's beneficial for everyone involved."

Doolittle described him as a “great teammate” and was impressed with his attitude.

"We know Todd and he comes ready to go every practice," Doolittle added.

"Unfortunately he's in a situation where he doesn’t know if he's going to play, but he prepares like he is and he has been able to step up for us.

"He's been a great addition to our team and he allows us to do a lot of different things offensively, and defensively.

"He's a very good on-ball defender and it's credit to him and we as a team appreciate the effort that he gives us understanding his situation. He's a great teammate and he cheers all of us on."

In just his second game as a Wildcat back on October 6 against the JackJumpers, covering for Windler, Withers had another double-digit performance with 11 points and three rebounds.

Withers played on and off until his last appearance against Cairns on January 25, with all three imports available from that point.

But he remained with the team until season’s end to prove that he was the ultimate team man to go with a more-than-handy replacement.