Perth Wildcats sign Kevin White

The Perth Wildcats have added toughness and veteran leadership to its 2020/21 roster, signing point guard Kevin White to a one-year contract.

White is a high-IQ, blue-collar player known for his defensive ability.

He’s a former captain of the Illawarra Hawks and Adelaide 36ers, with 237 games of NBL experience to his name.

“Defence is something I’ve always prided myself on, it’s a strength of mine. I focus on being a great teammate and trying to do what I can to support the people around me,” said White.

“I’m looking forward to getting over there, supporting some of the younger guys and also learning from the people that have been around, like Jesse (Wagstaff) and Trev (Gleeson), the guys that have paved the way for the dynasty that the club is continuing to build on.

“It will be nice to be playing in front of the Perth crowd, and having that crowd support me rather being on the opposite end of it. The Red Army is pretty daunting!”

Trevor Gleeson said, with the loss of key experienced players, it was important to add an extra element of toughness to his side.

“Kevie’s a tough defender, hard-nosed and, while nobody can replace the best defender in the history of the NBL in Damo (Martin), we want to fill some of that void and we think Kev’s toughness and willingness to put the team first is a big tick for us,” he said.

“Mitch (Norton) is a very good defender and to have a one-two punch with he and Kev - that will be a big factor. Most imports in the NBL are point guards so we need to be able to defend them and we have a great history of doing that.

“I coached Kev in China last year with the Australian NBL Select Team, and I spoke with Mitch and Nick (Kay) who have played with him. The common theme was he’s a great teammate who does the little things we really pride ourselves on, so we’re looking forward to him joining us.”

Kevin White began his career at the Sydney Kings before moving to Illawarra in 2015, helping take the Hawks to the 2017 NBL Grand Final.

After captaining the Hawks from 2017 to 2019, the Sydney-sider moved to the Adelaide 36ers for the 2019/20 season where he was also named captain.

In the last four NBL seasons, he averaged 3.3 points, 1.4 assists, 1.4 rebounds and 0.5 steals per game.

Last year, the 33-year-old shot the ball at 43 per cent from the field and an impressive 44 per cent from outside the arc.

The Perth Wildcats now have eight of a possible 10 players signed to its senior 2020/21 roster.