Rillie's 'strong push' for local WA talent

And with the Wildcats adding Perth-bred youngsters Ben Henshall, David Okwera as well as experienced West Aussie Keanu Pinder, Rillie hopes his team can emulate the success of the past in their push for an 11th NBL title.

Henshall most recently played for the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence in the NBL1 East competition, while Okwera and Pinder have crossed from NBL rivals Melbourne United and Cairns respectively.

Rillie revealed his strong push to get local talent back to the Wildcats ahead of his second season as head coach.

"We've been able to add great local talent. You've touched on Keanu but we've also added Dave Okwera who's another from Perth and Ben Henshall who was at the COE (Centre of Excellence)," Rillie told ABC Grandstand.

"My history with the Perth Wildcats shows that when they have great local talent with a high level of imports, that's when they're very successful.

"I really tried to make a strong push to getting that local talent back to the Perth Wildcats so they can play in front of their friends and family."

Rillie said he had been fortunate to have strong support from the Wildcats ownership to put together a new-look squad, with seven off-season signings and one more import still to come. 

"When I got the job last year I was very excited to get given the opportunity to lead the Perth Wildcats," Rillie said.

"I inherited the staff and the roster, except for a couple of imports that we added.

"Fortunately enough, with great support from the ownership, we've flipped the roster and added a lot of youth and athleticism.

"We've also added a little bit of experience in the likes of (New Zealand World Cup representative) Hyrum Harris, who may not be a household name in the NBL but I think he can become and integral piece in it all."

Rillie and the Wildcats are on the Gold Coast preparing for their NBL Blitz opener against Cairns on Sunday.

It's the first of three games in a five-day period, taking on Adelaide in game two on Tuesday before finishing their campaign against New Zealand on Thursday.

Wildcats' NBL Blitz fixtures

Sunday 17 September @ 1.30pm WST – Perth Wildcats v Cairns Taipans

Tuesday 19 September @ 5.30pm WST – Perth Wildcats v Adelaide 36ers

Thursday 21 September @ 5.30pm WST – Perth Wildcats v New Zealand Breakers

All games will be streamed live and free on Kayo freebies.

The Wildcats' season opener is against Tasmania at RAC Arena on September 29 with tickets available via Ticketek.