Rillie to embrace Wildcats history

New Perth Wildcats head coach John Rillie has arrived in Perth.

Just two weeks after his appointment, the Australian coach has relocated from the United States where he’s been coaching at the collegiate level for the last decade.

He’s thrilled to have his feet on the ground in Western Australia.

“When I landed, a lot of memories flooded back about road trips to Perth, and the excitement of playing in a venue in Perth. To walk in here (RAC Arena) this morning, it was once known as the Entertainment Centre, so it’s become a real experience right now for me,” said Rillie.

“A lot of my communication so far has been over the phone, so to be able to sit down with everyone, talk about our plan moving forward, meeting the players. There’s something to be said for one-on-one contact with people over telecommunications. Getting to know people, and them getting to know me is important for us to hit the ground running once the season comes around.”

Rillie, who played 481 NBL games before retiring in 2011, said embracing the club’s history will be a major focus for him.

“I’ve already reached out to a number of former players who live in the community. We swapped some nice pleasantries in our playing days but obviously I have huge respect for those guys,” he said.

“I want them to embrace where we’re going with the team and I want them to be around it. WA and the Perth Wildcats fan base are very passionate, so I want to make sure everyone feels welcome. Success breeds success, so having the likes of Grace, Vlahov, Rogers, Cattalini, all the others I’ve missed, I want to embrace the history and have those guys know they can walk into the locker room at any time.”

The Perth Wildcats have one remaining roster position left to sign.

Their season begins on Sunday 2 October at RAC Arena.