The game Rillie knew Sarr was a special player

The exciting French young gun shot up the draft boards after becoming a Wildcats player, with several pundits predicting him to go No.1 in this week's NBA draft.

In an interview for the ‘Alex Sarr - Forever A Wildcats’ documentary, presented by The Sporting Globe Belmont, Rillie recalled the thing “really etched” in his mind about Sarr was his final quarter in the annual Pink Game against Adelaide at RAC Arena in October.

The 18-year-old nailed a pair of clutch three-pointers within a minute to help the Wildcats overcome a brave 36ers outfit 82-75.

Sarr finished 16 points and six rebounds in a little over 20 minutes of court time.

Rillie said the fact he was trusted by now four-time NBL MVP Bryce Cotton with two of the biggest plays of the game - and delivered - spoke for itself.

“The thing that is really etched in my mind is our first game against Adelaide where he made back-to-back threes to really open up the game,” Rillie recalled.

“He did his job in the fact that he stepped up and made the shots in a big moment, but it was Bryce Cotton that made those passes to Alex.

“When you’ve got the MVP of the League trusting an 18-year-old kid in a big moment of the game, that’s when you know something good is happening as a coach, when the best player trusts that guy in the moment.”

Sarr reflected on his heroics during the post-match press conference, saying it would give him more confidence to repeat it going forward.

“It was a pick and pop situation. It’s like any other shot you take in a game. It was meaningful to take it. It was two great shots that gave us a little air in the fourth quarter,” Sarr said.

“I feel like the confidence is taking them. I happened to make them. It gives me more confidence now going on because you’re in those situations and know you can make those shots. It’s good to know.

“It’s cool playing for the Red Army. The fans really get into it and I enjoyed the moment.”

Rillie praised Sarr on his maturing to handle everything that came his way, from the constant media hype to regular visits from NBA executives and a mid-season hip injury.

“What I would say is that it didn’t matter who was in the gym or who wasn’t in the gym, because we had a lot of NBA people come through this year, his demeanour and his approach did not change,” Rillie said.