Hoops

Cats to sign Earnest Ross, replacing Muo

MAN alive that guy is built like a tank.

"Apparently four clubs are paying luxury tax this year (Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, NZ)"
Who are Perth and Sydney's marquees? None of their signings thus far have been announced as such, have they?

192cm tall with a 208cm wingspan.

Yikes.

More on Ross on PnR thanks to Steve Chalmers:

Perth land another steal in Earnest Ross

Off the back of the Perth Wildcats electing not to sign Mathiang Muo for the upcoming 2014/15 NBL season, the ‘Cats have put pen to paper with Earnest Ross.

Ross, 23, last attended the University of Missouri for the last two years after transferring from Auburn, which included averages of 14ppg and 6rpg in his final year.

He has arrived in Perth about a half hour ago. Check out Perth wildcats twitter

There are many factors in play, many processes and systems, franchise dynamics, the right mix of people and leaders etc, etc... That make up success on and off the court.

Sport is littered with teams/clubs/franchises that succeed in the same location they have previously failed, or failed in the same place they have been a huge success in the past.

It is less about where the next franchise for the NBL expands to and more about who and how it is run.

It is history that shows us that once an organisation gets it right, the success on and off the court follows, so I don't subscribe to the theory that just because Brisbane failed, for example, it isn't worth going there again...

I can give plenty of examples, from other sports as well as basketball, I will leave it though as no need to name them, it is common knowledge.

Yeah I think you will find last season and possibly the one before are the only seasons the Wildcats have made a profit.

This is the first year Ive bought a Wildcats membership because I really enjoyed the atmosphere last season and the quick access after hours from work. It was great.

Wesley is fijian but grew up in Guam

this was a great signing for the wildcats

dogs & cats aint safe

Tornado: I agree with some of the logic there for sure but part of the reason that teams come in to the league for a year or two and fold is because no one with the money to make a team successful is interested in the NBL because it is unprofitable. At least with a team like Perth turning a profit and getting results year after year, it would be a more enticing investment as they see what can happen if you do it right.

"Their owner is more cashed up than others for a start which enables better administration, advertising, resources etc..stuff that is outside of the salary cap but also gives them the advantage at greater success which has enabled them to be a consistent playoff team"
Jack Bendat bought the team in 2007.

The Wildcats last missed the playoffs in 1986.

Not a knock on the guy, but I don't think Ross will be as good as everyone is implying on this thread. His stats (from what I can find) are pretty similar to Corey Maynard's, and no-one's talking about him setting the league on fire. People were talking about U'u with the same hype last year and he hardly had any impact.

Also, Melbourne will not win with Anstey as coach. I'm not a trolling Anstey hater, but I watched the pre-season game vs CNS last and the lack of respect the players have for him is clearly obvious.

Also with regards to parity, it is good in theory but not in practice.

Potential investors in other teams are not going to be encouraged by an investment that will be hampered if it is successful and profitable.

The league should be encouraging teams to meet what Perth are doing, not handicapping Perth to do what others are doing.

The problem, Tornado, is that the league CAN'T have stability with only eight teams, it is an unsustainable number, with too little variety and not enough market coverage.

"Ha! Funny how no one was complaining when the Breakers signed Wesley with the same rule."

Breakers didn't cut a guy with a 3 year contract to fit Wesley in but in saying that I have no problem with Perth cutting a guy to get someone better that is totally within the rules.

I am a massive 36ers fan, so it is safe to say that Perth are not one of my favourite teams...

However, you cant be mad at what they are doing, it's within the rules and they are obviously spending the time to find these players and put together great teams year after year. They are in a better financial position than most (if not all) clubs so it makes it a bit easier for them to do it but that is only because of the effort and time they have put in consistently over the last 20+ years.

With that being said I will still boo them mercilessly every time they enter the building...

Veto the contract? Yeah, I don't think that's going to be happening. However displeased the NBLPA is.

@Tornado, yup pretty much theory and early speculation, agree but why are they struggling?

Why is it that Perth is doing it better?

If we start to look at the cause, not the symptoms, I think the future can be quite bright for the NBL...

Don't tell me Earnest was sitting back waiting for the Wildcats to call on him, if he was scouted earlier by another NBL franchise perhaps he would be wearing different colours this season??

Perth are the benchmark for others to aspire to, nothing wrong with this unless others decide to ignore best practises, don't you think?

I have no problems at all with the NBL becoming a higher quality competition and if this is what it takes to achieve it, then I applaud any team that brings us such players.

The big picture here is that local talent will be dragged upwards and with more recognition at international level we will eventually be forced into extra teams, like Brisbane or a second Melbourne side etc...

So, for me, this is part of the journey we are all currently taking and in a few years time we may look back and say we were in a golden era' for this league, here's hoping so!

We don't know Perth will repeat, FFS Tornado, Melbourne at the least will match us the whole way, most likely New Zealand as well.

The Perth Management are out here playing chess, whilst every other owner is playing checkers.

Ha! Man, you can say what you like, but the Wildcats staff are *good*. Looking at what Ben Fitzsimmons is saying on twitter and really, how do you spot a loophole like that, and then find someone who fits the bill like this?

A rising tide lifts all boats.

More players like U'u and Ross entering the league means local talent needs to work harder to get a spot. There is more competition now, so people have to get better.

It's a short term hurdle for local talent, but a long term benefit for the league.

Clubs are not in the position of helping out local talent. They need quality players to excite fans and but bums in seats.

Wanting home grown talent on your roster is an old school way of thinking, that while it 'feels good', it doesn't achieve goal number one financial stability.

The talent in this season's NBL is insane.

Great work, let all the whingers complain, he was available to all clubs, so only themselves to blame.

He's 3 points as he's a local player returning from college under the FIBA Oceania rule.

Don't like the fact the Cats cut Muo this late but geez this guy is good for 3 points as he's a returning college player!

Yeah Guam is part of FIBA Oceania AFAIK

Dont know how they swindled that but we'll take it.
the guy is beast.
Look out Melbourne.

6'5" 103kg guard. SEC starter. Sounds like an awfully good pickup for 5 points or less.

You've got to give credit to the networking Perth have been doing the last few years though.

This guy is a beast physically.. must be that Guam in him! haha

Exciting signing. Cat's using every legality in the book!

I wonder if Guam counts as a "Pacific Island" or something? Seems pretty dodgy, even to this Perthite.

I see.

Born in Guam so qualifies as a non-import or local.

So not Australian..but qualifies under the recent pacific local player rule change.

^you know anything about him?

This is a really good signing if it is true.

Followed by DeAndre Daniels on twitter... maybe DeAndre let the team know about an aussie overseas?

Boti has also announced the teams for the State of Origin game in a few weeks at the Dome.

Victoria will be led by Chris Anstey. the rest of the team consists of David Barlow, Mat Campbell, Brad Davidson, Tommy Greer, Luke Kendall, Glen Saville, Jason Smith & David Stiff. A finall rookie player will also be added.

For the Home team Brett Maher leads the way. joining him is Joe Ingles, Luke Schenscher, Darren Ng, Brad Hill, Jason Dix, Matt Sutton and MARK WORTHINGTON!

Wortho is a WA boy but wants to be involved. Still a couple of names to be added to the SA team it would seem. I notice Jacob Holmes and Oscar Forman arent listed, who are the first two that come to my mind that I would like to see play (other than Newley). I would have also liked to see Heal suit up as well. mentioned to Mahersy at the MVP dinner that it would be good to see him Vs Heal in a 3 point shoot out before the game which Mahersy seemed keen for.

Either way, should be a great day.