Hoops

Wildcats sign Dario Hunt

Long was the best centre in the league last season, and this guy is the same size. Not saying he'll be as good, but ya can't right him off.

Guys Bogut's size, that can actually play, are rare. That's why he made it big in the NBA. We also have Majok as a bigger option

Bogut will destroy most center's if he wants to, it's about playing your role on the team. Perth rearly let go of player's.

"I can see him grabbing the defensive rebound and then lead the break"

Yeah, over here that's called a travel

You want him on the end of the break, not leading it.

Looks like a really uniqu player. Heaps of his highlights involve leading the break, and making great plays/passes out of the post. Seems very poised yet fast and athletic. I can see him giving some of the slower big men some issues if they get dragged away from the ring.

Just going on YouTube clips.

Seems like a great pick up.

Can handle the ball like Draymond Green.

I can see him grabbing the defensive rebound and then lead the break with Cotton and White on the wings with Kay trailing.

"that won't be hard Dazz if considering Perth gets the better of the foul calls even when they are on the road"

Yeah, but Cotton is a gun shooter.
Big guys don't fare so well at the hands of the refs.

Maybe his poor F/T shooting is a tactic? He goes for his own rebounds and then the dunk?
He's about the same size as JC :-)

"Perth are team oriented and hardly go for the best player's more the best players that are team 1st."
Cotton is easily the best player in the league, and the best we have seen for a while.
Prather when he played for us was the best SF.
Kay easily the best Forward.

But yes, Trev excels at building a TEAM. And this is going to be a good one.

I think I will enjoy Hunt. I don't know if overall he's a step up, Brandt was very good for us, but I think we'll see more dunks and more rim protection.

Belgian league looked pretty good.

This guy looks like a good team player, which is what the cats have used to compliment their big scorers. He doesnt need to get 20ppg to be successful in this lineup. Playing consistently in pro leagues tells me has some talent and his mobility will suit the NBL.

Looks to be a definite upgrade to Brandt, someone who can change opponent shots and get a few blocks will be solid addition.

"Before he can miss f/t's, you need the refs to call fouls against the home team"

that won't be hard Dazz if considering Perth gets the better of the foul calls even when they are on the road

"Really keen to see how White goes this season considering the injuries he was carrying last year. hes an athlete with a 40" vertical which we didn't really see any of last season."

Those hops were pre knee injury, you can already see he's changed his game to a more conservative approach, google some of his Pistons footage dunking in practice, that was before his knee issues. :'(

Think I'll trust a coach that's won 4 chips than anyone on here analizing heights. Perth are team oriented and hardly go for the best player's more the best players that are team 1st.

Stuck with the core group and that's the advantage they have year in year out.

Boon is 208cm which is just shy of 6ft 10in

Boone is not 6’8.

Dario Hunt 206cm 104kg
Shawn Long 208cm 116kg
Josh Boone 208cm 108kg

Boone is about the same height, Perth always get under the radar, they are favourites by a long shot.

"Don't focus on height so much would be my advise to those saying he is undersized. He has a 7 foot wingspan and genuinely plays above rim. Was most recently featured in TBT but got eliminated early."

Undersized is just a category. Import centres, around his height, but with a great leap, are common. He's about the same height as Long.

He averaged around 11 points and 7 boards in his Euro-Cup games, so that's not too shabby.

I think he's a good fit. Just have to wait and see how much other teams have improved.

"So it's cheeseburgers all round when Perth visits!"

Never gonna happen

Before he can miss f/t's, you need the refs to call fouls against the home team

So it’s cheeseburgers all round when Perth visits!

The guy can play, but the biggest question is can he handle and adjust to our refs... :/

"I guessing re signing White cost a lot"

Hard to say.
We're probably not matching MU or Sydney, but we certainly haven't gone cheap.
And whilst Hunt presumably isn't on superstar money, he looks exactly like what we expected. (Similar to McKay but hopefully better.)

On the one hand I was somewhat surprised we re-signed White. But he did do a good job, especially in the finals.
and whilst he didn't fit the "Ennis-Prather Hybrid" mould touted publicly, he is the Wing player that Trev had supposedly been searching for.

Who said he was an upgrade?
He's a different type of player is all. Cats over past seasons have tended to be overly tall, notwithstanding the youth factor, Wani gives us another option.

As mentioned elsewhere, we will miss Hire's toughness on D, and rebounding. Hopefully Majok & Hunt can replace that.

I guess if you failed to win the title you prob are going to make a bigger effort to improve than if you had won the title. Definitely agree that the talent across the board has increased this year. Most imports have come back which has been very rare in recent years, and some of the new ones look pretty good.

I look at a team like United, who are stacked, Long and Trimble are super talents, however will they fit like the way Ware and Boone did? Too many cooks?

I think Steidl will see a fair bit of time at the 2 and 3 with Buluk & Travers seeing very limited minutes

"Tough to say we haven't improved"

It's a great squad. On paper it would still have won the championship last year, and years preceding. I'd say that in many ways its better balanced that last year. Adding Wani in place of Hire gives us a bit more speed, and another outside option. Given that Tommy struggled for so much of the season, I think that Hunt & Majok will be a better combo.
And keeping the core together will certainly have its benefits, especially early.

And fair enough, can't expect to be gunning for the ring every year.

But I just feel that we haven't matched the improvement in the league.

Still going to be a good season, and have to wait and see how the other teams come together.

Martin / Norton / (dp)
*Cotton / NS / Travers(dp)
*White / Steindl / Buluk
Kay / Wagstaff / Vague
*Hunt / Majok / (dp)

Here's the squad:

Martin / Norton
*Cotton / Steindl
*White / Swaka Lo Buluk
Kay / Wagstaff / Vague
*Hunt / Majok

Looks like he's got pretty good ball skills for a center too

Tough to say we haven't improved, I think Terrico will be even better this season after having a season to adapt, Norton still has a tonne of upside. Kay and Cotton will still be very solid. As long as the rest play their roles then we should compete. Either way, it's going to be tough to win the title this year for everyone.

Hmmm...
This is exactly what we anticipated from the Cats.
An undersized but athletic Centre, with the emphasis on defence and speed.

Now on the one hand this is a great addition, gives good balance, and for once is what we predicted.

But my concern is that the Wildcats have not improved their roster.
People laughed at my predictions for the Cats last season, but fact was they improved across the squad.
This season, MU and Sydney have gone to the next level, NZ & Hawks are going to be very competitive, and even SEM is looking good.

Even assuming Kay continues his great form, he's going to carry a lot of the frontcourt scoring burden. If oppositions can contain him, we're going to struggle.

http://www.wildcats.com.au/news/article/wildcats-finalise-roster-signing-american-dario-hunt

He played with Cotton in 2018 and Wildcats are high on his defence it seems.

He'd want to be a beast, that FT percentage is woeful. Makes Andre Drummond look like Curry from the line.

From the footage I've seen he looks very mobile, doesn't look anything special, but pretty typical really of Wildcats C's, hopefully he can contribute on both ends.

The Perth Wildcats are excited to introduce the final addition to its 2019/20 playing roster, Dario Hunt.

Standing at 206cm with a seven-foot wingspan and weighing in at 104kg, Hunt is a versatile centre with tremendous athleticism.

Hawks beat the Wildcats 100 - 67 Wow!
Deleon with 26 and Forman with 21. Gordie has got them going.