NICKNAME/S: Amazing Grace

BIO: Ricky Grace was born in Dallas, Texas (USA).

FAMILY: His son Jerami was a training player with the Adelaide 36ers in 2019.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Ricky Grace made his NBL debut with the Perth Wildcats at 23 years of age. He scored 24 points in his first game.

After Perth’s season ended with semi final losses to the North Melbourne Giants in both the 1988 and 1989 seasons, prominent West Australian businessman Kerry Stokes became co-owner of the franchise and looked to change the direction of the team immediately. His first move was moving the team into the iconic 8,000-seat Perth Entertainment Centre.

Perth also received a boost with the naturalisation of both James Crawford and Tiny Pinder at the end of 1989 allowing the Wildcats to sign two additional import players. Cal Bruton, who had retired as a player following the 1989 season and became the Wildcats’ general manager in 1990, was tasked with recruiting the new talent.

Eager for the team to win its first NBL Championship, Bruton looked to create a roster at Perth that echoed the makeup of the Adelaide 36ers team’s of the mid-80s. Oklahoma guard Ricky Grace was signed to play a ‘Al Green’ type role, and he was teamed up with Mike Ellis, who would replicate the Darryl Pearce/shooting guard role. Young talent Trevor Torrance and David Close would be able to space the floor as Mike McKay did, and Crawford, Pinder, and the newly signed import Jeff Allen would replicate the scoring and rebounding that Mark Davis and Bill Jones brought to the 36ers.

The 1990 season began with turmoil as coach Alan Black was controversially fired after only two games and replaced by Cal Bruton. Bruton’s appointment was met with negativity from both the players and the fans, who booed the Wildcats’ new coach whenever he was introduced at tip-off. In fact, with a record of 6-4 and in the middle of a game against the Sydney Kings, these issues boiled over, resulting in Arnold and Pinder laying hands on each other during halftime. Later, Bruton would get himself ejected from the game, and a players-only meeting was held afterwards, with the primary topic being giving the boot to ‘Coach Cal’.

The players were told by management to come together as a team as they wouldn’t be removing Bruton as coach mid-season but gave Bruton notice that his job was up for review at season’s end.

The season ended with Kendal Pinder (20.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.1 steals) earning the Wildcats club MVP and James Crawford (23.3 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.1 blocks) and Ricky Grace (21.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 2.6 steals, and 1.0 blocks) leading the team in scoring as Perth headed into the playoffs as the fifth seed (17-9). The team got lucky by facing a Melbourne Tigers unit who were without leading scorer Andrew Gaze, who had been hospitalised with a blood clot in his shoulder. In game one, Tigers forward David Colbert (52 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals) erupted for a career-high in Gaze’s absence, but it wasn’t enough to get past the well-balanced attack of Perth. Ricky Grace (30 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists) made 10 of his 13 shots and seemed to set up teammate David Close (25 points and 6 rebounds) for a open look whenever he didn’t score, allowing Perth to walk away victors (122-100).

In game two, Colbert (42 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks) was unstoppable again, and teammate Dave Simmons (29 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists) also delivered a big game also but Perth managed to shut down every other Tigers’ player and ended Melbourne’s season behind a ten point win (123-113). Kendal Pinder (29 points and 7 rebounds) was the star game two, but on the eve of facing the North Melbourne in the semifinals, Pinder was arrested and spent the night in jail the night prior to the first game of the series.

With the team unaware of the events from the evening prior, Pinder (20 points and 14 rebounds) and Ricky Grace (39 points and 5 rebounds) led the Wildcats to a win over the Giants in the opening game (121-11). Scott Fisher (27 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists) would top score for the Giants in the loss.

In game two, Perth still couldn’t find a answer for Fisher (35 points and 14 rebounds) who was unstoppable and led North Melbourne over Perth (131-110) to even the series. The Wildcats barely made it out of the semi finals, with Fisher (32 points, 21 rebounds and 4 assists) doing everything he could to win the game, but in the final seconds, Perth were able to hold off the Giants to win by two points (112-110) behind some stellar play from Pinder (28 points and 13 rebounds) once again.

After defeating the Giants, Perth moved forward face a tough Brisbane Bullets squad featuring Leroy Loggins, Derek Rucker and Andre Moore in the Grand Final series. Tens of thousands of people across Western Australia tuned in to the live coverage to see the Wildcat’s triumph 112–106 in Game one of the Grand Final series in front of a sold-out crowd of 8,200 at the Perth Entertainment Centre. Brisbane tied the series (1–1) after winning game two at home in convincing fashion (106–90). In the deciding game, the Wildcat’s blew the game wide open in the third quarter, creating a 20 point buffer before coming home easily in the fourth quarter (109-86). The win would mark the first time a team from Western Australian had won the national championship.

Ricky Grace was recognised as Grand Final MVP, averaging 25 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists over the three-game series, and while Cal Bruton hoped to return as head coach in 1991, his attempt to repeat was denied with the team deciding to replace him with Murray Arnold and return Bruton to his position of General Manager.

1991
In controversial circumstances, Cal Bruton was not retained as coach despite leading the Wildcats to a championship in 1990. He was replaced by Murray Arnold, a former assistant coach with the Chicago Bulls. Arnold’s style of game was focused on defence which was a significant change from the high scoring and entertaining style previously implemented under Cal Bruton. In pursuit of back-to-back championships, the Wildcats strengthened their roster considerably in the off-season with the addition of future WA basketball legend Andrew Vlahov and Peter Hansen, a American who arrived via Venezuela, Spain and the Perry Lakes Hawks.

Arnold’s Wildcats were a highly successful team, as they finished the regular season in first place (22-4). Ricky Grace (22.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 2.5 steals) delivered another ‘amazing’ season, alongside James Crawford (20.1 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 1.9 assists), Hansen (16.2 points and 9.5 rebounds) and Vlahov (15.0 points and 8.3 rebounds).

After another successful regular season, Perth entered the finals brimming with confidence. The Wildcats easily accounted for long-term rivals the Adelaide 36ers in the semifinals to then find themselves against the highly-rated Eastside Melbourne Spectres in the Grand Final. The Wildcats had a unique opportunity to win back-to-back titles, a feat only achieved by two other team’s to that point in the history of the NBL. Everything looked on track when the Wildcats were able to defeat the Spectres in game one in Melbourne by 26 points (109–83). After another successful regular season, Perth entered the finals brimming with confidence. The Wildcats easily accounted for long-term rivals the Adelaide 36ers in the semifinals to then find themselves against the highly-rated Eastside Melbourne Spectres in the Grand Final. The Wildcats had a unique opportunity to win back-to-back titles, a feat only achieved by two other team’s to that point in the history of the NBL. Everything looked on track when the Wildcats were able to defeat the Spectres in game one in Melbourne by 26 points (109–83). Perth had hit a fever pitch and delivered another sold-out crowd awaited the Wildcat’s for game two back at home. However, with their backs against the wall, the Spectres performed with a never-say-die attitude and upset the favourites at home by five points (86–81).

With game two being played on a Friday night and game three scheduled for Sunday, The Wildcats had little time to formulate a new strategy. However, in front of a electric Perth crowd, the Wildcats were victorious in the deciding third game by 10 points (90–80) and became the third team in history to win back-to-back NBL Championships. Hansen was named MVP of the Grand Final series after averaging 17.3 points per game over the three games Wildcats for game two back at home. However, with their backs against the wall, the Spectres performed with a never-say-die attitude and upset the favourites at home by five points (86–81). game two was played on a Friday night and game three was scheduled for Sunday, leaving the Wildcat’s little time to formulate a new strategy. However, in front of a electric Perth crowd, the Wildcats were victorious in the deciding third game by 10 points (90–80) and became the third team in history to win back-to-back NBL Championships. Hansen was named MVP of the Grand Final series after averaging 17.3 points per game over the three games.

1992
The 1992 season saw Grace average 18.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 7.6 assists and play a key role in helping the Wildcats to a sixth place finish (12-12).

1993
During the 1993 season Grace averaged 19.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 7.4 assists and helped the Wildcats finish the regular season in first place (21-5).

1994
1994 saw Perth return with almost their entire roster (all bar the retiring Steve Davis) after falling short against Melbourne in the previous year’s Grand Final. In a effort to build towards the future, however, up and coming talent in the form of AIS graduate Aaron Trahair and CJ Bruton, son of Wildcats’ legend Cal, were added to the roster.

Perth started the season by winning their first three games and sat atop the NBL ladder with a record of 7-2 after the first five rounds. Around the halfway mark of the season, Perth suffered losses to Brisbane (127–126), Hobart (93–92) and South East Melbourne (112–94), which saw them drop down to the middle of the ladder with a record of 10-5. Whilst many believed the Wildcats would rebound from the Grand Final loss and be among the league’s top team’s, they struggled to replicate last season’s form. Whilst they would show signs of brilliance, as they did in their beat down of Melbourne in Round 18 (131–108), they also lost to multiple team’s that weren’t even in the playoff picture, as they did the very next round, suffering a home loss to the Newcastle Falcons (83–92).

Grace delivered a number of big games during the season but in August, he was’ Ámazing’. In back to back games, he would deliver 40 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists in a win over Brisbane (118-108), and the follow week, he finished with 24 points, 2 rebounds, and a season high 15 assists in a huge win against Melbourne (131-108).

1995
Coming off a disappointing season where falling one game short of a championship in 1993, Perth barely made the playoffs. Coach Adrian Hurley stepped into this season with rumours suggesting the team would be dismantled if they didn’t get it done this year. Despite this, minimal changes were the roster, with Hurley putting his faith into Perth’s younger players and their expected improvement. The only changes he made to the squad were bringing in Anthony Stewart (via Hobart), to replace the outgoing Trevor Torrance (to Gold Coast), CJ Bruton (US college), and Eric Watterson (retirement).

Team captain Andrew Vlahov (20.0 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.2 steals) would deliver his best season, becoming the team’s leading scorer and rebounder and the Wildcats’other young talent, Aaron Trahair (9.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.3 steals) and Martin Cattalini (9.4 points and 5.0 rebounds) both delivered the best seasons of their career so far. The addition of Stewart (10.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.2 steals) made a huge difference to the Wildcats playing style, with his ability to hit the three creating more room in the low post for Vlahov, Scott Fisher and James Crawford and Andrew Vlahov to operate in. This also allowed veteran players Ricky Grace (18.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 9.0 assists, and 1.7 steals), Scott Fisher (19.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 3.5 assists) and James Crawford (15.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks) to play slightly reduced roles and be rested and energised when it came time to deliver in the big games.

Hurley would rely on a eight-man rotation for the majority of the year, and thanks to a four-game winning streak to end the season, they were about to finish first (by one game) during the regular season. Perth then faced a rematch with Melbourne in the quarterfinals, with the eighth seeded Tigers surprising Wildcats with a (91-103) loss behind big games from Andrew Gaze (28 points, 5 rebounds, and 10 assists) and Lanard Copeland (29 points). In game two, Vlahov (30 points and 11 rebounds) equalled his season high for points in a game and made sure the Tigers didn’t end their season early with a nine point victory (108-99). The Wildcats closed out the series with a win in game three (96-92) with all five starters, Crawford (20 points), Vlahov (18 points), Grace (18 points), Scott Fisher (17 points) and Cattalini (11 points) all scoring in double figures.

In the semifinals, Perth faced off against Adelaide where they couldn’t stop their star import Robert Rose (27 points in game one and 22 points in game two), but were able to lock down almost every other player on the 36ers roster. Scott Fisher led the team in scoring in both games, backing up his 27 points and 7 rebounds in Perth’s game one win (94-78), with 26 points and 9 rebounds in game two (85-76).

Perth would face the reigning NBL champions North Melbourne in the Grand Final series, losing their home opener (94-107) thanks to the sharpshooting of Giants stars Chris Jent (29 points and 7 assists), Rod Johnson (21 points and 3 assists), Pat Riedy (21 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists) and Darryl McDonald (18 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals). James Crawford (24 points and 9 rebounds) would top score for the Wildcats.

The series shifted to Melbourne for game two, and with Perth trailing 53-45 at half-time and facing elimination, coach Hurley noticed hundreds of balloons in the ceiling and said to Vlahov,’ Look Andrew, the Giants are ready to celebrate, they think they’ve got it won’. That was enough to motivate Vlahov (29 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists) to be unstoppable for the remainder of the game, keeping the Wildcats championship hopes alive. Jent (28 points and 8 rebounds) top scoring again for the Giants in the nine point Wildcats win (97-88).

The Wildcats continued their strong defensive effort in game three, holding the Giants to 15 points in the first quarter while scoring 30 themselves. North Melbourne’s leading scorer Chris Jent was limited to 5/14 shooting, and Perth forced the entire Giants squad to shoot 38% from the field (29/77 shots).

Coach Hurley’s plan to rest the team’s veterans also seemed to pay off, with 35-year-old James Crawford (32 points on 83% field goal shooting, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks) proving unstoppable inside. Perth closed things out with a blowout victory (108-88) that saw them win their third championship in six years behind a dominant season that saw them win the ‘Triple Crown’, the pre-season, regular season and the Grand Final series all in the same year.

Andrew Vlahov, who had recently been named in the league’s All-NBL First Team, was awarded the Finals MVP after averaging 24 points per game over the three games.

The Wildcats had little time to celebrate, boarding a flight to take part in the McDonald’s Championships in London, where they would face the NBA champions Houston Rockets. The Wildcats would go down 116-72, but Vlahov (15 points) and Fisher (18 points, 12 rebounds) played well in a game that was the most viewed TV game featuring a NBL team in Australian basketball history.

Perth then played Euroleague champions Real Madrid to determine third place in the tournament. Real Madrid was without star Arvydas Sabonis, but Perth took it to Europe’s best at the time and won 93-86. Grace (26 points and 7 assists), Crawford (26 points) and Vlahov (12 points and 11 rebounds) finished as Perth’s leading scorers.

1996
In 1996, Grace averaged 15.4 points and 4.1 rebounds, and 6.8 assists, as the Wildcats finished in third place (16-10).

1997
Grace averaged 16.2 points and 4.4 rebounds, and 7.4 assists and helped guide the Wildcat’s to a fourth place finish in the regular season.

1998
In 1998, Grace averaged 18.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 6 assists as the Wildcats finished in third place (17-13).

1998/99
In 1998/99, Grace averaged 19.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 6.6 assists as the Wildcats finished in sixth place (13-13).

1999/00
In 1999/00, Grace averaged 14.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 7.6 assists, playing a key role in the Wildcats rotation, helping the team finish in third place (22-6).

2000/01
The 2000/01 season saw Grace average 20.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 7.8 assists and play a key role in helping the Wildcats to a third place finish in the regular season with a 21-7 record.

2001/02
During the 2001/02 season Grace averaged 23.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 6.3 assists as he led the team to a second place finish during the regular season with a record of 17 wins, 13 losses. The team would suffer a first round upset in the playoffs when the fifth placed West Sydney Razorbacks eliminated them in two straight games.

2002/03
In 2002, club legend and captain Andrew Vlahov retired after 12 seasons, leaving Ricky Grace as the only remaining Wildcat from the team’s early championships in the 1990s. Following Vlahov’s retirement, Grace became captain of the Wildcats’ (a role he continued until his retirement) before the closure of the Perth Entertainment Centre saw the Wildcats return to their old home, the Superdrome (now HBF Stadium), for the 2002/03 season.

Vlahov’s retirement created a enormous gap in both leadership and frontcourt that seemed impossible to fill. However, as a result of the unexpected demise of the Victoria Titans, Vlahov’s fellow Australian Boomers teammate Tony Ronaldson would join the team and capably fill his role. Big man Brett Wheeler would also move across from Victoria to Perth and fill the shoes of the recently departed Paul Rogers, who had decided to return to his hometown 36ers.

The team hardly missing a step despite losing Vlahov and Rogers, starting the season 5-1. The new-look squad delivered a balanced offensive attack with seven players, all scoring in double figures. Import Rob Feaster (19.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists) would lead the team in scoring, the recently acquired Wheeler (12.1 points and 8.6 rebounds) led the team in rebounds and Grace (18.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 8.0 assists) led both the team and league in assists. Key rotation players James Harvey (14 ppg), Stephen Black (12.6 ppg), Tony Ronaldson (12 ppg) and Matthew Burston (11.6 ppg) all scoring in double figures.

As a result, the Wildcats were unbeatable at home, finishing with a 14-1 home record and ending the regular season on a four-game winning streak. Perth and Sydney ended the season with equal records (22-8) but due to the Kings having the head-to-head advantage (2-1), the Wildcats finished in second place, with the Kings claiming top spot.

The Wildcats balanced roster saw a number of players recognised at the 2003 NBL awards night. Stephen Black earned the Sixth Man of the Year award, and Matthew Burston won the league’s Most Improved Player award, having leapt from 2.3 ppg in 6 minutes of game time to 11.6 ppg and 6.8 rpg and averaging 21 minutes per game. Grace’s continued form saw him named to the All-NBL First team for the fourth time.

The Qualifying Finals saw Perth match up against their former teammate Rogers and the Adelaide 36ers. Perth would win games one and three behind big games from Grace, who came up big in Perth’s wins in game one (29 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists) and game three (32 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists).

The Wildcats’ semi-final match-up would be against the fourth-placed Hawks, who they swiftly eliminated in two straight games with the one-two punch of Grace and Wheeler really hitting its stride. Game one saw Grace (24 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists) and Wheeler (21 points and 7 rebounds) destroy the Hawks 121-90 at home before a similar result saw Grace (26 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists) and Wheeler (27 points and 14 rebounds) eliminate the Hawks in Perth for game two (113–84). The win saw Perth reach their seventh Grand Final in 17 years.

The Sydney Kings had followed a similar path to the Wildcats, defeating the Melbourne Tigers (2-1) in the Qualifying Finals before convincing wins over the Townsville Crocodiles (2-1) saw the two team’s who had led the competition all season face off in Grand Final series.

The Kings lineup, which featured league MVP Chris Williams, Shane Heal and Matt Nielsen, guided Sydney to a narrow victory at home for the opening game, overcoming the phenomenal play of Grace (15 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists), who recorded the second triple double ever in a grand final series. With Williams (26 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals) shooting 12/23 from the field, the Kings claimed the opening game (98-94).

Even with game two being held in Perth and Feaster (40 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal) doing everything he could, including scoring 30 points in 4th quarter, the same result followed. Behind a near triple double from Shane Heal (23 points, 9 rebounds, and 12 assists), a big defensive effort from Nielsen (21 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks), and another stellar performance from Williams (24 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists), this time shooting a even higher percentage (10/17 shooting), Sydney won their first NBL championship (117-101). Williams would be a unanimous choice for named Finals MVP.