BIO: Brett Ellis was born in Perth (WA) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Stirling basketball program.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Brett Ellis made his NBL debut with the Perth Wildcats at 23 years of age. He scored two points in his first game.

In 1989, Ellis joined the Perth Wildcats, playing alongside his brother Mike. This season, Perth were again led by the all-round brilliance of James Crawford (26.2 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.6 steals, and 2.1 blocks) and Kendal Pinder (21.1 points, 14.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.1 steals) in the frontcourt and Cal Bruton (22.2 points, 4 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.3 steals) and team captain Mike Ellis (15.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 2.0 steals) in the backcourt.

Ellis would see limited playing time during his first season, appearing in only six games and scoring a total of seven points while Perth finished in third place (16-8), their highest regular season result in club history.

Perth would then face Adelaide in the Elimination Finals where Cal Bruton (35 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists) did his best for the Wildcats but it wouldn’t be enough to get past the 36ers. Adelaide finished with five players scoring 18+ points, Mark Davis (25 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 steals), Darryl Pearce (25 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists), Orlando Phillips (23 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals), Mike McKay (20 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists) and second year big man Mark Bradtke (18 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks) all combining for 91 points to take home the first win (122-124)

With the series returning to Perth for game two, Perth returned to its regular season form, shooting 51% from the field (42/82), and defeating Adelaide by 20 points (114-94). Pinder (25 points and 14 rebounds) and Bruton (22 points and 5 assists) top scoring for the Wildcats, while Mark Davis (22 points and 20 rebounds) racked up a 20/20 game in the 36ers losing effort.

With Bruton (29 points and 7 rebounds) again leading the team in scoring, Perth came away with the win in game three (112-108), moving on to the semifinals.

The semifinals would pit Perth against North Melbourne (17-7), who were responsible for eliminating them from the playoffs last season. The Giant’s import duo of Scott Fisher (27 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 assists) and Tim Dillon (23 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists) still had the wood over the Wildcats, defeating them convincingly in the opening game (108-129) with Bruton (34 points and 3 steals) finishing as the game high scorer.

Crawford (42 points, 19 rebounds, and 3 blocks) exploded in game two, after being limited to 16 points in the previous matchup, with Bruton (23 points, 3 rebounds, and 13 assists) setting up Crawford for almost every basket. Ray Borner (24 points and 11 rebounds) stepped up his game as well, but it wasn’t enough with the Wildcats coming away with a three point win (111-108). The series culminated with the Giants winning by 55 points at home in game three. The final score line of 165-110 remains the highest score ever recorded in an NBL postseason game. Dillon (40 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists), Fisher (32 points and 14 rebounds) and David Graham (25 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists) all coming up big for the Giants. Team captain Mike Ellis (18 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals) top scoring for the Wildcats.

1990
After Perth’s season ended with semifinal 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 make-up of the Adelaide 36ers teams of the mid-80s. Oklahoma guard Ricky Grace was signed to play an ‘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 an 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 an 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 semifinals, 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.

Ellis would continue to see minimal playing time with the Wildcats, appearing in only one game and scoring two points.

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, an 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 teams 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 teams 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 an 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 an 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.

Ellis appeared in only two games this season, scoring a total of three points.

Brett Ellis played three seasons the Perth Wildcats. He averaged 1.3 points, 1 rebounds, and 0.4 assists in 9 NBL games.

Dan Boyce (817 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.