NICKNAME/S: TT

BIO: Trevor Torrance was born in Perth (WA) Torrance received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 1984. He spent two years year there and played for the program’s state league team (1984, 1985).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Trevor Torrance made his NBL debut with the Perth Wildcats at 19 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

the Wildcats had retained almost their entire roster and looked to improve on their 13-win season, which had set a club record. The only changes being Glen Dunsmore and Robbie Dempster being replaced with local guard guard Torrance and 29-year-old Alan Black (via Nunawading).

Perth started the season with five wins and five losses before losing import Roland Brooks (18.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.3 steals) to a season-ending injury.

During the 1986 season, local businessman Bob Williams was invited to attend a game by the state government. Williams agreed and, after one game, liked what he saw and signed on as the club’s major sponsor. His company ‘Interstuct’ appeared across the front of the team’s uniform. At the end of the 1986 season, Bob Williams was called to a meeting by the WA state government. Williams was told that the WABF was bankrupt and that there was to be no Government assistance. Unless Bob Williams bought the licence from the state government, the Wildcats would cease to exist in the NBL. Williams left the meeting not only as the major sponsor but as the Wildcats, and the NBL’s first private owner and president of the WABF.

Losing Brooks, the team’s second leading scorer and rebounder, proved too much to recover from, resulting in Perth struggling to be competitive against the rest of the league and finishing in twelfth place (8–18).

The team was led by Dan Clausen (21.3 points, 14 rebounds, and 2.1 assists), captain Mike Ellis (16.2 points and 6.6 assists), newcomer Alan Black (12.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists) and Torrance also contributing 8 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.8 assists.

1987
The Wildcats underwent many changes this season, new owner Bob Williams was focused on turning the Wildcats’ who, at that point, had never had a winning season, into contenders. His first move was to recruit Cal Bruton as player/coach to bring a level of professionalism to the team. This saw Bruton mandate players to wear suits with the team’s’ logo in public as a example. Williams also provided him with a budget and the expectations to ‘build me a team’, which Bruton set to work on immediately.

Additionally, the team moved from the small confines of Perry Lakes Stadium to what was known in those days as the Perth Superdrome (now HBF Stadium) that season—presenting the task of having to fill a 5,000 seat stadium instead of a 800-seat stadium. To make sure that happened, they recruited James Crawford, who was coming off three straight All-NBL First Team seasons playing with the Geelong Supercats and Canberra Cannons and was sure to fill the building.

Let’s just say once the ‘Alabama Slamma’ arrived in WA, finding a extra 4,200 rapid basketball fans in Perth was ‘easy work’. Crawford filled the stands and the stat sheet that season, averaging 33.4 points (shooting 61% from the field), 11.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.9 steals, and 2.3 blocks per game, a season which sits second in all time in player efficiency rating. This season included Crawford’s 57 points against the Tigers, which remains the highest score ever by a Perth Wildcats player.

Bruton also paired Crawford with former Sydney Supersonics import Kendal Pinder, and together, the two would become the league’s best frontcourt tandem. In addition to Crawford’s brilliance, Pinder (23.5 points, 13.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals) led the team in rebounds and Bruton, while juggling the player/coach role, averaged 16.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.6 steals led the team in assists. Mike Ellis, who remained as team captain, averaged 9.4 points, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals and Torrance added 6.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.6 assists per game.

In Crawford’s first year with the Wildcats, he earned his fourth (and last) All-NBL First Team selection, as the team finished fourth with a 19–7 record. This saw Perth make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Crawford, who also led the league in field goal percentage, was named to the All-NBL First Team before the team sliced through the Canberra Cannons in the elimination finals and first placed Adelaide 36ers in the semifinals. Perth, after never having made the playoffs, suddenly found themselves in the Grand Final series against the Brisbane Bullets.

the Wildcats were repeatedly referred to as the ‘Cinderella’ story as they entered the season, having finished in third-last position in 1986, only to go on to make the Grand Final. The ‘run, stun and have some fun’ style of play that had been implemented that season had worked wonders until the Grand Final series. The series was a promoter’s dream: East Coast versus West; solid fundamentals versus ‘run and gun’ – future Hall of Fame members on both sides on the floor; and two coaches who couldn’t stand each other (Brian Kerle versus Cal Bruton). The Bullets defeated the Wildcat’s by just one point in front of a sell-out Perth crowd in game one of the three-match series before claiming the Championship in Brisbane in game two a few days later.

1988
After a run that saw the Wildcats reach both the playoffs and the Grand Final for the first time in 1987, Perth retained almost their entire roster and looked to go one step further. Star players James Crawford, Kendal Pinder, Mike Ellis and player/coach Cal Bruton all returned for (what was expected to be) a even better result than 1988.

The team even got stronger on paper by allowing Craig Fitzsimmons to move to Geelong and replacing him with Westside Melbourne star Paul Kuiper and signing up-and-coming talent Scott Fenton to replace the retiring Glenn Ellis.

Crawford (26.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.9 blocks) filled the stat sheet every game, leading the team in points, steals and blocks. Pinder (21.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.0 steals) again led the team in rebounds as Bruton (15.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.3 steals) and Ellis (7.8 points, 4.6 assists and 1.6 steals) shared the ball handling responsibilities.

Kuiper (15.5 points and 7.4 rebounds) made a immediate impact while 22-year-old Trevor Torrence had a breakout season with his production jumping from 6.2 points in 18 minutes per game to 12.4 points in 27 minutes per game.

As it had always been in previous seasons, Perth was a tough matchup at home (9-3 record) while struggling to win on the road (4-8 record). They finished on 13 wins and 11 losses and in the sixth spot on the ladder, taking the final playoff seed.

Perth came out firing to start the postseason, first eliminating Leroy Loggins and the Brisbane Bullets in the first round and then winning the first game of the semi finals 108-105) against the North Melbourne Giants. The Giants, who featured Scott Fisher and Tim Dillon on the roster, one of the best big man import duos of all time, would prove too much for Perth this season. They returned to Melbourne for the remaining two semi-final games and defeated the Wildcat’s in back-to-back games, ending the Wildcats’ playoff run prematurely.

1989
In 1989 Torrance averaged 4.0 points and 4.8 rebounds, and helped the Wildcat’s record their most successful season at that time, finishing in third place (16-8). In the playoffs, Perth would defeat the Adelaide 36ers in three games before losing to the North Melbourne Giants for the second year in a row in the semifinals.

1990
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 delivered another amazing year, averaging 22.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Alongside him, veteran James Crawford added 20.1 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 1.9 assists, Hansen averaged 16.2 points and 9.5 rebounds and second year talent, Andrew Vlahov finished with 15.0 points and 8.3 rebounds and alongside the team’s stars. Torrance would see limited playing opportunities with the Wildcats this season, averaging only 1.9 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 0.3 assists per game.

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 Torrance average 7 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1 assists and play a key role in helping the Wildcats to a seventh-place finish during the regular season with a 12-12 record.

1993
During the 1993 season, Torrance averaged 9.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists and helped the Wildcats finish with a record of 21-5 and end the regular season in first place.

1994
During the 1994 season, Torrance averaged 6.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists and was a part of the Wildcat’s squad which finished in sixth place with a record of 16-10.

GOLD COAST ROLLERS
1995
By 1995 the Gold Coast Rollers had been struggling financially for some time. The team would lose a good chunk of its roster to various exits which included Andre LaFleur (quit), Mike Mitchell (Brisbane), Steve Key (knee injury), Matt Reece (Melbourne), Andrew Goodwin (Brisbane). Coach Dave Claxton was able to retain Peter Hill, Tony DeAmbrosis, John Szigeti and added Perth veteran Trevor Torrance, who had seen diminished playing oppourtunies over the past few seasons and replaced long time import duo Mike Mitchell and Andre LaFleur with Fred Herzog (Canberra) and Tony Massop.

Massop failed to live up to expectations and was cut prior to the season starting. The team replacing him with Kansas University product Steve Woodberry.

Woodberry (25 points per game) and Herzog (20 points per game) were both very talented players but failed to deliver the success or excitement that Mitchell and LaFleur had brought to the Carrara Indoor Stadium previously. Torrance saw a return to form, averaging 15.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.2 assists as the team managed only five wins for the season.

1996
1996 would be the Gold Coast Rollers final season in the NBL. The team began the year financially unstable and was unable to re-sign imports Steve Woodberry and Fred Herzog.

Torrance averaged 10.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists but the only notable part of the Rollers final season would be a last ditch effort to draw crowds by adding former Sydney Kings star Dwayne McClain to the roster for the last six games of season.

The team compiled a record of 6 wins and 20 losses and would not return in 1997.

With the league reducing in size from 14 team’s to 11, Torrance was unable to find another team to play with and retired at season’s end.

Trevor Torrance played eleven seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Perth Wildcats and the Gold Coast Rollers. He averaged 9.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 305 NBL games.

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Dan Boyce (815 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.