NICKNAME/S: JR

BIO: John Peter Rillie was born in Toowoomba (QLD) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Toowoomba Mountaineers basketball program. Following the completion of his collegiate career, Rillie spent 16 years playing professional basketball internationally. From 1995-2009 he enjoyed stints with the Brisbane Bullets (1995), Adelaide 36ers (1996-98), West Sydney Razorbacks (1998-02 and 2003/04) and Townsville Crocodiles (2004-09), and spent 2009/10 with the New Zealand Breakers. Rillie also played one season (2002) with AEK Athens of the Euroleague.

NBL EXPERIENCE

John Rillie made his NBL debut with the Brisbane Bullets at 23 years of age. He scored 10 points in his first game.

Rillie joined a Bullets team on the rebound in 1995, having list to Adelaide in the Quarterfinals the previous season. The early exit saw Brisbane revamp their frontcourt, releasing import forwards Dave Colbert and Andre Moore as well as veteran forward Shane Froling. Brisbane signed young centre Andrew Goodwin and Mike Mitchell from Queensland rivals Gold Coast and brought in Chris Munk as their replacements.

Rillie was a late addition to the team and came into the club as a backup point guard to Shane Heal. Leroy Loggins, Rodger Smith, Robert Sibley and Wayne Larkins also returned.

During season Heal (22.9 points and 7.4 assists), Loggins (21.7 points and 7.5 rebounds) and Mitchell (20.9 points and 6.8 rebounds) would carry the team offensively but the new look Bullets didn’t fare any better than the old ones. Brisbane finished in fifth place with a record of 16-10 before being eliminated again during the Quarterfinalsstage, losing to North Melbourne, 0–2.

Additionally, young gun John Rillie averaged 13.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.9 assists for the season and took home the NBL Rookie of the Year award.

ADELAIDE 36ERS
1996
After losing to Perth in the semifinals in 1995, a series which included a vicious elbow from Chris Blakemore to the head of Wildcats forward Martin Cattalini, head coach Mike Dunlap had lost favour with Blakemore and 36ers MVP Robert Rose, who both left the team and signed with the Canberra Cannons. Long distance specialist Mike McKay also found Dunlap hard to play for a he left to play with the Brisbane Bullets.

Despite this the 36ers recruited well going into the 1996 NBL season, signing slam dunking forward Leon Trimmingham from the Sydney Kings and, funnily enough, Martin Cattalini from the championship winning Perth Wildcats. John Rillie, who was coming off a Rookie of the Year winning season with Brisbane also signed to play alongside Brett Maher and new import Rick Brunson (who had just narrowly missed out on being drafted to the NBA) in the backcourt.

Rillie averaged 13.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3 assists alongside stars Trimmingham (22 points per game), Brunson (19 points and 7 assists per game), Brett Maher (16 points and 4 rebounds per game), who would be selected to play for the Australian Boomers at the 1996 Olympic Games mid-season, John Rillie (14 points per game) and Davis (13 points and 8 rebounds per game).

Following the sudden death of his father after the 1996 season, coach Dunlap returned home to the United States and decided to stay there to be closer to his family. The team finished in sixth place with a record of 16-10.

The 36ers defeated arch-rivals Perth Wildcats in the quarterfinals before being eliminated in the semifinals by eventual champs the South East Melbourne Magic in two straight games.

This season would also be Dunlap’s last with the team after he requested the team release 36ers legend Mark Davis and focus on the team’s younger players. Since joining the 36ers, Dunlap had been systematically removing the older players from the squad, but the club board instead retained Davis (who went on to play another four seasons) and agreed that Dunlap would not return as coach.

John Rillie finds Leon Trimmingham for the Stuff!!! Anyone remember how this game ended?? I will post the video of the ending later. @johnrillie @Adelaide36ers pic.twitter.com/VYifbyhOxf

— RANDOM HOOPS (@HoopsRandom) March 13, 2023

1997
Having just shown head coach Mike Dunlap the door, the 36ers hired his assistant and former Gold Coast Rollers coach Dave Claxton as his replacement for the 1997 NBL season. While Adelaide was able to retain the majority of its roster this season, the only changes being the addition of Rupert Sapwell (Geelong) and replacing import guard Rick Brunson, who returned to the US, with ibig man Jeff Brown. Perhaps the biggest change to the roster wasn’t during free agency, but when Brett Maher was handed the team captaincy from club legend Mark Davis (something he would hold until his retirement in 2009).

Rillie averaged 13.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in what would be a lacklustre season for the 36ers. While Brown (7.7 points and 3.8 rebounds) had been signed to pair with 36ers leading scorer Leon Trimmingham (19.4 points and 8.3 rebounds) and Mark Davis (9.4 points and 6.0 rebounds) it became apparent six games that he wasn’t the player the 36ers needed and he was quickly replaced with 35 year old, former 36ers big man Willie Simmons (5.6 points and 4.0 rebounds) who hadn’t played in the NBL since 1994. Needless to say Adelaide struggled through the remaining games and finished in 7th place (with a 14–16 record) and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1992.

1998
At the end of 1997, the 36ers replaced head coach Dave Claxton, who was only signed by the club at the last moment due to unexpectedly losing Mike Dunlap. He was only signed for one season and was subsequently replaced by rookie coach and former player Phil Smyth. Smyth had been hired without any head coaching experience. In fact, his only previous coaching experience being a specialist coach at the Australian Institute of Sport during his playing days in Canberra.

During the off-season, local product Brett Maher engaged in serious talks with the Sydney Kings and almost moved to the nation’s capital to form a all-Australian backcourt with Aaron Trahair. Ultimately, he decided to re-sign with the Adelaide 36ers, who then recruited 205 cm centre Paul Rees (via North Melbourne).

Shortly after, Smyth signed Canberra Cannons guard Darnell Mee who had just spent a season in France after rehabilitating the knee that limited his productivity in his first NBL season.

Once signed, Mee recommended his former teammate Kevin Brooks to the 36ers, and they signed the former NBA forward to a two-year deal. After his first training session with the team, Brooks’ teammates thought he wouldn’t last a week in the NBL with a shooting style that saw him release the ball almost from behind his head. However, they soon found Brooks (19.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists) was for real as he went on to lead the team in points per game with Brett Maher (17.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists) and Mee (14.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 4 assists) providing the additional scoring punch.

The 36ers’ gamble on Smyth’s playing experience translating into coaching success also paid off, with Adelaide recording the most wins since 1988 and finished in second place (19–11).

Rillie also added 9.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists.

Brett Maher’s led the 36ers into the playoffs for the first time as captain and delivered a emphatic punch to Perth’s playoff chin. The 36ers seized a 1-0 lead in their best-of-three semi-final series behind a sensational 36-point career-high game by Maher, who also led the Sixers with six assists (shooting 74 percent, including 7-of-11 three-pointers). Darnell Mee was his usual effective self, adding a game-high 14 rebounds to his 16 points as he terrorised Perth’s backcourt and set a aggressive defensive tone from the outset. Adelaide would defeat Perth, just as easily as it had in game one (117–110), to set up a Grand Final match-up against South East Melbourne.

Adelaide was not expected to defeat the Brian Goorjian led Magic, who had compiled a 26-4 record during the regular season and then swept the Brisbane Bullets in the semifinals. In game one, Brooks finished game-high scorer with 24 points (10/18 shooting), and 8 rebounds as the 36ers stunned all, delivering a 100-93 defeat to the defending champs on their home court. Amazingly, game one of the Grand Final was only the second time the 36ers had defeated the Magic since the Eastside Melbourne Spectres and Southern Melbourne Saints had merged to form the Magic in 1992.

The 36ers, who had started the season off slowly, had really found their form by the time of the Grand Final series and, come game two, obliterated the Magic at home (90-62). Adelaide held the Magic to less than 15 points in three of the game’s quarters. Kevin Brooks (21 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks) was again the star, with Martin Cattalini (20 points and 6 rebounds) also a key contributor in a game decided by turnovers (the Magic finished with 26 turnovers compared to the 36ers’ 14) and free throws (The 36ers shot 25 from 33 from the free throw line compared to the Magics 6 from 8).

Adelaide collected their first NBL championship since 1986, and Kevin Brooks was named Grand Final MVP in what was the last winter season for the National Basketball League.

WEST SYDNEY RAZORBACKS
1998/99
During the 1999 season, Rillie averaged 17.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4 assists and was a part of the Razorbacks squad which finished in eighth place with a record of 12-14.

1999/00
In 2000 Rillie averaged 18.3 points and 6.9 rebounds, and helped guide the Razorbacks to sixth place finish in the regular season with a 12-16 record.

2000/01
During the 2000/01 season Rillie averaged 19.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists as the Razorbacks finished in eighth place with a record of 9-19.

2001/02
In 2001/02 Rillie averaged 22.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.7 assists as the Razorbacks finished with a record of 16-14 and finished fifth during the regular season.

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2002/03
The 2002/03 season saw Rillie average 23.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists and play a key role in helping the Razorbacks to a seventh-place finish during the regular season with a 14-16 record.

2003/04
During the 2003/04 season Rillie averaged 20 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 5.1 assist and helped the Razorbacks finish with a record of 22-11 and end the regular season in third place.

TOWNSVILLE CROCODILES
2004/05
During the 2004/05 season, Rillie averaged 18.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 5.2 assists and was a part of the Crocodiles squad which finished in third place with a record of 19-13.

2005/06
In 2005/06, Rillie averaged 15 points and 5.7 rebounds, and helped guide the Crocodiles to a ninth-place finish during the regular season with a 9-23 record.

2006/07
During the 2006/07 season Rillie averaged 19.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists as the Crocodiles finished in fifth place with a record of 19-14.

2007/08
In 2007/08 Rillie averaged 15.6 points, 5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists as the Crocodiles finished with a record of 17-13 and in fifth place during the regular season.

2008/09
The 2008/09 season saw Rillie average 12.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists and play a key role in helping the Crocodiles to sixth place finish in the regular season with a 17-13 record.

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS
2009/10
Having achieved their first-ever playoff appearance the season prior, coach Andrej Lemanis returned with the majority of Breakers roster intact, losing only Phill Jones (to Cairns) and Tim Behrendorff (to Wollongong). Having played with one import last season, Rick Rickert, the Breakers added Dave Thomas (via Cairns) to add veteran leadership to the club but prior to the season starting, he was forced to retire from playing in the NBL due to injury. Former NBA talent Awvee Storey was then signed as his replacement and development player Thomas Abercrombie was elevated to the full squad.

New Zealand struggled through the first half of the season, mainly due to missing their leading scorer Kirk Penney (23.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists) due to a back injury that saw him sidelined for nine games. In addition to this, Storey (7.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 0.8 assists) fell well short of expectations and was released after nine games with the club stating ‘things weren’t working out’. Rillie (4.3 points and 1.6 rebounds), who had been released by Townsville the season prior, signed with the club as a interim replacement and appeared in 12 games.

New Zealand was then boosted by the midseason addition of import Kevin Braswell (9.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 2.3 steals), who played in the Breakers final seven games, winning the last six in a row.

New Zealand’s late-season surge proved to be in vain, as the Breakers missed the playoffs during one of the closest NBL seasons of all-time. Despite New Zealand being only two games behind league leaders Perth, they would miss the playoffs and finish in fifth place (15-13).

John Rillie played sixteen seasons across five NBL teams. This included the Brisbane Bullets, West Sydney Razorbacks, Townsville Crocodiles, Adelaide 36ers and New Zealand Breakers. He averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in 481 NBL games.

CAREER RANKINGS:
– 18th in total games played.
– 17th in total points
– 25th in total rebounds
– 14th in total assists
– 23rd in total steals

HIGHLIGHTS:

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.