NICKNAME/S: Mayor of Wanneroo

BIO: Greg Hire was born in Perth (WA) and is a product of Wanneroo Basketball Association. Hire is the son of a Hungarian immigrant, his mother having moved to Australia as a refugee and settled in Perth, Western Australia. Hire’s parents did not have a healthy relationship and split when he was around 10 years old. He grew up around domestic violence, drugs, alcohol, depression and a lack of positive role models.

He eventually turned to basketball, where at Woodvale Senior High School, he played basketball and Australian Rules football. Hire represented Western Australia at both the under-18 and under-20 national championships.

He was a fan of the Perth Wildcats growing up, idolising club legends Andrew Vlahov and Scott Fisher.

Hire played four years of college basketball in the United States before joining the Perth Wildcats in 2010 as a development player having earned his call-up after a strong season played state level basketball with Wanneroo.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Greg Hire made his NBL debut with the Perth Wildcats at 23 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

After winning the 2010 championship, Wildcats legends Paul Rogers and Martin Cattalini decided to retire, leaving room for Perth to bring in some younger talent. Ater Majok, Greg Hire, Cameron Tovey, Jeremiah Trueman, and big man Matthew Knight being the key addition. Perth had beaten out multiple offers from both European and NBL team’s offering contracts to Knight, who had spent the past season playing in Hungary. During the off-season, he was pursued by multiple European and NBL clubs, but Knight, who had previously played under coach Rob Beveridge and alongside Damian Martin with the Sydney Spirit before they exited the NBL, ultimately chose to sign with the Wildcats. Another major coup came with the team being able to retain star import Kevin Lisch despite him several European clubs offering him much larger contracts and re-signed Shawn Redhage (three-year deal).

Knight’s debut season for the Wildcats began positively before tearing his left calf muscle in a win over Melbourne (12 Dec). The injury ruled Knight out for two months, and a injury to Jesse Wagstaff (ankle ligaments) saw him on the sidelines as well shortly after. On Christmas Eve, the Wildcats signed Ater Majok (7.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks) to a six-week deal as an injury replacement for Jesse Wagstaff and Matthew Knight. 8 games later Majok was released due to behavioural issues. Despite his short stint in Perth, Majok became a favourite amongst the Wildcat’s fans with due to his shot blocking ability, blocking a total of 11 shots in his first three games. This forced coach Beveridge to sign former NBA big man Andre Brown (9.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 0.6 steals) in a attempt to improve the interior weaknesses since losing Knight (12.4 points and 6.7 rebounds) and Wagstaff (8.4 points and 4.3 rebounds).

Shortly after, a hip injury to leading scorer Shawn Redhage (18.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists) resulted in losing him for the second half of the season, throwing another spanner into the Wildcats’ hunt for back-to-back titles. Redhage dislocated his left hip during a loss to Adelaide (77–76) on the road. Redhage had lunged for a contested ball in a way that punched the head of his femur through his pelvis, breaking the bone and dislocating the joint. The injury was originally feared to be career-ending, with Redhage potentially requiring a hip replacement.

The Wildcats lost four consecutive games following Redhage’s injury, winning only two from the team’s remaining eight matches, as Kevin Lisch (13.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.0 steals) delivered another impressive season, scoring in double figures in all but nine games.

the Wildcats finished the season in fourth place (16-12) and would earn a semi final matchup against New Zealand.

The Undermanned Wildcats rode the brilliance of Kevin Lisch (29 points), who almost single-handedly won the opening game of the series for Perth (101-78 win). After losing in Auckland, the Breakers would travel to Perth and win games two (93-89) and three (99-83) before going on to defeat Cairns to win the 2011 NBL championship.

Kevin Lisch and Shawn Redhage were named co-MVPs for the Wildcats, and Damian Martin (8.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.4 steals) claimed the league’s Best Defensive Player award for the first time. Martin also made history by becoming the first player to be named to the All-NBL First Team and average under nine points per game.Hire (1.3 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 0.5 assists) impressed in his first season, showing a significant improvement in his fitness, mobility, strength and shooting, and took the floor in 13 games and subsequently earned the Coach’s Award for the 2011 season.

2011/12
In 2011, being too old to remain as a development player, and following another strong season in the SBL with the Wolves, Hire was elevated to the full-time roster where he was signed over Everard Bartlett and Tom Jervis for Perth’s last roster spot. The Wildcats looked to get back on top In 2011/12, by adding 7’2 centre Luke Nevill with a aim to re-create the ‘Perth Wall’ alongside Matthew Knight, Jesse Wagstaff and Shawn Redhage, who was returning to action returned to action after a career-threatening injury suffered the prior season.

Kevin Lisch, who re-signed with the Wildcats (two-year deal), was coined the ‘best import in the league’ by coach Rob Beveridge at the start of the year, and he certainly proved that during the five rounds of the season. With Damian Martin injured, Lisch ran the point for the first few weeks and averaged 22.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game during October, guiding the Wildcat’s to a 3–1 record. Lisch (17.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.2 assists) finished the season as the league’s leading scorer (the first Wildcats player to lead the NBL in scoring) and won the NBL Most Valuable Player award. Shawn Redhage (13.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists), Jesse Wagstaff (11.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists) and Matthew Knight (10.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.3 assists) were key to the Wildcat’s success, as was Damian Martin (7.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists) claimed his second consecutive Best Defensive Player award.

Perth (19-9) entered the playoffs as the second seed, and after defeating Gold Coast in the semifinals (2-1), they would face New Zealand in the Grand Final. After losing to the Breakers in game one in Auckland, the Wildcat’s looked down and out in game two in Perth also. All looked lost for Perth In game two, who trailed the Breakers for much of the game until Hire, who had averaged five minutes a game for the season, delivered a rousing half-time speech before injecting life into Perth in the third term. Backing up his words, he registered seven points and four rebounds in the following quarter. Hire (2.7 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.5 assists) led a Perth comeback that turned a 13 point deficit to a one-point win (87–86) and was decided only by a memorable final-second shot from Breakers guard CJ Bruton being blocked by Shawn Redhage.

It all ended with the team returning to Auckland for game three and suffering a six-point loss (79-73) in front of 9,258 New Zealand faithful, the largest NBL crowd of the season.

2012/13
Before the season began, the state-of-the-art Perth Arena was completed, with the 13,500 seat stadium becoming the new home of the Wildcat’s in 2012. Also, by 2012, Hire had become a key contributor to the Wildcat’s and was promoted to the team’s starting five and the club’s leadership group. Perth began the season hoping for Matthew Knight, who had undergone off-season shoulder surgery, to become the team’s go-to guy in the paint. Knight embraced the responsibility and excelled in the Wildcats’ season-opening win over the New Zealand Breakers, earning the NBL’s Player of the Week award for a 20-point, nine-rebound effort.

a early season win against the Townsville (Oct 14) saw Kevin Lisch (15.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 3.0 assists) play in his 100th consecutive NBL game and Rob Beveridge coach 100 games for the Wildcats. Amidst the celebrations however, Knight (13.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 0.7 assists) succumbed to another injury that saw him miss four games. Import Michael Dunigan (13.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks) was brought in as a short-term replacement, becoming a fan-favourite with his thunderous dunks and athletic blocks before exiting the club once Knight returned to health.

Ten games in, Perth faced another hurdle when co-captain Brad Robbins (3.9 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists) abruptly retired, citing he had lost his motivation and passion for the game. Rhys Carter (6.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals), who had been playing in Sweden, was brought in as a replacement for Robbins and played the remaining 16 games as Damian Martin (6.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.2 assists) was elevated to co-captain alongside Shawn Redhage (14.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists) upon Robbins’ retirement. Shortly after, Cameron Tovey (1.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 0.9 assists) also announced he would retire at the season’s end.

Despite the shuffling of the roster, the Wildcat’s went on to finish in second-place (22–6).

Lisch and Knight were both selected to the All-NBL first team and together, swept Wollongong in the semifinals (2-0), setting up a Grand Final rematch against New Zealand, their third time facing the Breakers in a playoff series in as many years. Damian Martin (6.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.9 steals) won his third consecutive Best Defensive Player award before learning a injury to his Achilles would stop him from playing in the Grand Final series. a emergency call was then made to the retired Brad Robbins, who was rushed back into the lineup as a replacement, but with the team missing Martin, New Zealand defeated Perth in two straight games, winning their third consecutive championship in 2013. Hire averaged 4.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game during the season, with his playing minutes more than doubling from 2011/12.

2013/14
Having been defeated by the New Zealand Breakers in the previous two Grand Final series and then losing star import Kevin Lisch (to France), the Wildcat’s revamped their roster, looking to bring a new look squad and style that would deliver the team a sixth championship.

Team changes included the departure of Rob Beveridge, Kevin Lisch (who would follow Beveridge to Illawarra) and Cameron Tovey. The Wildcats’ then reloaded first by appointing Trevor Gleeson as head coach and signing two new imports in small forward James Ennis, who had just been selected as the 50th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft, and shooting guard Jermaine Beal. Hard-nosed point guard Damian Martin would be named team captain, and Perth’s core group of Shawn Redhage, Jesse Wagstaff, and Matthew Knight all returned. Tom Jervis, as well as guards Drake U’U and Erik Burdon, were also signed to bolster the team’s bench. Hire was then named co-vice captain of the Wildcats’ alongside Shawn Redhage.

A search to replace a former NBL MVP is never easy, but when Wildcats managing director Nick Marvin and head coach Trevor Gleeson witnessed his ability first hand at the NBA Summer League, they knew they had a star.

Ennis opened the season with 25 points and 4 rebounds on debut, a three-point victory over arch-rivals Adelaide, the most points scored by a Wildcat on NBL debut at the time. Ennis would earn player of the month in his first month as a Wildcat as Perth began the season with a 8-0 start.

Injuries to Knight forced the club to sign Jarrad Prue and Jeremiah Trueman as short-term injury replacements in October and January, but the Wildcats were still the clear pacesetters for the league. In February 2014, Hire played his 100th NBL game, and by the league’s mid-season break for the All-Star game, Perth sat in first place with a 12-1. James Ennis (21.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.4 steals) and Jermaine Beal (15.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 3.4 assists), perfectly complemented the league’s best defender Damian Martin (7.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists, and 2.2 steals) and best villain Shawn Redhage (13.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists) and to no surprise, Perth finished the season on top of the ladder and reached the postseason for their 28th year in a row. Ennis and Beal were named to the All-NBL first and second team’s, respectively.

Once into the postseason, the Wildcat’s eliminated the Wollongong Hawks first in straight sets, while on the other side of the bracket, their historic rivals Adelaide eliminated Melbourne in three games to see both team’s progress to the 2014 Grand Final.

The grand final would see first-placed Perth face second-ranked Adelaide with game one held in Perth. Wildcats star import James Ennis (30 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists) would lead Perth in points, rebounds, and assists, resulting in Perth claiming the win (92-85) and taking a 1-0 series lead.

Game two saw the 36ers force a deciding third game in front of 8,127 fans (their largest crowd of the season) rally their team to a 89-84 win behind high scoring from Gary Ervin (23 points) and a all-round game from Adam Gibson (18 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists) to even the series (1-1).

In response, 13,498 of Perth’s ‘red army’ would show up to see Perth defeat Adelaide and win their sixth NBL title. With James Ennis subdued by foul trouble, the Wildcat’s most experienced duo, Shawn Redhage and Damian Martin, were relied upon to pick up the slack. Redhage, scored 10 of his 16 points in the first term to help his team settle into the contest, while Martin produced a superb defensive effort on 36ers star Gary Ervin, limiting Adelaide’s game two hero to just four points while adding 14 points and six rebounds to the stat sheet. Greg Hire (9 rebounds, 5 assists) and Jermaine Beal (15 points) provided key contributions to help Perth bury the demons of successive grand final defeats in the past two seasons.

While Anthony Petrie (20 points) gave up for the 36ers, he lacked the support from fellow starters Adam Gibson (8 points) and Daniel Johnson (9 points), both of whom had been influential in the first two games of the series.

After his huge opening game, Ennis struggled to make a impact in Games two and three, and Beal would go on to win Finals MVP after averaging 17.6 points per game, shooting 48% from beyond the three-point line. Hire was touted as a possible Grand Final MVP when he came off the bench in the deciding third game and contributed nine rebounds, and five assists to inspire the Wildcat’s to victory. He would finish the season by playing in 33 games and averaging 4.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists.

2014/15Hire appeared in the Wildcats’ season opener but then missed the next three months with a tear to his left calf muscle, a injury he sustained at training. He travelled with the team despite being sidelined to provide leadership and support from the bench. During his time off, Hire dropped roughly 3kg and lost 25mm of skinfolds due to the injury.

This season, Shawn Redhage (11.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists) would relinquish captaincy to Damian Martin (6.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 2.7 steals), who recorded a nine rebound, eight assist, and nine steals effort (second-most single game steals by a Wildcat ever, behind Ricky Grace’s 10) in a early season win over Sydney (84–63) before playing his 200th game on New Years Eve, a win over Wollongong (86–77).

While Martin’s brilliance anchored the backcourt, multiple injuries impacted the team’s frontcourt, with Knight (6 games) and Hire (19 games) both several games and Redhage going down to a stress fracture in his right foot that resulted in him missing Perth’s entire finals campaign.

With the departure of Ennis, Beal (16.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists) became Perth’s main offensive weapon despite another slow start to the season. In the season opener against the New Zealand Breakers, he went 2-of-17 from the field, and against Melbourne United (Nov 23), he went 0-of-10 from the field. Despite this, coach Trevor Gleeson was confident Beal would deliver and then recorded some of his biggest games. These included a game-high 25 points to go with four assists and four steals in a 83–64 win over the Wollongong Hawks as well as his best two performances of the season in back to back games, scoring 29 points against the Townsville Crocodiles (Nov 14), then notching up 27 points against the Sydney Kings (Nov 16). In February, Beal (24 points) was crucial in helping a game against New Zealand into two overtime periods. He put the Wildcat’s ahead 87–86 with two clutch free-throws in the dying moments of the second overtime, but ultimately, the Breakers won the game behind a buzzer-beating half-court shot from Cedric Jackson (87–89).

Beal finished amongst the league’s top five scorers through the regular season finishing with 450 points, leading the league with 69 made three-pointers, and won the club’s MVP award at the end of the season.

The Wildcats’ banged up roster still managed to finish in fourth place (16–12), with Matthew Knight earning a spot on the All-NBL Second Team, and Damian Martin named the NBL’s Best Defensive Player for the fifth consecutive year at the end of season awards.

Perth were then swiftly eliminated by first-placed Cairns in the semifinals (0-2). Beal delivered 20 points in game one and 21 points in game two but the Wildcats had no answer for the Taipans star guard Scottie Wilbekin. Wilbekin tallied 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists in game one (71-64) and then backed it up with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists in game two (80-68).

Greg Hire played in a career-low 11 games during the season, averaging 3.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists.

2016/17
The 2016 offseason saw a lot of change in personnel, with three key players from the 16 championship team (Nathan Jawai, Tom Jervis and Jermaine Beal) moving on. To replace them, coach Trevor Gleeson brought in Angus Brandt, Jameel McKay and Jaron Johnson and began their attempt to secure the team’s first back-to-back championships since 1991.

In April 2016, the team re-signed both Damian Martin (three-year deal) and Matthew Knight (two-year deal), who had just undergone shoulder stabilisation surgery on his left arm. Shortly after, injury struck Knight (9.4 points, 6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists) again, this time during the 2016 pre-season. This led to him being ruled out for two months. To cover for the loss of Knight, the team added veteran forward Lucas Walker, who had been training with Melbourne United after not being re-signed by the Adelaide 36ers.

After adding Walker, the Wildcats started the season off strong with a 4–1 record, but things went south quickly after that.Long-term injuries to Martin, Knight and Jarrod Kenny were hurting the Wildcats, and by December, Perth had slumped to a 7–9 record and sat in the last spot on the ladder.

Import Jaron Johnson (13.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists) would take the brunt of the Wildcats’ poor start and be replaced with three-point specialist Andre Ingram just three games into the season. In a bizarre twist, Ingram (8.5 points, 2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals) left the team and returned to the US after just two games, citing mental issues, and Johnson was then brought back into the squad. Johnson’s return would be a temporary solution however, he was shown the door again in December with the Wildcats seizing the opportunity to sign former NBA guard Bryce Cotton. It was around this time also that veteran Shawn Redhage (2.7 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 0.5 assists) announced that he would retire at the end of the season.

Throughout the roller-coaster of roster changes, Prather (19.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.6 steals) had continued to carry the offensive load for the Wildcats, this included a career-high 39 points in a 92–89 win over Melbourne United (Dec 9). In February, Prather also put up 29 points in a win over the Sydney Kings (101–74), then two days later, recorded 26 points and a career-high 11 assists in a win over United (96–94). Martin (4.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.7 steals) also returned to form after his injury, and in his 250th NBL game (Jan 28), he scored a season-high 11 points to go with six rebounds and four assists in another win over Melbourne (73–71). But it was the addition of Cotton that saw the Wildcats become a completely different team, winning eight of their remaining twelve regular-season games, the last two being must win games in order to reach the playoffs. Cotton (23.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.3 steals) finished as the league’s leading scorer, while Prather finished second in NBL MVP voting (107 votes) behind Jerome Randle (147) of the Adelaide 36ers and was selected to the All-NBL First Team.

Alongside Perth’s two import stars, Hire, who had come into the season hungry for a bigger role after averaging just 12 minutes per game the prior season, and averaged 3.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 0.9 assists. This included Hire scoring a career-high 20 points against the Brisbane Bullets in February.

in the semifinals, Perth (15-13) would face Cairns (15-13) at home, where Cotton (34 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists) and Prather (22 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals) led the way offensively for a easy win in game one (91-69). In game two, Perth closed out the series (74-66) with Prather (24 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists) leading the team in scoring and Jesse Wagstaff (20 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals) having a huge game off the bench

In the NBL Grand Final series, Prather (22 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists), Cotton (18 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists), and Knight (18 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 steals) delivered a balanced offensive attack, winning the opening game by twelve points (89-77). The series moved to Wollongong for game two, but the Wildcat’s continued their playoff winning streak (89-77), with Cotton (20 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals) and Prather (18 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists) being the team’s primary scorers on a night the Wildcats had five different players deliver double figure scoring efforts. Perth won game three comfortably (95-86), finishing undefeated in the postseason, claiming their eighth championship and winning back-to-back for the first time since 1991.

A number of record-breaking moments occurred in the game three win. Most prominently, Bryce Cotton was named Grand Final MVP after putting up 45 points, the most ever scored in a NBL Grand Final game. Cotton’s 27.7 points per game over the Grand Final series marked the most from any player in 20 years.

Trevor Gleeson became the first coach to win back-to-back championships in Perth while Prather delivered a historical season. Prather was voted Wildcats MVP for the second year in a row, becoming the only player to be a club MVP in more than one championship season, as well as becoming the first Perth player to win two championships in his first two seasons.

2017/18
Perth were able to re-sign Grand Final MVP Bryce Cotton but lost two-time Club MVP Casey Prather, who was unable to commit to the Wildcats season due to pursuing NBA opportunities. Perth would sign Devondrick Walker in the meantime, leaving Prather with no place on the roster after he had exhausted his NBA options. Walker then suffered a foot injury during the pre-season and Perth were forced to replace him with JP Tokoto. Other changes to the roster included Derek Cooke Jr replacing Jameel McKay and Lucas Walker stepping up from a training player role to a full-time squad member in place of the retired Shawn Redhage.

The Wildcats then started the season with a 10–3 record, which included Hire playing his 200th game for Perth (becoming the 11th Wildcat to reach the mark) before missing five games due to a low-grade calf strain. Hire’s injury coincided with Perth dropped to 13–9 by mid-January.

Around this time, Matthew Knight (5.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 0.6 assists) made it public that he would retire at the end of the season, but as a result of three early-season head knocks, he chose to bring his retirement forward and retired in early November, playing in only five games.

The Wildcats started the season on top of the ladder with a record of 10–3 but would then lose Damian Martin (4.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.5 steals) for two games with an ankle injury (14 Dec). Perth also faced injuries to Clint Steindl (2.8 points, 1.3 rebounds) and Greg Hire (2.1 points, 2 rebounds, and 0.6 assists), which saw the team drop to 13–9 by mid-January. Import Derek Cooke Jr (5.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 0.6 assists) then became the brunt of repeated criticism, with many calling for the team to replace him to his lack of production. Cooke Jr would, however, remain with the team for the entire season, and when the roster returned to full health, he helped Perth finish the regular season off strongly and secure third place on the ladder (16–12).

Hire would play /// continue to see limited playing opportunities with the Wildcats, appearing in only 23 games, and averaging 2.1 points, 2 rebounds, and 0.6 assists.

On the eve of their finals campaign, Martin was named the league’s Best Defensive Player, earning the honour for a record-breaking sixth time. Tokoto (15.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.7 steals) earned a spot on the All-NBL Second Team, and Cotton (19.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.3 steals) was selected to the All-NBL first team, as well as being named league MVP, becoming just the third Wildcat to win the award after Paul Rogers (2000) and Kevin Lisch (2012).

In game one of the semi finals series against second-seeded Adelaide 36ers, the Wildcats were soundly defeated (109–74) in what was their second biggest finals loss in club history. The only time the Wildcat’s have lost by a larger margin in their 32-year finals streak was in 1989, when they lost to North Melbourne by 55 points. Game two saw a much closer contest, but Perth still fell short by one point (88–89), stopping Perth from winning a third championship in a row.

2018/19
During the off-season, Perth managed to re-sign star Bryce Cotton (three-year deal), while also adding Nick Kay and Mitch Norton (both via Illawarra), two-time champion Tom Jervis (via Brisbane) and new import Terrico White. This resulted in the exits of Lucas Walker, Jarrod Kenny and Dexter Kernich-Drew who would all sign to play with Cairns. Perth’s final roster move was elevating four-year development player Rhys Vague to the full-time roster.

The team travelled to the United States for two pre-season games against NBA team’s Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets, where they were handed a 130–72 loss to the Jazz in their first match. Coach Trevor Gleeson cited this loss as the catalyst to the season’s success.

The Wildcats started the season with a 4–1 record before losing Damian Martin (5.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.6 steals) for six games with a low grade tear to his right calf. Perth was able to continue winning games despite his absence, and even with Angus Brandt (8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.3 assists), Terrico White (17 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists) and Cotton (21.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.4 steals) all missing games during the half of the season, Perth compiled a record of 10–1.

By mid-January injuries were taking their toll, and the Wildcat’s (12–9) lost eight out of the next ten games. During this time, the Wildcat’s faced increasing external pressure, urging them to make changes to their roster and add a third import. Instead, the organisation and coaches backed the existing playing group, which returned to form the roster returned to health.

Perth bounced back with three straight wins over Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney, which saw them return to the top of the ladder with two rounds to go. Another injury, this time to Mitchell Norton (8.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.6 assists) was another obstacle to overcome, but it didn’t stop the Wildcat’s from finishing first on the ladder by the end of the regular season (18–10).

After leading the league in scoring, Cotton was named to the All-NBL First Team, and Nicholas Kay (14.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.2 steals) delivered the highest scoring season of his career and was named to the All-NBL second team.

Once into the semi finals, Perth defeated the Bullets 2–0 and advanced to their 14th NBL Grand Final series and face reigning NBL champs Melbourne United.

Game one of the Grand Final series saw Perth secure a home court win (81–71), only to see United even up the series in game two (92–74) in a 18 point blowout to even the series. In game three, DJ Kennedy (23 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists) did all he could for Melbourne, but again the home team came away victorious. A scorching hot Terrico White (31 points), who had fought through a number of knee and hamstring injuries throughout the season that required him to wear a cast on his left arm during the last month of the season, nailed seven big three-pointers to cement the win (96-67). In game four, the Wildcat’s continued their devastating form. Cotton (28 points) led the way offensively, and big games from both Kay (12 points and 10 rebounds) and White (20 points), delivered Perth its ninth NBL championship (97-84). White, who had previously been criticised for not seizing control of games, walked away with the Grand Final MVP award after averaging 21.8 points over the four game series.

Hire averaged 1.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 0.8 assists and retired as one of only 16 players in NBL history to have won four titles.

Greg Hire played nine seasons the Perth Wildcats. He averaged 3.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 0.9 assists in 243 NBL games.

Dan Boyce (798 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.