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

FAMILY: Mike’s son Cody Ellis also played 124 games in the NBL.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Mike Ellis made his NBL debut with the Perth Wildcats at 23 years of age. He scored 10 points in his first game.

Formed in 1982 as the Westate Wildcats, the team became the first, and so far only, Western Australian squad to compete in the NBL. The team played out of Perry Lakes Basketball Stadium under their first head coach Henry Daigle. Daigle recruited the majority of the inaugural squad from the East Perth Eagles, Stirling Senators and Perth Redbacks.

The team made their debut in front of 900 fans, losing to the Geelong Cats (74-105). Mike Ellis (15.1 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game) was appointed team captain while imports Billy Keys (16.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists) and Tim Evans (20.7 points, 5 rebounds and 3.5 assists), who took home the club’s first MVP award at the end of the year, led the team in scoring.

Perth’s first year in the league saw the team struggle against the more established teams in the league, ending their first season in tenth place (10–16).

1983
In 1983, Gordon Ellis took over as Wildcats’ head coach and replaced import Billy Keys with Kelvin Small. Tim Evans (21.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists) led the team in scoring for the second straight year but saw his season cut short due to injury and was replaced by Bob Witts. Captain Mike Ellis averaged 15.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game and won the club’s MVP award while Ellis averaged 15.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game in the Wildcats’ second year in the NBL. The Westate Wildcats went on to finish thirteenth (6–16) during the regular season.

1984
In 1984, the Westate Wildcats were renamed to the Perth Wildcats, but success did not follow the name change immediately. With new head coach Lynn Massey now guiding the squad, Perth finished on the bottom of the ladder (16th) with only three wins. Captain Mike Ellis (19.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 3.4 steals per game) was voted as the club’s MVP for the second time and import Craig Fitzsimmons (19.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game), who had been playing in the state league since his former NBL team the Forestville Eagles exited the league and Jeff Fagan (16.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.2 assists, and 1.3 steals) led the team offensively.

1985
Jay Brehmer, who became the Wildcats’ fourth coach in four seasons, joined the team for the 1985 season and brought in a number of new faces. US imports Dan Clausen (via Adelaide) and Roland Brooks joined the team as well as local talent Adam Brennan and Sandy Caldwell, who would both play key roles as rookies. Perth began the season by winning their first three games in a row, taking a number of team’s by surprise in the process. Once the team began playing opponenents on the road, however, they quickly fell back to earth and sat on 4 wins and 4 losses only a month later.

The team was led by Dan Clausen who racked up big numbers in every statistical category. He led the team in points (25.7 ppg), rebounds (15.7 rpg) and blocks (2.4 bpg) while ranking second in assists (3.4 apg), steals (1.4 spg), making him a clear choice for the club MVP award. Roland Brooks (23.2 points and 10.0 rebounds) and Mike Ellis (17.7 points and 6.0 assists) supported Clausen admirably but Perth’s inability to win outside of Western Australia (compiling a 4-9 record on away games) they finished the season in eighth place, falling well short of making the NBL playoffs. Perth finished with a 13–13 record, which at the time, was the best result in franchise history.

1986
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 Trevor 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).

Dan Clausen (21.3 points, 14 rebounds, and 2.1 assists), captain Mike Ellis (16.2 points and 6.6 assists) and newcomer Alan Black (12.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists) led the Wildcats offensively, while Perth finished the year with in twelth place (8–18).

1987
Many changes occurred in 1987. Most significantly, 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). The Superdrome was capable of housing 5,000 people, compared to the 800-seat Perry Lakes Stadium. New owner Bob Williams moved quickly in turning the Wildcats’ basketcase to contenders, a team who, at that point, had never had a winning season. His first move was to recruit Cal Bruton as player/coach and provide him with a budget to ‘build me a team’, which Bruton set to work on immediately.

Bruton recruited star imports James Crawford (Canberra) and Kendal Pinder (Sydney), who would become one of the league’s best frontcourt duos. Bruton also bought a professionalism to the team demanded by their new owner. For example, the players wore suits with the teams’ logo in public.

The new talent paid off immediately as the Wildcats’ recorded their best season to date.

While Bruton (16.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.6 steals) juggled the role of player/coach, he also led the team in assists. Alongside him, the ‘rim rocking’ Crawford (33.4 points, 11.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.9 steals and 2.3 blocks) would lead the team in scoring, steals and blocks while leading the league in field goal percentage (61%). Let’s just say once the ‘Alabama Slamma’ arrived in Perth, getting an 4,200 basketball fans into the stadium was ‘easy work’. This season included Crawford’s 57 points against the Tigers, which remains the highest score ever by a Perth Wildcats player. Pinder (23.5 points, 13.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.4 steals) would lead the team in rebounds, and captain Mike Ellis (9.4 points, 4.5 assists, and 1.2 steals) defended the best guard on every opposition team. Ellis also contributed 9.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 4.5 assists as Perth finished the regular season in fourth place (19-7), reaching the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

Crawford, who would be selected to the All-NBL First Team (his fourth selection), led Perth past Canberra in the elimination finals, Adelaide 36ers in the semifinals and despite having never made the playoffs, the Wildcats found themselves in the Grand Final series against Brisbane.

With the series featuring future Hall of Fame members on both squads and two coaches who couldn’t stand each other (Brian Kerle versus Cal Bruton), the Grand Final was can’t miss action.

Game one saw Perth’s ‘run, stun and have some fun’ style of play, which Bruton had implemented, outclassed by Brisbane’s solid fundamentals. In front of a sell-out home crowd, the Bullets defeated the Wildcat’s by just one point. Two days later, the series moved to Brisbane, where the Bullets continued their winning ways, taking home the championship in two games.

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) an 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 an 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 match-up 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, 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) with Ellis also adding 15.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game.

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 appeared in 34 games during the season, averaging averaging 14 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 6.6 assists.

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 really started to slow down this season, averaging a career low 6.8 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 4.6 assists.

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1992
The 1992 season saw Ellis average 3.4 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists and play a key role in helping the Wildcats to a sixth place finish in the regular season with a 12-12record.

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Ellis ended his career having captained the Perth Wildcats for the club’s first 11 seasons (1982-1992), which included guiding them to their first championship in 1990.

Ellis’ No.6 jersey was retired by both the Wildcat’s and his junior association, the Stirling Senators.

Mike Ellis played eleven seasons the Perth Wildcats. He averaged 12.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in 302 NBL games.

CAREER RANKINGS:
– 17th in total assists
– 27th in total steals
– 49th in assists per game.

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.