According to Trevor Gleeson, the Perth Wildcats coach, referees have been put on notice following South East Melbourne’s threat to use roughhouse tactics on NBL superstar Bryce Cotton during a clash on Friday night.
In last Sunday’s game, Cotton clocked a whopping 27 points and also provided 7 assists to guide his side to a 88-76 victory over the Phoenix in Perth. The U.S. star was fouled on 7 occasions during the game, and now it appears the Phoenix will do all that they can to make the most out of their fouls in the Friday rematch at the RAC Arena.
Phoenix assistant captain Adam Gibson suggested that one smart tactic his team could use to beat Cotton would be to confront him with a number of fouls just to put him on his arse.
Here is how Gleeson responded to Gibson’s comments:
“This isn’t the first nor last time Cotton had been threatened by opponents with ulterior motives. He has had several physical people threaten to put him on his arse on several occasions.”
“If their intention is to take him to the foul line, that’s up to them. But, we are more than happy.”
“Referees have been notified about their master plan. It’s one thing to plot internally on stuff like that. However, saying it out loud in public forums that you are going to put someone on their arse is another issue to worry about.”
In Gleeson’s opinion, even if Bryce Cotton was not able to complete his regular number of shots, he would still be a dangerous feeder for his teammates. “Bryce is an intelligent player who has a good basketball brain, and he is a smart playmaker.”
“We weren’t surprised he provided 7 assists last week. Maybe he could make it 10 this week.” Cotton is one of the finest players in the NBL who has been able to use his talents to help his teammates gain good results”.
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Gleeson also indicated his desire to work with Bob Thornton again, following the former NBA star’s new assistant role at the Wildcats. The American Thornton is set to take over from the outgoing assistant, Scott Roff, who has been appointed as the head-coach of Tasmania JackJumpers, NBL’s expansion franchise.
Back in 2000, Gleeson appointed Thornton to assist him after he had won a head-coach role in the U.S. Continental Basketball Association. Aged over 58 years, Bob Thornton was an assistant coach at the Sacramento Kings (2019).
The experienced coach is now scheduled to arrive in Victoria next month to begin his two-week quarantine before joining finally the Wildcats at their Melbourne hub.
In other stories, NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger has declared his intention to take the NBL Cup overseas as a way to showcase talent for future seasons. This development comes amid rising interest from NBA scouts.