Maybe give him more than one game? Can't all be Bryce Cotton. Same over here with Shorter. Patience.

"A guy my size doesn't run like me. Some people say I run like a gazelle because I just move so free among the court. You have to see it. I’m pretty fast."

That's what he said. LOL

He wants to get a NBA contract he has to show a LOT more. Although he did not impress I would give him another couple of games to show what he's got.

It was an epic FAIL when Kickert tried to back him down in the post.

It's the first game he's ever played with the team for fuck sake. What were you really expecting? Yeah, he didn't show anything but I didn't expect much either. Give it 3-4 games and if he isn't showing signs then he can probably book his flight.

Good to know you're just as irrational as the average fan when it comes to matters involving your team, Kobe

He played a whopping six minutes, none of which were while Knight was able to play.

Might have been his first game, but he's been training with the team. Imports have stepped straight off the plane and played significantly more minutes and done far better.

He showed enough glimpses to me defensively in those 6 minutes to show he is a legitimate rim protector in this league. Was lost when it came to defending Kickert on the perimeter, but you get that with new imports.

Looked completely lost on offence, but does he look like he can average 7 & 6 from here-on out (McKay's numbers from last season)? I'd be more than happy to give him the benefit of the doubt; he's basically a more solidly built version of McKay.

Do remember that he didn't even attempt a shot, do I think he can be as good as McKay, no I don't and I don't really want him to either, I like that Walker is getting minutes and what he is doing with them and likewise with Brandt and I don't want his development ruined. If Knight retires because he is basically made of glass then it changes what we need from an import big.

Would I like to see him as a spark on defence, maybe someone that will get fouls because they are trying to intimidate the opposition with their rim protection... yes I do.

He won't make the NBA directly after playing for the Wildcats but he could get a regular gig as part of the dunk team with those gumnasts.

*gymnasts

Needs a few more games Kober.
Small ball worked last night for Perth.

Member when everybody wanted to cut Lisch after a few games....

I remember Beal was a shocker after a couple of games but turned into gold. Cooke will be the same.

Lisch's debut: 28 minutes, 20 points, 5 boards.

Beal's debut: 30 minutes, 11 points, 7 boards.

Shorter's debut: 30 minutes, 14 points, 4 boards, 4 assists.
Cooke's debut: 6 minutes, 1 board, 1 turnover, 1 steal.

Lisch, Beal and Shorter all played close to 30 minutes in competitive games (no margin greater than three points), Cooke got six minutes in a blowout and it took a Matty Knight injury for him to get on the court at all. These are not comparable.

@koberulz is smart enough not to respond to idiots whose only reason for posting is to bait koberulz. Don't bother posting, if all you aim to do is criticise someone.

@koberulz might make himself a fairly easy target. At least he has the courage to have a handle on this forum, and use it.

On topic:
It's a bit strange that he didn't get much court time, but at what stage of the game was it quite clear the Bullets were shot (sorry, couldn't resist the pun)? Perhaps Gleeson (yes, I know he's a flog, thank you) didn't think he's had enough time to get used to the 'Cats system? How long has he been practising with the team?

Perhaps Gleeson didn't think he's had enough time to get used to the 'Cats system? How long has he been practising with the team?

How many pre-season games did Cooke play?

I'm not sure that's particularly relevant. They're hardly going to hold him out until next year's Blitz, and last night was probably one of the better opportunities to ease him in given the game was never really in doubt.

He's had plenty of practice time, all he's lacking is game time. If he can't get it in a blowout, when is he going to get it? If he's looking lost on offense, what's going to change? If Adam Gibson is pushing him around and outrebounding him, why is he here?

It wasn't a blowout. Coaches don't rest easy in a game like that where the other team has made a lot of runs.

How many pre-season games did he play?

By the standards of the NBL the past couple of seasons, it was a blowout. You're not going to get many better opportunities to give a guy minutes.

He's played the same number of pre-season games as Bryce Cotton did last year.

Did he really not play any? Did the visa issue drag on that long? Well that explains the minutes, Gleeson went with what he was comfortable with.

Will be interesting to see how his minutes increase.

Did he really not play any?

"Lisch's debut: 28 minutes, 20 points, 5 boards."

Incorrect - Lisch's had 12 points http://websites.sportstg.com/team_info.cgi?action=PSTATS&pID=190404439&client=0-189-12314-232872-17885835&ocompID=95997

Cooke was poor against the Perry Lakes Hawks in the rehearsal exhibition match as well - had people there questioning if he was actually an import...

"Lisch's debut: 28 minutes, 20 points, 5 boards."

Incorrect - Lisch's had 12 points http://websites.sportstg.com/team_info.cgi?action=PSTATS&pID=190404439&client=0-189-12314-232872-17885835&ocompID=95997

They went 16 in front two minutes into the fourth and Brisbane didn't get it below 13 until two minutes remaining.

So far, it's seemed that coaches are paying close attention to margins due to the head-to-head rule change. Could keep the stars in longer at the end of games but limit opportunities for scrubs?

Coaches played the margins plenty in previous years, they only ever became an afterthought in the fourth game where a series was 3-0, or when teams were at the opposite end of the ladder.

In any event, either Cooke isn't a scrub and they need to get him minutes at some point, or he is a scrub and I refer back to my original point.

"They haven't had Matty Knight all pre-season either, but he was on the court much earlier and on pace to play significantly more minutes than Cooke before he got injured."

Clutching at straws now Kobes, Knight has been there seven years, he can slot in a lot easier than a bloke who's never played a game with the team!

DKD didn't even hit the court.

Koberulz is just mad an import didn't score

It may not have met the technical definition of a blow-out, but the game was done early, and the Cats took their foot off the gas.

And for what its worth, Kobe is right, Cooke didn't show much, not what you'd expect from an import.
All the reasons people have given are valid, and that explains why he didn't play 30 minutes for 20 points, but ideally you'd still want to see more potential from an import.

Its fantastic that we are getting such phenomenal value out of Waxy, Brandt just continues to impress, and Wagstaff was a quiet achiever off the bench. So sure, maybe we don't need a superstar in that import role, but its still important.

As most have said, wait and see I guess.

If Perth can get 8 and 5 from him thats ok

Well he'll probably get his chance as Knight is getting scans again after another head (cheek) hit.

Knight would be justified in calling it a day imo. He has done enough and concussions are NO laughing matter

If Knight cannot play much more, Brandt needs to improve his scoring. 3 from 9 and all from 4 feet or less is not really good enough considering Kickert was defending. Can't see Cooke doing much offensively either.

10:33, 0/1 FG, 1 rebound, 2 steals, 1 foul, 1 turnover.

Would Perth be better replacing Cooke with McKay?

The Wildcats are deep across 4 and 5 spots but you don't sign an import to play them 5 mins a game.
Better off giving a young local those minutes.
Was good to see DKD get a run

I'm still hopeful Cooke will have a breakout game, then there is always the chance of a Knight injury or Brandt in foul trouble.

you don't sign an import to play them 5 mins a game.

I think the point is pretty obvious.
He's an import.
We don't know that he is necessarily "cheap" but even if so, he's a hired gun, you expect big things, otherise whats the point?

No good saying "oh he'll get more minutes when Knight is injured," if he's not good enough. For what we're seeing they'd be better off getting minutes into Vague.

Keep in mind that this is Perth we're talking about. Last year we had a 2/3 who found himself behind Prather, Hire, and Kenny in the pecking order, and look how that turned out. And Trev will keep backing him in, right up to the moment they put him on the plane home.

U can sign an import to play 5 minutes.

Just because it's not the norm doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it.

This Anon got it right.

"Last year Redhage was the "spare parts man" and generally wouldn't play many minutes. Most assumed Walker would take that role this year, with Cooke slotting into McKay's minutes. But because Walker is playing better than expected, he is seeing more minutes. Something has to give and Cooke is not playing as well as the rest so his minutes aren't as high. And that will remain the case whilst the others are playing better than him"

19:06, 4/6 FG, 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 4 fouls, 1 turnover, 1 block.

Certainly a much better outing, and he ended up playing almost as many minutes as the previous two games combined, but it still took until halfway through the third for him to get on the floor.

He showed enough glimpses to me defensively in those 6 minutes to show he is a legitimate rim protector in this league.

He left a shooter wide open on the perimeter and a big wide open under the basket on the same play. That level of incompetence is almost impressive.

Cooke goes back to guard Johnson, Hire switches out to Coenraad, Cooke then changes his mind and takes Coenraad as well.

I'm disinclined to give him the benefit of the doubt, because that's pretty much par for the course with his off-ball defence all year.

Cooke never engaged back to Johnson, he was in a position to help inside or close out Coenraad.

On the surface, it was a good defensive play, however given you'd expect Hire to know the defensive schemes inside out you'd think Cooke made the wrong play (even if Hire was in a poor position to get back to Coenraad).

That suggests he might be a slow learner and probably explains why he is being eased into minutes.

He lost Johnson simple. Over-committed helping Cotton, late getting back into position and got flustered.

Maybe a slow learner but definitely lacking awareness.

He didn't overcommit to Cotton, it was a hard show to force him from the basket and/or give up the ball. The Wildcats were expecting rotations, Cooke just didn't rotate the way Hire (and hence probably the team) expected him too.

Cooke never engaged back to Johnson, he was in a position to help inside or close out Coenraad.

He still deserves more of a run than getting benched for a whole game for one breakdown.

The overreaction to one play here is laughable.

This thing happens all the time with experienced players.

Might as well put up the clip of Martin getting crossed over by conger.

Players have brain farts, it's not exclusive to Cooke.

Part of him being here is development. Cats have that luxury, unlike Sydney.

People expecting every import to be Cotton/Tokoto.

Cooke is playing his role fine given his minutes.

That suggests he might be a slow learner and probably explains why he is being eased into minutes.

He was almost to the halfway line paul! That's way over the top if you're going to fake-switch.

He was late getting there (because he'd got lost on an earlier screen), so he had to go out that far to contain the ball.

Hire started moving out as soon as Cooke got within range. Hire was clearly only ever intending to help until Cooke recovered, it wasn't a switch.

They don't happen 'frequently' when Cooke is on the bench.

If I'd kept the footage of the earlier games I could put together a compilation of about a dozen instances of Cooke getting completely lost on defence, which is a lot given he's barely played.

Hire's playing a help role covering two players, bumps the cutter, and recovers to his man after Cooke gets back to the paint.

Cooke wanders off for no reason.

Huh?

You're a flog!

4 ppg and 2.8 reb a game most imports would be on the plane already.

Let's not forget that Cooke hasn't played many minutes with these guys.

As per the footage posted above, Tokoto wasn't on the court. So I'm not sure how he "just about killed him on the next play".

And given your inaccuracy with that statement, I'm disinclined to give you the benefit of the doubt about how his defensive play is normally, particularly given you're unable to back up your claims with footage.

Clearly was not near enough.

Wildcats are negotiating with McKay and once they agree on $$$ then you'll find Cooke with be replaced.

Have to chuckle at anyone who thinks that play was cut and dried without knowing what defensive set the Cats were in and what was said between Hire and Cooke.

If you're just looking at the play, sure, it's pretty close to 50-50 (although just eyeballing it makes me lean towards Cooke as being in error). When you take into account Cooke's horrendous off-ball defense, Gleeson's refusal to put Cooke in for any length of time, Cooke being benched three or four possessions later, and Hire having spent a decade in the Wildcats system and proven himself worth of minutes, it seems highly unlikely to have been Hire's fault.

He would be safe now.

Well he managed to forget to sub in...

Knight's retirement puts him on pretty shaky ground.

Lucas Walker and Rhys Vague have played clutch minutes at centre the last couple of games.

No so safe now

Dare I say it, he's Cooked.

I agree with the decision to get Steindl. If he can get back to his best form, he can be a great scoring option off the bench.

But up against a big touch team like the breakers, with Brandt in foul and injury trouble, Cooke was found out.

And no, this isn't a "typical kneejerk Perth reaction, we lost lets sack somebody." As this thread attests, there have been questions over him since the beginning.
Sure he's shown what he can do coming on in junk-time against beaten opponents and 2nd stringers.
But Perth expect and need more from their imports.

I don't imagine they will rush to sack him, but I'm sure they've got their eye on a few guys playing around Turkey, etc, and will watching with interest anybody that parts ways.

McKay was also actually good.

McKay and Cooke are similar players, except that McKay can actually play at this level.
Whether we might prefer somebody bigger, is probably moot. They'll be looking at who's available (or becomes available.)

The rumours and counter-rumours surrounding McKay are interesting, but I imagine Trev will be keeping an eye on a number of players around the traps.

If he knew how to feed assists to Grace then I think that says more about the Perth stats bench than the offensive sets :p

It's remarkable how much things change with the retirement of Knight. Suddenly Cooke goes from being a luxury third option as a big who provides good energy and hustle, to needing to be relied upon especially if Brandt finds himself in foul trouble.

I believe Steindl was the right pick the Cats bench desperately needs offensive spark that only Wagstaff provides.

Cooke has been exposed and would have been safe if Knight was still there.
All imports come with expectations and if Perth or any other club (Sydney) need to make changes then so be it.

Heal is right Perth need a dominant 4/5 man. Lucas Walker is better suited to the bench.

Perth haven't had a dominant 4/5 man in this era, have they? Knight was a gun, but not a dominant force, he just did his job exceptionally well.

I think they need an excellent role player who rebounds, defends, sets screens and finishes around the hoop.

Mike Dunigan?

Greg Hire suggested in the latest Wildcats podcast that Mike Dunigan approached him / the Wildcats about making a come back.

I reckon Dunigan fits my description pretty well, as does McKay. Either would be a good pick-up.

mckay please

id still start Waxy and have McKay come off the bench for Brandt

Cooke the rook came in shook. It doesn't take much of a look to see that his play still ain't textbook.

McKay may come in and slay, however a word of warning. They still need shooters, like a Maher, Rillie or Ng.

Haha, but 'or Ng' rhymes with 'warning'

Oh damn

I think the correct pronunciation of Darren's last name was more 'ung'

Regardless of pronunciation...

He's now Doctoring

Stupid article.
Snapping up Steindl was no-brainer. Pool of available local talent is limited.

Cooke's job was always to replace Knight. Who's going to waste an import spot on a 3rd stringer? Certainly not the wildcats.

Cats need somebody who can not only sub Brandt, but at times play alongside him.
McKay is definitely a better player than Cooke, but I'm he's not the only one out there.

Watch this space.

Cooke Jnr has had a great first quarter. Staying out of foul trouble and has energy.

Cooke looks to be playing the McKay role just as well as McKay if not better

Only issue is Knight is out of the equation so they need better than Mckay did

Safe for now you'd think

Well it took him all of pre-season and 10 games for his breakout? Is this going to be normal or just a flash in the pan?

Hang on, to be fair he missed a chunk of pre-season didn't he? Though he must have attended every practice sessions.

Perth Wildcats import Derek Cooke earns praise of coach Trevor Gleeson after massive game against Melbourne United

"Cooke looks to be playing the McKay role just as well as McKay if not better"

McKay was one of the better defenders in the league, had a good nose for the game at that end. He was one of the most underrated players in the league last year.

Cooke is a very different type of player, not a natural defender probably from taking the game up late, but he has some freaky offensive skills for a guy of his size.

He has huge potential and is a super strong body. He'll hurt them with dumb mistakes but also help with his big frame and athleticism.

Cooke is more active on the glass,and at the other end if he can develop a couple of effective moves he could be devastating going on the drive. Cos he has the quickness to be able to step around people. Just needs to develop better footwork

Yesterday Boone wasn't as effective on the rolls after Cooke came on for Brandt. Not as good a positional defender as McKay perhaps but his athleticism is huge

Not easy to admit Koberulz is right.
Cooke is shit.

Cooke played better than Brandt, who's been very average the last three games

Difference is that chances of replacing Brandt are practically nil, and in the long-term its not something you'd want to do.

But the options to replace imports are plentiful.

And lets be honest, every time you say "Cooke," you might as well say "Jarron Johnson." We had all the same arguments last season.

Cooke is an ok player, and if he was a local you'd be dead chuffed to have him on your team.
Or, we're seen other teams with a stacked local line-up use imports as role players or for spark of the bench. When Brandt was on-fire and we still had Knight, that looked like it might work for us too.
Now? Not so much. We've replaced a 4/5 with a struggling 2/3.

Don't take this the wrong way, I'm not being arrogant just realistic. If this were Cairns or Hawks, you'd make do with Cooke, and probably seriously look at keeping him next season if the price was right.
But how much do you figure the Johnson/Ingram/Johnson/Cotton hoopla cost them?
And on the back of record memberships, how much do ya reckon they might spring for in pursuit of a 3-peat.

Hope you're correct #118.
Its not all about Cooke though Wagstaff and Steindl in particular need to step up especially in Martins absence

Not sure what part of Cooke being an import people don't understand? Yes, given the opportunity, there's a couple of guys on the bench you'd want to swap, but for whom?
For prospective bench players, you've got a handful of aussies bumming around the bush leagues of the world, or maybe you go for a young guy ex-college.
As for looking for another starting centre, thats certainly one good option, but finding an Aussie will be tough. You'd be looking at Motum or picking up a young turk ex-college.

"Willy Nilly"?
Point is simple.
(Assuming in both cases the team wanted to)
Swapping out an under-performing local player (as some have suggested should be the priority) is problematic in a number of ways. There's just not that many floating around. Steindl was around, but that hasn't really paid off yet.
Imports are by their nature hired guns. Particularly those on the fringes of the European comps are accustomed to short-term gigs. The idea of coming in for the last 3rd of a season to help a team win a championship is not a big deal.

You've got to keep in mind, that when the points system was abolished and the new floppy cap introduced. A lot of teams went down the path of chasing top-end Aussie talent, with the intention of using imports as role-players and/or keeping an import slot in reserve.
Marvin's doctrine, which is still in effect, was that it was cheaper and more viable to buy quality imports. The Wildcats actually lost their local Marquee in Jawai and replaced him with an import.

Anons above are correct in that the quality of any new import needs to justify the disruption.

Wildcats fast running out of time if they are going to make an import change.
Melbourne and NZ look better with recent import additions

Doubt it's going to happen, but I've seen no reason to retract anything I said about him.

How odd Koberulz would have this sort of knee jerk reaction, the type he gets on other about ALL the time. I saw today he was having a twitter laugh at the 36ers fans wanting Shorter gone after one game. Yet here he is doing the same... after one game FFS

Just gonna wait for Koberulz to rebut this thread like he does every single other one with the ol copy paste syndrome. Or is he going to just go into hiding?

You were actually right Koberulz.

I'm not sure you can blame Georgiu. I doubt they'd have moved Johnson last year were it not for the failed drug test. Whether it's Gleeson or a result of the import merry-go-round of last season, I'm not sure Marvin would have handled it any differently.

Lookin' like straight bozos
I saw it comin', that's why I went solo