Udog
Years ago
Wildcats history lesson
THE Adelaide 36ers created a monster when Perth Wildcats used the blueprint of the club's 1986 "Invincibles" to rebuild their struggling NBL club.
The Wildcats substantially improved on Adelaide’s initial model over time and today against Illawarra, start their quest for a record eighth NBL championship, while the 36ers languish far behind on four.
Perth, now in its record 31st straight finals, entered the NBL in 1982, the same season as Adelaide.
“I knew what I had to do,” Bruton recalls with fondness, having played on Brisbane’s runner-up to that team.Full story (from Feb 2017)
“I looked at Adelaide’s 1986 team and said 'that’s our blueprint’ for success.
“The Wildcats’ owner at the time, Bob Williams, recruited me to build a championship team so I took a leaf out of Adelaide’s book.”
Bruton recruited frontcourt import duo James Crawford and Kendall “Tiny” Pinder as his foils for Adelaide’s rebounding beasts Mark Davis and Bill Jones.
He had himself to match up against old friend and adversary Al Green, with Alan Black and Mike Ellis as his answers for Darryl Pearce.
