Perth fans Rillie hoping he does lots this season

He signed in France last month and already been released. I don't think he even played a game for them.

May not have had the role in the French club. Jaylin Adams goes from MVP in Australia to mixed success in Europe and is back here ?

Coach , position, team composition, game style etc can mean great in one situation and not-so great in another.

I wouldn't be surprised he is someone that is coming in at a lower budget with a view to build his stocks up again. Seems to have inside and outside game which Rillie likes.

More important I think the onus is on him to make it work, the cats could probably still be top 4 without him. So its an opportunity for him to maybe get a fresh start and grow like Mooney or others did in this league.

The real stars are more Cotton, Pinder, Usher and Sarr. Need good role players for the rest.

Could Sarr jump the country if he does enough within the first 10 games to cement himself as a top 5 pick?

No

Sarr's agent/group could certainly shut him down at a point. It's a risk with Next Stars - saw it with Ball (albeit with a much worse record than Perth should wind up with and no hope of finals). Sarr doesn't enter with Ball's initial status but could work his way there, especially with an apparently weak draft class

Altercation with his French league coach doesn't sound great re: Doolittle.

Did Wemby shut it down? Does been an important piece on a championship team mean more than closing it down? Interesting call. coach disagreement not great, but reality is they can run both ways and be situational and personal, clashing with one coach doesn't mean you won't fit in as an exemplary team man elsewhere. Looks to be a lengthy defender, should be able to pull down boards, very interesting signing

Did Wemby shut it down?

(and on a normal contract.)

Yeah Wemby in France in his 4th season is different scenario,

The risk is Sarr gets to a point where the downside of staying (injury, or form decline) exceed the upside (another 3 Months of NBL, potential title, or rising further up the draft ladder)

Is not a situation that's occured often as most Next Stars are 2nd round pick types, or late 1st rounders, where that upside/downside analysis is different and they'll back themselves to keep climbing the draft board

I'm excited about having a Next Star but at the same time if that were to occur then I'll be saying goodbye to the club.

Wildcats aren't a development team so if they were enablers of such a scenario then there's no point anymore.

Interesting Manek and Doolittle were teammates

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/college/sooners/2020/02/15/they-confidence-games-brady-manek-kristian-doolittles-history-teammates-helping-them-court-sooners/60373680007/

"I'm excited about having a Next Star but at the same time if that were to occur then I'll be saying goodbye to the club.

Wildcats aren't a development team so if they were enablers of such a scenario then there's no point anymore."

I've had similar discussions with various Kings members ever since Weaver came on board except about the head coach position. Winning obviously closes that discussion down, but it's a valid concern I think. There's a gamble involved with these young (international) Next Stars and as exciting as they are for the league, I always understood the Trev-era Wildcats not dipping their toes in the Next Stars waters too.

Reports today confirming that Doolittle will be available to play on Friday night against Tasmania

I've had similar discussions with various Kings members ever since Weaver came on board except about the head coach position. Winning obviously closes that discussion down, but it's a valid concern I think. There's a gamble involved with these young (international) Next Stars and as exciting as they are for the league, I always understood the Trev-era Wildcats not dipping their toes in the Next Stars waters too.

I'd argue Wildcats are/have been a development team, for locals.
Dech
Buluk
V.Gorilla
Travers

..and a slew of other young talent over the years.

We were discussing Next Stars though, not local development.

Yeah, very different phenomenon.
I definitely haven't taken for granted over the years that plenty of other clubs have dealt with mixed agendas & distractions while the Cats have been able to focus purely on winning, with a roster as stable as we wanted.
Sarr could disappear at any moment, so all we can do is accept that, and make the most of him while we have him.

"Were most fans concerned?

I do have a new appreciation for the Bendat-Gleeson era in light of this.

I can imagine a scenario in the near future where a team has both head coach and star player as one-and-done."

I don't know about most fans, but there were a number of the long-term members we sit around that didn't like the idea of having a rotating carousel of American coaches looking to use the Sydney HC spot as a stepping stone to the NBA, versus bringing in a more established local coach for a number of years and building a culture. This was when Buford was brought in for Weaver.