在海裡飛翔的魚

Guard Brad Robbins has been signed to a full playing contract with the red-hot Perth Wildcats and will play in tonight’s season opener against the Singapore Slingers.

The upgrading from a development player to a full contract means that he is as eligible to play games for the Cats as any other contracted player.

The feisty guard, already nicknamed ‘Angry Ant’ by supporters for his unbelievable defensive pressure and who gained a cult following when the team was in Taiwan, is sure to become a crowd favourite as he gives his all in his minutes on court.

The 21- year-old, who played for Cairns a couple of years ago, had a year away from the NBL, but decided to try his luck with the league again this season and is obviously thrilled with the results.

“I’ve been working hard in the off-season, and Scott (Fisher, coach) said to me ‘hang in there and keep working hard, and good things may come of it’, and they certainly have,” he said.

“I probably didn’t expect them to happen this quickly, but I feel I’ve had a really good preseason, and I’ve worked hard and I’m in good shape.

“I had a year off and at the end of that year I thought ‘I have to make a decision here, whether I’m really going to give it a crack and try and break back into the NBL, and this is just another step closer, really.”

Robbins said he brings several elements to the Wildcats lineup.

“I think youth is one of my biggest assets, meaning I can come off the bench and bring a lot of energy to the group.

And one of biggest assets is my defence, so my main goal for the year is to bring a spark, bring an energy to the group that’s on the floor.

“If the ball’s there, I go straight at the ball, and whoever’s there, well bad luck,” he said with a laugh. “That’s definitely something that I’ll bring to the group, and I think that inspires the team to get into it a bit more.”

And Perth is a good fit for the former Victorian.

“I love Perth. My girlfriend is from Perth – we’ve been together now for three years – and I’d say this is where we’ll end up.

“I really do enjoy Perth. I enjoy the club, the guys are just unbelievable, there’s not one guy in the team I could say a bad word about.

“They’re all very encouraging – you’ve got veterans like Tony Ronaldson and Paul Rogers, and they’re forever giving you feedback on how you’re going, and ways you can improve, so I love it.”

Coach Scott Fisher said he was rapt to be able to add Robbins to the full roster.

“He’s a true point guard, so he gives us some more depth in that position, which is important for any team,” he said.

“He also brings a huge amount of energy and physical toughness, and just fantastic enthusiasm – something any coach in any sport wants, and he’s got truckloads of it.”

轉自伯斯山貓官網