The Perth Wildcats are preparing to take on the Adelaide 36er’s on Friday night at Eaton Recreation Centre in their first NBL pre-season game of 2017-18.
Wildcats forward Lucas Walker says he is eagerly anticipating the match-up.
“It’s fun to have a hit out against another team and have an early indicator of where you’re at,” he said.
Following the game at Eaton, the Wildcats will travel to Margaret River, where they will again take on Adelaide on Sunday. They will then make their way to the east coast of Australia where they will continue their pre-season.
The regular NBL season will get underway for the Perth Wildcats on October 7, but all eyes will be on round three when the Cats take on Melbourne United, the team that recently signed two time Wildcats MVP Casey Prather.
The Wildcats attempted to re-sign Prather earlier this year but they were not able to match the 26-year- old's asking price.
He was tipped to sign with a European team but decided to make the shock defection to Melbourne.
“I wish Casey nothing but the best and it’s a shame that I actually didn’t get to be a teammate. I hope he does really well with Melbourne," Walker said.
"He’s been with us for two years so we have a pretty good scout on him which is good. He taught me a few things as well, I picked his brain every now and then and hopefully I can give him a bit back of his own medicine."
32-year-old Walker played two games for the Wildcats last year as an injury replacement for Matt Knight but continued to train with the squad for the remainder of the season and won the 2016-17 Coaches’ Award honours.
His commitment to the team paid off, the Wildcats offered him a contract for the upcomimg NBL season.
“Being part of the 11 this year is great, I just hope I can contribute, just help out where I can” he said.
Walker, who has previously played with the Adelaide 36ers and Melbourne United, said he was confident the Wildcats can play the same brand of basketball their fans are used to.
“We have a culture here and we’re well known around the league for the style of game we play and I don’t think anything is going to change in that regard. If we play Wildcats basketball I don’t think we’ll have any issues and we’ll be another tough team to beat again this year," he said.
It comes as the Wildcats look to secure another import after new US import Devondrick Walker suffered a foot injury during training.
The Perth Wildcats lost to Adelaide in a pre-season match in Bunbury last year 84-79.
