Perth Wildcats coach John Rillie wants an aggressive Dylan Windler in NBL debut against South East Melbourne

Perth Wildcats import Dylan Windler is being urged to quickly slot back into the aggressive college mindset that turned him into a NBA first-round draft pick as he prepares to make his NBL debut on Friday night.

Windler only joined the Wildcats last month after more than 100 games in the NBA, but he arrived in Perth with an ankle injury and has spent limited time on court.

He will start on the bench against South East Melbourne at RAC Arena but once he comes on, coach John Rillie is determined for him to realise that the team needs him to play like one of the league’s stars.

“He’s played in the NBA for the last four years in a particular role. I want him to be more aggressive and play more how he was in college,” Rillie explained.

“So, it’s going to be a re-learning, re-calibrating thing for him to get that aggressive mindset versus running to the corner, shooting spot-up threes and then crashing and rebounding. His versatility and his skillset allows him to do a little bit more than that.

“He was needed to perform at a high level every night at the college level. His performance really drove their results to a huge degree. I want the Dylan Windler that’s an impactful player.”

The Wildcats will enter the game with a clean bill of health after an impressive pre-season where they were undefeated across eight matches.

The Phoenix made major roster changes in the off-season, adding stars Nathan Sobey, Derrick Walton Jr and experienced role players in Jordan Hunter and Angus Glover.

Coach Mike Kelly said it was important for his players to gel quickly when coming up against an extremely stable Wildcats squad that retained the majority of players from last season.

“I think we’re ready to take the next step. We are progressing from where we started with nine new players at the beginning of the pre-season, and some really key players. I think we’ve made progress the whole time, especially during the Blitz,” he said.

“It’s really good to have the guys we have and I am stoked about that. But fitting them together and figuring out how they do their best together is the puzzle.

“The Wildcats are a tough team to play against because continuity is their thing. They know what they’re on about from last year. For us it is about seeing how we get better rather than worrying too much about them.”.