The Purchase has been made – Jack Purchase has signed with the Perth Wildcats
Jack Purchase has signed with the Perth Wildcats
Jack Purchase has signed with the Perth Wildcats for the next Two Seasons.
As I first reported yesterday, Purchase will be joining the Cats on their main roster for the upcoming NBL Season.
Purchase has had stints at Melbourne United as a Developmental Player in the 2019/20 NBL Season and at the Adelaide 36ers as an injury replacement player during last season.
The 6’9 Forward will provide great depth for the Wildcats’ Big Man stocks as they look to complete their roster in the coming weeks.
Purchase, who played college ball at Auburn and Hawaii, is an amazing shooter for his size which will play into the Wildcats favour.
He will assist in filling the hole of Jesse Wagstaff as the ageing Club Legend and 6x Champion is coming to the close of his career.
Recently playing in the NBL1 South for the Hobart Chargers, Purchase averaged 17.8 Points and 9.4 Rebounds per game with an incredible 55% from the field before the season was cut short due to Lockdowns in Victoria.
The name Purchase will be familiar in Australian basketball circles since his father Nigel played 250 games for the Melbourne Tigers and Brisbane Bullets, and his mother Simone played in the WNBL.
Purchase is also the nephew of Australian basketball Legend Andrew Gaze, who has coached Jack through the Melbourne Tigers’ State League Programs.
Purchase stated in his Announcement Press conference that Gaze had helped him with his shooting in particular.
“He helped me a lot with my technique,” Purchase said.
“He put me in the right spots in juniors to be able to succeed and he always told me to be confident with my shot.”
“One thing that always sticks with me is he says even if you’re shooting bad, it’s got to look to someone in the crowd like you’ve made all your shots. You’ve got to stay confident every time”
“I’ve been lucky to have some great coaches. I had Andrew coach me since I was a junior all the way through and my dad. They were working on my shots.”
Jack’s 206cm and 103Kg frame will be handy in the Wildcats “Position-less Basketball” set up under their New Head Coach Scott Morrison.
“Being versatile is pretty big in today’s game, both offensively and defensively,” Morrison stated.
“I think Jack brings a lot of that to the table. I think he’s going to be a great guy to play through. We can play small with a lot of shooters out there; we can play through him as a play maker or a floor spacer.”
“I think he’s going to show he has a lot more to his game than just being a spot-up shooter which he can do quite well. He alluded to his physical improvements. That will serve him well.”
Purchase, like his Wildcats Teammates in Luke Travers and Vic Law, can play multiple positions and can help the Cats reach the Finals for a 36th Straight Season.
The NBL22 season is scheduled to start on November 18th but may be pushed back due to rising Covid Cases in New South Wales and Victoria.
He joins the Wildcats with Bryce Cotton, Mitch Norton, Todd Blanchfield, Luke Travers, Vic Law, Jesse Wagstaff, Kevin White and Majok Majok with Corey Shervill and Kyle Zunic as Developmental Players.