Ex-Chicago Bull Luc Longley and Perth Wildcats championship coach Cal Bruton reflect ahead of HoopsFest

Before Luc Longley won a NBA championship and before Cal Bruton coach the Perth Wildcats to their first NBL title, they stumbled across each other on a hot day at Perry Lakes Stadium.

Longley was a teenager who wasn’t sure of his basketball future. Bruton was an established star who had travelled to Perth to play against the Wildcats.

That meeting started a relationship that remains strong, and they caught up at HBF Arena in Joondalup on the opening day of the Australian Under 18 Club Championships, which are part of this week’s HoopsFest basketball extravaganza.

“It was at Perry Lakes Stadium in the summertime,” Bruton recalled.

“It was hot. I walked in there and saw this big gangly kid and thought gee, he is big. So I went up to him and said let me show you a few moves.”

Longley’s father Rick played eight games for the Wildcats which meant the youngster spent a lot of time with NBL players. But he said having an opposition star take an interest in his development had been pivotal moment in his career.

“No-one was picking me to go to the NBA,” Longley said.

“I was a skinny, surfer, hippie kid. I used to go down and watch the Wildcats train because my old man was on the squad for a minute.

“I played cone drills with him (Bruton) while he dribbled around me an scored. My first memories of Cal were being a superstar who was in Perth and would take time to hang out and teach a 14-year-old kid how to play the game. They’re fond memories and he’s been great for the game. He certainly was great for me in the early days.”

The pair ended up representing Australia together before Longley went to college in America and then became the first Aussie to play in the NBA. Bruton later became Wildcats’ coach and attempted to persuade Longley to play for the club instead of moving to the US, but said the star centre clearly made the right choice.

HoopsFest will see every NBL and WNBL team competing in Perth and Longley said having Bruton in Perth showed the power of the event.

“Try going to a basketball event without bumping into Cal,” he said.

“You can spot him. He’s around. He’s got kids in the game. He’s got history in the game. It’s good to see Cal in WA to binge some basketball with me and with everybody else It’s going to be all you can eat.”