Usher promises big team defensive effort

Usher has already made it known he wants to win the NBL's Defensive Player of the Year award, named after club great Damian Martin, and believes the Wildcats have plenty of defensive weapons in their arsenal.

“We’ve got the guys that are needed to fit that brand of basketball,” Usher said at Monday's launch of the Wildcats Ballers Burger at Sporting Globe Floreat.

“It’s not always pretty. It’s kind of nasty sometimes but you’ve just got to have heart and thug it out at certain points and just stop another team from scoring.

“I like to talk about defence because that’s something that gets me going. To stop someone gets me going and gives me an extra bit of energy. But any time I play I will do whatever the team needs to win.

“No one likes to lose. I probably hate losing more than anybody. I know our fans want to be winners.

“The club has a story of being winners and championships. Friday is the first time we get to get in front of The Jungle, in front of the Red Army. My only option is to get a win.

“I’m excited. We’ve got a bunch of dogs. A bunch of talented guys. A bunch of guys with big personalities. Defence is just about effort. As soon as we give effort, teams are going to have a hard time scoring against us.”

Usher was one of the more consistent contributors in a successful pre-season from the Wildcats, who won seven out of eight games including all three in the recently-concluded NBL Blitz on the Gold Coast.

He said he couldn't wait for his RAC Arena debut in front of the Red Army after playing everywhere from Las Vegas to Gold Coast, Rockingham and Warwick in the lead up to round one.

Get tickets to watch the Wildcats' season opener at RAC Arena against Tasmania on Friday night here