‘We all want him back’: Senators coach and Wildcats great Mike Ellis has message for injured Geraldton Buccaneer Liam Hunt

Australian basketball legend Mike Ellis was more interested in medical terms and an opposition star than ball talk, when contacted about the Warwick Senators’ visit to Geraldton on Saturday. “Don’t worry about how we’re going . . . how’s Liam doing?” were the opening words of the man who led the Perth Wildcats out of the wilderness three decades ago. Ellis, captain of the back-to-back NBL-winning Wildcats in 1990 and 91, was inquiring into the condition of Liam Hunt, the Buccaneer who seriously injured a knee in a West Coast Classic match against Rockingham a fortnight ago. Hunt, who was bound for competition overseas, could be sidelined until 2022. His injuries, suffered after a player fell on Hunt when he had landed badly from a lay-up, were described as “train like”. “The doctors have told me they think I’ve torn my PCL (posterior cruciate ligament) and ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and snapped a nerve,” Hunt told The Geraldton Guardian the following day. “It’s really put a dampener on my plans for the next year.” Ellis, coach of the Senators, said the injury to Hunt was a “big loss” to basketball. “He’s a great kid, good for the Buccs, good for the game. We all want him to come back from this,” he added. And even though they are driving, the Senators’ trip to Geraldton will be more like a “fly-in fly-out” exercise. “We’ve got some of our squad playing D-League in Perth on Sunday, so we have to get back early,” Ellis said. “Originally, we were scheduled to play at noon but we’ve got that put back a few hours. “Last year, we had the D-League game in Gero pre the SBL match but the country teams are not in the competition this year.” Ellis said the WCC was a good “fill-in” for the regular State Basketball League season ... and not only because his side is 3-1 after four matches. “It was so important for this competition to go ahead ... for two reasons,” Ellis said. “If there was a break of 12-18 months, some of the older fellas may not have resumed. “The other reason is to blood kids. I know we all like to win but I think bar probably one club, we are looking to the future and giving youngsters a go. “That’s what it is about. If it was a normal season, a lot of kids getting a go now wouldn’t have been. That’s good.”