CORBAN Wroe has been the man entrusted to step into the Perth Wildcats point guard void with injuries to Damian Martin and Jarrod Kenny, and he has no doubt leading the Stirling Senators in the SBL has helped him prepare for the responsibility.

Wroe arrived at the Wildcats last season as a development player following his college career at the University of Hartford and then a season with the Townsville Heat.

He was quickly thrown into the deep end in the NBL when Martin was injured early in the season before settling back into his role as a development player in the team that went on to win the championship.

Now again early in the 2016/17 NBL season he has been thrown right in firstly with a fractured jaw to Martin and groin injury to Kenny. Now with Martin's knee injury, Wroe will remain a key part of the Perth team trying to maintain its spot on top of the ladder.

Wroe has played significant minutes the past two weeks against Illawarra and Adelaide, and had career highs in last Saturday night's win over the 36ers with five points, five rebounds and four assists.

That has come on the back of a season in the SBL with the Senators where Wroe was the starting point guard for a team that made the playoffs, and featured current NBL player Cody Ellis and a former one in AJ Majstrovich.

Coached by Mike Ellis, Wroe enjoyed the experience at Stirling and has no doubt it helped get him ready for the NBL responsibilities that have now come his way.

"Playing under Mike was an awesome experience. He is a legend of the game and knows his stuff. He is a pretty laid back coach which was nice to have," Wroe said.

"Then playing with Cody and AJ who I only just met and I found out really quick how good a player he used to be and still is at his age. Playing in the SBL was definitely good for me especially after I didn’t play much during the NBL season.

"So to get that court time helps you refine some skills and it helps me out in that leadership role as well. Then when I came back to the Wildcats having that experience in the SBL leading a team will help me out a lot this season."

One stark difference Wroe is noticing in his time out on the floor for the Wildcats this season is the greater faith that coach Trevor Gleeson has in him.

That is helping him play with some more freedom on the floor and he remains confident the team can continue to perform even without Martin and Kenny.

"Last year I had a pretty short leash but this year it's a lot different and hearing Trev saying that he has faith in me definitely gives me confidence. It sucks sitting on the bench but now I'm getting to play you realise why you love the game and the last couple of weeks have been awesome," he said.

"Obviously when we have a full strength team we are completely different and Damo is a big part of that, but basketball is a team sport and especially at the Wildcats we have so many other factors that come into play. We have Casey (Prather), Jaron Johnson and Jameel (McKay) who are playing unbelievable right now so if they can continue playing this way and we do our jobs, we'll be fine."

Wroe has been joined in the Wildcats' team by another point guard he knows well, Jackson Hussey, who was originally signed as an injury replacement for Kenny.

That came on the back of Hussey's standout performances once he joined the Geraldton Buccaneers this past SBL season, but Wroe's relationship with him goes back much further than that.

"Me and Huss were actually at the Australian Institute of Sport together so to see him get an opportunity I'm very happy for him," Wroe said.

"He's doing well right now and I'm happy for someone who I'd class as a friend of mine from way back to get his shot in the NBL."

While Wroe is glad to be getting an opportunity in the NBL, he would rather it not come at the expense of injuries to his captain, but Martin continues to help him as much as possible.

"I love watching Damo play and I look up to him a lot as a player. I was so excited when he came back after only a week after jaw surgery but to have this happen to him is bitter sweet, but it's a great opportunity for me to show what I can do and take care of the team," he said.

"I've learned heaps from him. Everyone talks about the amazing intensity he plays with about how he never gives and I thought I was a good defensive player before I got to Perth. But you see him play and train against him and he is just at a whole other level.

"He is helping me out right now. That's important with the point guard position being a leadership role and me still being basically a rookie stepping into that, it will be tough but he's helping me out and teaching me new things every day."

Trying to stop Adelaide's Jerome Randle last Saturday night as he was on his way to a 40-point outburst wasn’t necessarily a fun experience for Wroe, but he did learn a lot from that and now he's looking forward to facing the New Zealand Breakers this Sunday at Perth Arena.

"He (Randle) is unbelievable. I have a lot of respect for him and the way he plays, especially a guy that size to be able to do some of the things he does," Wroe said.

"He is super quick and when a guy gets going like that, it's really hard to stop. I did learn a few things from that and now talking to Damo about it since with some things we could have done different might help us next time we play against them.

"They (Breakers) are a team that is playing really well right now and they've got guys like (Corey) Webster and (Kirk) Penney who can score 30 or 40 points on any given night.

"It's really about containing those guys and not letting them get going. We expect a lot of turnouts and a lot of threes so we've been practicing that all week so we can handle it."

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Sebpix Photography