Hard-man Brown heeds call to stay
Veteran American hard man Andre Brown is all but certain to see out the season with the Perth Wildcats after verbally agreeing to extend his short-term contract with the club.
Brown initially signed as a replacement for injured first-choice centre Matt Knight, who will miss at least another month with a torn calf muscle.
But with co-captain Shawn Redhage suffering a career-threatening dislocated left hip in last week's loss away to Adelaide, a setback that will sideline him for at least the rest of this season, Brown has been offered the chance to stay.
Redhage remains in Adelaide and will miss his first game since joining the Wildcats in 2005 when they take on the 36ers in a return clash at Challenge Stadium tonight.
He will spend three months on his back recovering before a long rehabilitation program.
Coach Rob Beveridge said extending Brown's deal was a formality.
"We met with Andre yesterday and had a very positive conversation," Beveridge said.
"He's very keen (to stay). He loves it here, loves how he's fitted in and how we've opened our arms to him.
"He's loving the lifestyle in Perth and it was a very easy conversation.
"We put it to him and he said 'yep, I definitely want to be here', so now we've just got to go through all the paperwork with his agent."
The future is not so rosy for Ater Majok, who was brought in on a similar deal to Brown as a replacement for injured forward Jesse Wagstaff last month.
The Sudanese-born centre was read the riot act and barred from training on Thursday after missing a compulsory weights session earlier in the day.
Majok was given the chance to make amends and apologised to the team at a bonding session on Thursday night before impressing at Wildcats training yesterday.
However, Beveridge is yet to be convinced Majok is fully committed to the team.
He will play tonight, but has been warned that he must be mentally focused after being accused by his coach of being "away with the fairies" in recent games.
"We made a statement to him and also the other players that this is our expectation," Beveridge said. "Tomorrow night we're out to win. He's had his punishment and (his attitude) will determine how much he plays."
The Wildcats are yet to beat Adelaide in two encounters this season and have placed a strong emphasis on improving their defensive transition.
Last year's wooden spooners are battling to keep their play-offs dream alive with a 7-10 record and are yet to win in six games on the road this season.
Luke Schenscher led the Townsville Crocodiles to a 71-62 home win over Gold Coast Blaze last night.
Schenscher, who top-scored with 20 points, was well supported by Peter Crawford (14 points) who hit three big three-pointers in the fourth quarter when the game was up for grabs.
In last night's other match, Cairns Taipans beat Wollongong Hawks 97-86 in a comeback win featuring 24 points from skipper Alex Loughton, 16 of which came in the final stanza.
