Perth Wildcats Early Season Scouting Notes
A deeper look at two of Australia’s best NBA prospects.
Since the inauguration of the NBL Next Stars program, the Perth Wildcats have established fast established themselves as a premier destination of young talent on their path to the NBA.
This year is no different, as they brought back Ben Henshall, who was a last-minute withdrawal from the 2025 NBA Draft, and someone whom I had in my top 30 prospects beforehand.
They also continued their strong connection with the French youth system, signing forward Noa Kouakou-Hegue. This comes after signing Alex Sarr two seasons ago, and nearly landing Nolan Traore last season.
I’m based out of Perth myself, and have been able to take a close look at these prospects during trainings, pre-season, and now four games of regular season, two of which I was in-person for.
Here are my takeaways:
Ben Henshall
After a couple of pre-season games, and the first two games of the season, I had almost sold all my stock in Ben Henshall as an NBA player. He was completely inactive, was getting (at most) one or two chances a game to play on the ball.
This is extremely concerning, especially given how desperately Perth needs a primary ball handler, and someone to control their offense.
Even when he was off the ball, operating as a floor spacer, he spent most of his minutes stagnant in the corner, contributing to absolutely nothing.
However, in the past two games, there have been a few more positives. Wildcats coach John Rillie still isn’t giving Henshall the chance to play on the ball. With that said, there has been a conscious effort to get him more involved in the game.
Perth is running plenty of off-ball sets for Henshall to get him more involved. In particular they ran one play about fifteen times for him.
In this play, Henshall starts in the corner, runs around an off-ball screen and receives the ball in a handoff. The passer then dives to the rim, putting Henshall in a pick-and-roll-esque situation, which is where he thrives as a playmaker.
I asked Wildcats coach John Rillie about Ben Henshall’s regressed role offensively. Here’s what he had to say:
Henshall has also done well attacking closeouts the past two games, and getting to the rim, where he has improved significantly at absorbing contact.
His shooting has been a major issue thus far this season, taking a big step back from last season. Through four games, Henshall is 8/26 from the field (30.8%), and 1/11 from three (9.1%).
Frankly, I’m not uber-concerned about his shot. Last season Henshall shot 36% from three, and his shot looks improved, and his mechanics more consistent to last year.
Defensively, Henshall is still a question mark. His screen navigation is truly elite, and is probably my favourite micro-skill of his. However, when he is caught on a screen, or when the ball handler puts his body into him, he is still too weak.
His body positioning has improved, which has slightly negated the issue, but the issue still remains at large.
He does have very active hands, and does well to get into passing lanes and cause disruption, but can at times be too aggressive, and get exposed by the defense.
His defense will continue to be under a microscope for the remainder of the season, as the Wildcats have opted to use him as a point-of-attack defender when he is on the floor.
The biggest issue however isn’t even Henshall’s play; it’s how little he is getting. After averaging 24.2 minutes per game in a breakout 2024/25 campaign, Henshall played 28 minutes for the Wildcats in their season-opener. However, in the ensuing games, Henshall played 18, 13, and seven minutes.
As much as I hate to say it, as someone who was higher than Henshall than anyone else last year, I think Henshall’s NBA window may have shut. However, there is still plenty of basketball left to play.
Noa Kouakou-Hegue
Noa Kouakou-Hegue, a projected first round pick, played his first minutes for the Wildcats this weekend, clocking two minutes and a rebound. He looked good defensively, and displayed his trademark mobility, but there wasn’t a heap to read in on.
While he didn’t display it in the game, Kouakou-Hegue’s shot has dramatically improved during his time in Perth. Widely considered his swing skill, Kouakou-Hegue needed to develop his jumper if he wanted to take the NBA step, else he would be stuck as a tweeter between the power forward and center positions.
It looks as if he’s doing just that. Here’s some footage I recorded pre-game:
As you can see, his mechanics, in particular his release point, has vastly improved, and become far more consistent. His shot also seems a tad faster.
Last week, I asked John Rillie about Kouakou-Hegue’s development, and role within the team. Here’s what he had to say:
Everything I’ve heard about Kouakou-Hegue behind the scenes has been immensely positive. He’s doing a great job of maximising his growth and learning from the older players at his position.
He has had, and will continue to have the opportunity to learn from elite and seasoned pros, such as Jo Lual-Acuil Jr., Kristian Doolittle, and Jesse Wagstaff, a 15-year NBL veteran and a model professional.
While he may not get much of a chance to display anything this season on the court, I think there’s a real chance Kouakou-Hegue slowly develops in the background, and shocks some teams in pre-draft workouts nine months from now.
If not, he’ll return next season as a surefire first round selection.