John Peter Rillie (born 4 November 1971) is an Australian

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach and former player. He currently serves as head coach of the

Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at RAC Arena, known colloquially as "The Jungle". Aft ...

of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played 16 seasons in the NBL between 1995 and 2010 before embarking on a coaching career in the United States' college system.

Early life

Rillie was born in

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. Growing up in Toowoomba, he played

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

and

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

. He attended Harristown State High School.

College career

Rillie moved to the United States in 1991 to play

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athle ...

for

Tacoma Community College Tacoma Community College (TCC) is a public community college in Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, ...

. In 1992, he transferred to Gonzaga, where he played the next three years. During his three seasons with the Bulldogs, he helped lead the team to the

1994 National Invitation Tournament The 1994 National Invitation Tournament was the 1994 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Of note, in Kansas State's 115–77 victory over Fresno State in the quarterfinals, Askia Jones of Kansas State set the NCAA postsea ...

and the school's first berth in the NCAA tournament in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake stri ...

Professional career

After graduating college, Rillie returned to Australia and debuted in the National Basketball League (NBL) during the 1995 season with the

Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to the league in 2016. Brisbane were one of ten NBL fo ...

, where he won NBL Rookie of the Year. He joined the

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

and played three seasons for them, winning a

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

. For the

1998–99 NBL season The 1998–99 NBL season was the 21st season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 11 teams contested the league. This season marked the first summer season for the NBL. The Townsville Suns were renamed the Townsville Crocod ...

, Rillie joined the West Sydney Razorbacks. During the 1999 and 2000 off-seasons, he played for the Penrith Panthers in the SEABL. After four seasons with the Razorbacks and a grand final appearance in 2001–02, Rillie moved to Greece for the 2002–03 season to play for

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...

. He returned to Australia in December 2002 and re-joined the Razorbacks. On 1 March 2003, he scored 45 points and made eleven 3-pointers in a 113–102 win over the

Canberra Cannons The Canberra Cannons are a defunct basketball team that competed in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL). They went into financial administration in 2003 and were relocated to Newcastle, where they became the Hunter Pirates. After thi ...

. His 23.6 points per game during the

2002–03 NBL season The 2002–03 NBL season was the 25th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 11 teams contested the league. Regular season The 2002–03 regular season took place over 22 rounds between 2 October 2002 and 1 March 2003. ...

earned him the scoring title. He had another 45-point game during the semi-finals of the

2003–04 NBL season The 2003–04 NBL season was the 26th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 12 teams contested the league. This season marked the first NBL season that featured the New Zealand Breakers, the first New Zealand team in ...

. That season, he was named All-NBL First Team and helped the Razorbacks reach the grand final. Between 2004 and 2009, Rillie played for the

Townsville Crocodiles The Townsville Crocodiles were an Australian professional men's basketball team based in the North Queensland city of Townsville. They competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at the Townsville Entertainme ...

. On 18 February 2009, he scored 34 points and made ten 3-pointers in the Crocodiles' 103–96 win over the

in the elimination final. His final season in the NBL came in 2009–10 with the

New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Sky Sport Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at ...

. He was limited to 12 games. In 481 NBL games, Rillie averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

National team career

From 1997 to 2004, Rillie was a member of the

Australian Boomers The Australian men's national basketball team, known as the Boomers after the slang term for a male kangaroo, represents Australia in international basketball competition. Since the late 1980s, Australia has been placed among the world elite ...

. He represented Australia at the

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Coaching career

In 2010, Rillie returned to the United States and during the 2010–11 season, he served as the director of basketball operations for the

Boise State Broncos The Boise State Broncos are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Boise State University, located in Boise, Idaho. The Broncos compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Mo ...

. In 2011, Rillie was appointed an assistant coach of the Broncos, a position he held for six seasons. In 2017, he was hired as an assistant coach for the

UC Santa Barbara Gauchos The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos are the intercollegiate athletic teams who represent the University of California, Santa Barbara. Referred to in athletic competition as ''UC Santa Barbara'' or ''UCSB'', the Gauchos participate in 19 NCAA Division I ...

. After his first season with the Gauchos, he was promoted to associate head coach. The 2021–22 season was his fifth with the Gauchos and fourth as associate head coach. Rillie was an assistant coach for the

at the Tokyo Olympics in July and August 2021, helping guide the Boomers to the bronze medal. On 11 July 2022, Rillie was appointed head coach of the

of the NBL on a three-year contract.

Personal life

Rillie and his wife Heidi have three children. Heidi is American but holds dual Australian citizenship. Their children were all born in Australia.

References

External links

NBL player profile

UC Santa Barbara Gauchos coach profile

Boise State Broncos coach profile

"Q & A: Boise State's John Rillie"
at nbl.com.au {{DEFAULTSORT:Rillie, John 1971 births Living people AEK B.C. players Adelaide 36ers players Australian men's basketball players Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States Australian expatriate basketball people in Greece Australian expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Boise State Broncos men's basketball coaches Brisbane Bullets players Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States New Zealand Breakers players Olympic basketball players of Australia Perth Wildcats coaches Sportspeople from Toowoomba Shooting guards Townsville Crocodiles players UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball coaches West Sydney Razorbacks players