Greg Hire

Greg Hire
Hire in March 2017
No. 4 – Perth Wildcats
Position Small forward / Shooting guard
League NBL
Personal information
Born (1987-09-19) 19 September 1987
Perth, Western Australia
Nationality Australian
Listed height 201 cm (6 ft 7 in)
Listed weight 99 kg (218 lb)
Career information
High school Woodvale Senior
(Perth, Western Australia)
College
NBA draft 2010 / Undrafted
Playing career 2010–present
Career history
2005–2012 Wanneroo Wolves
2010–present Perth Wildcats
2016 Joondalup Wolves
2018 Rockingham Flames
Career highlights and awards

Greg Hire (born 19 September 1987) in an Australian professional basketball player for the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (NBL). He started out as a development player with the Wildcats in 2010 before earning a full-time contract in 2011. He has since won three NBL championships with the Wildcats.

Junior career

Hire is a product of the Wanneroo Wolves and came through that district before moving to the United States for a successful college career, firstly at Miles Community College, and then Augusta State University, where he graduated from in 2010 before returning full-time to Perth. He represented Western Australia at both the under-18 and under-20 national championships and was named the SBL Most Improved Player with Wanneroo in 2006. He then attended Miles Community College from 2006 to 2008 and then finished his college career at Augusta State. He helped Augusta State win the Peach Belt regular season championship and the Peach Belt Tournament in 2009, and then in 2010 again led them to the Peach Belt East Division regular season championship as well as the Peach Belt Tournament semi finals. He was also part of the Augusta State team that advanced to the NCAA Division 2 Final Four in 2009 and then the Elite Eight in 2010.[1]

Hire played for the Wanneroo Wolves in the State Basketball League (SBL) every year between 2005 and 2012. In August 2011, Hire guided the Wolves to the SBL Championship after recording 31 points and 28 rebounds in the SBL Grand Final against the Perry Lakes Hawks, earning Grand Final MVP honours.[2]

Professional career

Perth Wildcats (2010–present)

Early years (2010–2013)

In August 2010, Hire signed with the Perth Wildcats as a development player for the 2010–11 NBL season.[3] He made his NBL debut on 5 November 2010, recording two personal fouls in just over two minutes of action in a 91–85 win over the Townsville Crocodiles. On 12 February 2011, he had a season-best game with five points and six rebounds against the Wollongong Hawks. In 13 games for the Wildcats in 2010–11, Hire averaged 1.3 points and 1.2 rebounds per game.[4]

In August 2011, Hire signed a full-time contract with Wildcats for the 2011–12 NBL season.[5] The Wildcats reached the 2012 NBL Grand Final series, where they defeated 2–1 by the New Zealand Breakers. In 31 appearances, Hire averaged 2.7 points and 1.6 rebounds, but stood up when it counted in pressure moments especially during the Finals.[1]

In May 2012, Hire re-signed with the Wildcats for the 2012–13 NBL season.[6] Hire was promoted to the team's starting five and the club's leadership group during the 2012–13 season.[7] On 8 February 2013, he recorded a career-high 14 rebounds in a 73–67 win over the Adelaide 36ers.[8] Hire's 2012–13 season featured improvements in all statistical areas and included his first double-double effort, which he nearly converted into a rare triple-double in Game 1 of the Wildcats' semi-final series against the Wollongong Hawks.[7] He had 10 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in a 93–65 win.[9] The Wildcats went on to reach the 2013 NBL Grand Final series, where they were defeated 2–0 by the Breakers. Hire averaged 4.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game during the season, with his playing minutes more than doubling from 2011–12.[7]

2013–14 season: First Championship

On 9 May 2013, Hire re-signed with the Wildcats on a three-year deal.[10] On 21 February 2014, in an 87–75 win over the Melbourne Tigers, Hire played his 100th NBL game.[11][12] He helped the Wildcats reach their third straight NBL Grand Final, where they defeated the Adelaide 36ers 2–1 to win the NBL Championship. Hire appeared in all 33 games for the Wildcats in 2013–14, averaging 4.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.[13]

2014–15 season: Injury-riddled season

On 14 October 2014, Hire was ruled out for six weeks after tearing his left calf muscle at training the day before.[14] He returned to action on 16 January 2015 against the Adelaide 36ers,[15][16] but was later ruled out of the Wildcats' crucial Game 2 semi-final clash against the Cairns Taipans.[17] With Shawn Redhage also out, the Wildcats were swept 2–0 by the Taipans to bow out of the finals.[18] He played in a career-low 11 games in 2014–15, averaging 3.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.[19]

2015–16 season: Second Championship

Having played power forward in college and with Wanneroo, and back-up small forward for the majority of his Wildcats tenure, Hire shifted to a shooting guard role in 2015–16 after the Wildcats went with a bigger front court. With the addition of Nathan Jawai at centre, it moved Matthew Knight to power forward, Shawn Redhage to small forward, and Hire to shooting guard. Hire averaged 16 minutes per game over the Wildcats' first 10 games to begin the 2015–16 season, averaging a serviceable 4.3 points per game off the bench. During this stretch, he recorded a season-best game with 13 points and 11 rebounds against the Illawarra Hawks on 25 October, recording two three-pointers on the game, including a clutch triple late in the fourth quarter to help the Wildcats to a 106–99 come-from-behind win.[20] However, following this 10-game stretch, he averaged just under nine minutes per game over the next six games, dropping out of coach Trevor Gleeson's regular rotation. His minutes remained steady over the Wildcats' five-game road trip during December, a stretch that saw them drop from 11–5 to 13–8. In the team's first home game of 2016 on 15 January, Hire grabbed his 500th career rebound,[21] finishing the game with seven boards and helping the Wildcats snap a three-game losing streak with a 95–68 win over the Sydney Kings.[22]

On 15 January, with starting small forward Casey Prather out injured, Hire scored a career-high 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting and 3-of-4 from three-point range in an 84–74 win over the Cairns Taipans.[23] He finished the regular season in good form, averaging 9.8 points and 4.6 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game over the final five games, helping the Wildcats claim a spot in the post-season for a 30th straight season. Sitting in second spot with an 18–10 record, the Wildcats faced the Illawarra Hawks in the semi-finals, defeating them 80–68 in Game 1. Hire went on to play his 150th game for the Wildcats in Game 2 of the series,[24] a game the Wildcats lost 104–87.[25] With a Game 3 win over the Hawks, the Wildcats moved on to face the New Zealand Breakers in the 2016 NBL Grand Final series. They went on to defeat the Breakers 2–1 to claim their seventh NBL Championship, while Hire claimed his second title in three years.[26] While his role and playing time was inconsistent in 2015–16, Hire still managed to appear in all 34 games for the Wildcats and averaged 3.3 points and 3.2 rebounds in 12 minutes per game.

On 28 April 2016, Hire signed with the Joondalup Wolves for the rest of the 2016 State Basketball League season, returning to the Wolves for the first time since 2012.[27] On 17 June, he had a 34-point, 11-rebound performance in a 104–98 loss to the Willetton Tigers.[28] Hire appeared in Game 1 of the Wolves' quarter-final series against the Stirling Senators but missed the rest of the finals with a right finger injury.[29] The Wolves made it to the SBL Grand Final in 2016, but without Hire, they were defeated by the Cockburn Cougars.

2016–17 season: Third Championship

Hire in March 2017, at the Wildcats' championship ceremony. Hire is affectionately known by fans of the Wildcats as the 'Mayor of Wanneroo'.[7][30]

On 6 June 2016, Hire re-signed with the Wildcats on a two-year deal.[31] Over the course of the 2016–17 season, Hire averaged roughly 15 minutes per game in a solid back-up swingman role, but over his first 23 games of the season, he managed just one double-digit scoring game. With the Wildcats coming into Round 18 in fifth place with a 12–12 record, Hire exploded in their game against the last-placed Brisbane Bullets on 3 February 2017. In just under 20 minutes off the bench, he scored a career-high 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting with five three-pointers in a 94–63 win.[32] Coach Trevor Gleeson said of Hire after the game, "Last week I thought he might have had a bit of a breakout and I'm happy for him now because he's putting the work in. It was a great game from Greg and now the pressure's on him to keep doing it."[33] The Wildcats went on to finish the regular season in third place with a 15–13 record and made it through to the 2017 NBL Grand Final series. In the best-of-five championship series, the Wildcats were successful in sweeping the Illawarra Hawks 3–0 to claim back-to-back championships, with Hire collecting his third title.[34][35] In 32 games on the season, Hire averaged 3.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.

2017–18 season

The Wildcats started the season 10–3, as they sat atop the ladder following Round 9. On 16 December 2017, against the Brisbane Bullets at Perth Arena, Hire played his 200th game for the Wildcats. He became the 11th Wildcat to play 200 games for the club, and just the fifth West Australian.[36][37][38] On 30 December 2017, he was ruled out for three to four weeks with a low grade calf strain.[39] He missed five games with the injury before being cleared to return for the team's game against the Sydney Kings on 19 January 2018.[40] The Wildcats finished the regular season in third place with a 16–12 record, before going on to lose to the Adelaide 36ers in the semi-finals. In 23 games, Hire averaged 2.1 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.

On 17 January 2018, Hire signed with the Rockingham Flames for the 2018 SBL season.[41][42] In his debut for the Flames on 15 April 2018, Hire recorded 31 points and 23 rebounds to go with seven assists in a 111–110 overtime win over the Lakeside Lightning.[43] He was subsequently named Player of the Week for Round 5.[44] On 26 May, he recorded 26 points and 16 rebounds in a 100–94 win over the East Perth Eagles.[45] On 16 June, he scored a season-high 33 points against the Kalamunda Eastern Suns.[46] He helped the Flames finish the regular season in eighth place with a 12–14 record and helped them advance to the semi-finals after sweeping the first-seeded Geraldton Buccaneers in the quarter-finals. In Game 1 of the semi-finals against the Perry Lakes Hawks, Hire recorded 19 points and 20 rebounds in a 92–73 win.[47] The Flames went on to lose the next two games to bow out of the finals, despite Hire scoring a game-high 29 points in a 102–96 Game 3 loss.[48] In 24 games for the Flames, he averaged 18.54 points, 13.58 rebounds and 5.96 assists per game.[46]

2018–19 season

On 14 June 2018, Hire re-signed with the Wildcats.[49][50]

Personal

On 24 May 2014, Hire married long-time partner, Ainsleigh Sanders. Teammate Damian Martin was chosen by the couple as the marriage celebrant, while former Wildcats teammates Cameron Tovey and Brad Robbins were chosen as his groomsmen.[51][52]

Hire is an ambassador for the Perth-based charity, "Youth Focus". The charity offers mental health support to young people.[12][52] In December 2014, he started his own charity called "A Stitch in Time". Earlier in the year, Hire won a Pride of Australia medal after saving at least two young lives through his charity work.[53] On 1 June 2018, Hire was named the recipient of the 2018 Western Australian of the Year Youth Award, for his work with A Stitch in Time.[54]

References

  1. 1 2 "National Basketball League | Perth Wildcats: Greg Hire". NBL.com.au. Archived from the original on 25 December 2012.
  2. ↑ Winch, Nathan (28 August 2011). "Hire: Wolves coped perfectly with pressure". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  3. ↑ Leitch, Chris (27 August 2010). "Hire signs for Wildcats". CommunityNews.com.au. Joondalup Weekender. Archived from the original on 23 February 2016.
  4. ↑ "Player statistics for Greg Hire – 2010/11". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  5. ↑ "Greg Hire claims final spot on Perth Wildcats' roster". PerthNow.com.au. 11 August 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  6. ↑ "Wildcats complete 2012-13 roster". andthefoul.net. 12 May 2012. Archived from the original on 21 August 2012.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Greg Hire Re-Signs With Wildcats". SportsAustralia.com. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  8. ↑ "Perth Wildcats clinch win over Adelaide". Wildcats.com.au. 9 February 2013. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013.
  9. ↑ "Wildcats smash Wollongong in game one". Wildcats.com.au. 29 March 2013. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013.
  10. ↑ Greg Hire re-signs with Wildcats
  11. ↑ R19 Report: Classy Martin pushes Perth past Tigers
  12. 1 2 Greg Hire - 100 NBL Games
  13. ↑ Player statistics for Greg Hire – 2013/14
  14. ↑ Greg Hire to miss six weeks
  15. ↑ Greg Hire is back!
  16. ↑ Perth Wildcats defeated by Adelaide 36ers
  17. ↑ Greg Hire ruled out of semi-finals
  18. ↑ Perth Wildcats bow out of NBL Finals
  19. ↑ Player statistics for Greg Hire – 2014/15
  20. ↑ PERTH WILDCATS COME FROM BEHIND TO DEFEAT ILLAWARRA HAWKS
  21. ↑ Greg Hire just pulled down career rebound...
  22. ↑ SECOND HALF CLINIC SEES WILDCATS CRUSH KINGS
  23. ↑ PERTH WILDCATS DEFEAT TAIPANS, MAKE IT THREE-STRAIGHT
  24. ↑ GREG HIRE – 150 GAMES
  25. ↑ PERTH WILDCATS FALL TO ILLAWARRA IN GAME TWO
  26. ↑ PERTH WILDCATS – 2016 NBL CHAMPIONS
  27. ↑ Perth Wildcats' Greg Hire set for homecoming with Joondalup Wolves in SBL
  28. ↑ Tigers vs Wolves
  29. ↑ CAIRNS TAIPANS PRE-SEASON SERIES
  30. ↑ Joondalup’s Brightest Sport Stars Honoured
  31. ↑ GREG HIRE SIGNS TWO-YEAR DEAL
  32. ↑ WILDCATS CRUSH BRISBANE BULLETS
  33. ↑ KNIGHT INJURED AS ‘CATS SMASH BULLETS
  34. ↑ COTTON DROPS 45 TO COMPLETE ‘CATS GF SWEEP
  35. ↑ PERTH WILDCATS WIN BACK-TO-BACK NBL CHAMPIONSHIPS
  36. ↑ "200 games for Wildcats Warrior". Wildcats.com.au. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  37. ↑ O'Donoghue, Craig (13 December 2017). "Perth Wildcats vice-captain Greg Hire to play 200th game in NBL clash against Brisbane Bullets". TheWest.com.au. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  38. ↑ NBL (16 December 2017). "@greg4hire clocks 200 and joins some elite..." Twitter. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  39. ↑ "Greg Hire injury blow". Wildcats.com.au. 30 December 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  40. ↑ "Greg Hire cleared to return". Wildcats.com.au. 18 January 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  41. ↑ "Greg Hire To Join The Flames For 2018". SportsTG.com. 17 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  42. ↑ Salvaire, David (23 January 2018). "Hire keen to mould young Flames squad". TheWest.com.au. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  43. ↑ "Lightning vs Flames". FIBALiveStats.com. 15 April 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  44. ↑ "MSBL PLAYER OF THE WEEK – GREG HIRE (ROCKINGHAM FLAMES)". SBL.asn.au. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  45. ↑ "Eagles vs Flames". FIBALiveStats.com. 26 May 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  46. 1 2 "Player statistics for Greg Hire – SBL 2018". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  47. ↑ "SATURDAY MEN'S SBL RECAP – SEMI FINALS WEEK 1". SBL.asn.au. 19 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  48. ↑ "SATURDAY MEN'S SBL RECAP – SEMI FINALS WEEK 2". SBL.asn.au. 26 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  49. ↑ "Vice-captain Greg Hire re-signs with Wildcats". Wildcats.com.au. 14 June 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  50. ↑ O'Donoghue, Craig (14 June 2018). "Greg Hire back in Perth Wildcats red next season after re-signing". TheWest.com.au. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  51. ↑ Damo's Dish: Round 7
  52. 1 2 Take 40: Greg Hire
  53. ↑ Perth Wildcats vice-captain Greg Hire sets up A Stitch In Time to raise funds for Youth Focus
  54. ↑ Tyrrell, Claire (2 June 2018). "Health campaigner Mike Daube named West Australian of the Year". The West Australian. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.