Perth Wildcat Nick Kay is an early candidate for recruit of the season after claiming his second double-double in five games for the Perth Wildcats.
The Boomers forward scored 14 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in Perth's 5-point double overtime win over Melbourne United on Saturday.
He had similar figures (16-11) against Brisbane at RAC Arena a week earlier.
Kay is averaging 13.6 points and 8.4 rebounds a game for his new club.
Crucially, he has taken on a lot of heavy lifting on the boards while Angus Brandt recovered from an ankle injury.
Kay's performance against United was overshadowed by Brandt, who became the first Wildcat to grab 20 rebounds in a game since Shawn Redhage (against Sydney) in 2006.
Despite rolling an ankle while playing for Australia in September, Brandt has not missed a game to start the new NBL season and seems now to have recovered full fitness.
Cats coach Trevor Gleeson said they could see the potential in Brandt as a dominant centre when they recruited him from Sydney before the 2016/17 NBL season.
"We identified when we recruited Gus a few years ago; usually big guys have their bet basketball in their late 20s, early 30s," he said.
"We saw that and now the work he is doing with Matty (knight) and his footwork, he's getting better and better all the time."
Brandt, who turned 29 on Friday, was restricted to less than eight minutes against Adelaide in the Wildcats 8-point win in Round 1. He has built his court-time and output each game since, while still being managed.
But he played 37 minutes against United on Saturday, to produce his first double-double for the season.
And he says he as close to full fitness as you can get.
"The ankle is as close to 100 per cent as you can be," he said.
"There's just a tiny bit of swelling after training and games.
"I didn't want to miss any regular season games.
"The support staff have been awesome. The whole time in the States, they were busting my tail on the stationary bike and in the pool to keep me in shape."
And he was rewarded with being again named in the Boomer squad that was announced during the week.
