We’re just over a year out from the London 2012 Olympic Games and the Australian Boomers have gone from strength to strength since their 7th place in Beijing.
With a majority of the same team still available for selection, Boomers coach Brett Brown has a plethora of choice when finalising his 12-man squad for the Game (this all pends on winning the qualification series against the Tall Blacks this month, of course).
I’ve selected a training squad of 25 which I’ll cut down to 12.
These players are: Andrew Bogut, Patty Mills, David Andersen, Kyrie Irving, Joe Ingles, Brad Newley, Aleks Maric, Luke Nevill, Matthew Dellavadova, Julian Kazzouh, David Barlow, Aaron Baynes, Nathan Jawai, Matthew Neilson, Ater Majok, Damian Martin, Steven Markovic, Mark Worthington, Adam Gibson, AJ Ogilvy, Jason Cadee, Luke Cooper, Luke Schenscher, Glen Saville and Ben Magden.
And the final twelve:
C – Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee Bucks
The Bogey man picks himself. Let’s hope it’s off the back of an injury free NBA season. He’s been knocking on the door of an all-star selection for a couple of years now.
PF – David Andersen, Montepaschi Siena
Hopefully, Andersen gets some more court time this season than last year at New Orleans. Andersen is primarily a centre who can slot in quite easily at PF in the international game. He has a deadly outside shot which will go a long way in this competition.
SF – Joe Ingles, FC Barcelona
Mighty Joe Ingles is the best Australian not playing in the NBA by far. He had a great season coming off the bench for Barca. He’ll be in contention for a starting spot this season. He’s an underrated swingman who’ll be a primary scoring threat for the Boomers.
SG – Patty Mills, Portland Trailblazers
Traditionally a PG, Patty played a bit of basketball at the two guard this year for the Blazers. He lit the 2008 Games on fire. I expect him to do it again.
PG – Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
Let’s hope he’s eligible! Naming two point guards in the backcourt isn’t seen too often. However, with Irving and Mills both being great shot takers and can both drive to the hole easily, they will be interchangeable out on the court.
Could be a very dangerous combo for teams to face in London.
6th man – Brad Newley (G), Lietuvos Rytas
Great shooter and scorer. Newley is deadly with the ball in hand from anywhere on the floor.
7 – Aleks Maric (C), Panathinaikos
Played great at the 2010 World Championships. All Euroleague 1st team in 2010 and the centrepiece of Panathinaikos’s 2011 Euroleague Championship season, Maric is a big game player who would probably start at centre on any other squad in the competition bar the USA and Spain.
8 – David Barlow (F), CAI Zaragoza
A wealth of experience for such a young guy. Barlow’s an underrated defender.
9 – Mark Worthington (F), Gold Coast Blaze
Wortho’s getting towards the twilight of his career. However, he’s played with a majority of this squad for sometime now. He’ll slot in quite well.
10 – Steven Markovic (G), KK Radnicki Kragujevac
Another PG who’s been playing quite well in Europe of late. Don’t expect him to see a wealth of court-time. Mills, Irving and Barlow will be a great rotation for the guard spots.
11 – Nathan Jawai (C/F), UNICS Kazan
The Aussie Shaq had a good year for Partizan Belgrade. Playing decent minutes in the Euroleague either starting or off the bench. Moving to Kazan where he’ll be following in Chris Anstey’s big footsteps is a good career move for Jawai. A good year in the Russian League and Jawai will be ready for the Olympic Games.
12 – Matthew Nielson (F), Olympiacos
The stalwart of the Australian side, Nielson would be a great addition for the back-up PF spot. He’s a big body with a deadly touch.
Finally, some honourable mentions:
Julian Kazzouh – if he has a good year for the Sydney Kings, or in the D-League pending he gets a contract, he could contend for the side. There isn’t a better 3-Point shooting centre in Australia. This is a very valuable asset in the International game.
Matthew Dellavadova, Damian Martin – If Kyrie Irving is unavailable to play for Australia, expect one of these two men to slot in.
Dellavadova will be in his final year of college at St Mary’s where he’s leading them well. Expect him to play in the NCAA Tournament again. Damian Martin’s gone a long way from his Washing Machine days. He’s been a good floor general for the Boomers over the last couple of years. Defintiely deserves a mention.
Aaron Baynes, Luke Nevill, Luke Schenscher – all are unfortunately victims of the fact that Australia is a very centre rich basketball team.
If there’s an injury to Bogut, Andersen, Jawai or Maric, one of these boys will knock on the door of the team (assuming Brett Brown doesn’t decide to go smaller).
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