Australia national team (Boomers)

[Saskibaloia]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctza-LCobHY

Video to that story...

Cheers champ!

[mvblair]

I think a lot of people are expecting Australia to make a big impact this year, even without Bogut and Maric. And hey, they're not that bad at the center if they're bringing David Anderson and Andrew Ogilevy. They can probably put David Barlow at the center spot too...

Australia has a lot of depth at every position. Center is their weak spot, but it's not that bad.

[aussieasker]

even without Bogut and Maric

It's been reported lately that Maric will play.

They can probably put David Barlow at the center spot too

No. I think Barlow can/has played every position apart from centre.

Center is their weak spot

Australia probably has most depth at centre, we probably have most depth at the wing positions...

[Saskibaloia]

It's been reported lately that Maric will play.


No. I think Barlow can/has played every position apart from centre.


Australia probably has most depth at centre, we probably have most depth at the wing positions...

That's interesting that Maric will play for Australia. Maybe he realises that he has a slightly better chance of making the Boomers rather than the Serbian national team. He'll definitely be a great asset for the squad but what happens in 2012 London Olympics when Bogut and Jawai decide that they'll be playing for the Boomers. It'll be interesting if Maric can outplay or more like out perform the two NBA players and show Coach Brown that he belongs in the Boomers starting lineup.

In terms of Barlow, the young lad actually used to play centre back in his younger days in the ABA (Australia's second tier league) when he suited up for the Sydney Comets (the Sydney Kings' unofficial second team). I remember when he was playing against my local semi-pro club: Hills Hornets and showed just how versatile he is. Of course, he's not playing at such a higher level thus, it would be highly unlikely that he would play centre but if Coach Brown decides to run a very fast lineup, who knows he could put the lad in the 4 spot or even the 5 spot because Barlow is 6'9"

In my opinion, I feel that the Boomers are heavily loaded in the Big Man section (4 and 5 spots). If you look at who are the key players of the squad (if nobody was injured): Andrew Bogut, Patty Mills, Matty Nielsen, David Andersen, Nat Jawai, Brad Newley and Joe Ingles; one can notice that out of the seven players I just wrote, 4 out of the 7 lads occupy the four and five spots.

An area that will definitely interest me in terms of this squad and the future is whether or not the bench of the Boomers will be able to step up to the plate?

It is great to see that former Sydney Kings: Barlow and Worthington as well as former West Sydney Razorbacks: Steven Markovic and not playing in the tougher European leagues. But will these three as well as big man AJ Ogilvy, who will also play in Europe be able to come into the floor and provide quality minutes?

So far, the Boomers and their FIBA Oceania Championship loss to the New Zealand Tall Blacks was not a great start for Coach Brown. Of course, the Boomers were under strength but only time will tell whether this new "golden generation" of basketball players will be able to lift the green and gold back into the realms that the Andrew Gaze-led Boomers of the 1990s reached.

I believe that if the Boomers are able to do some heavy damage in this World Championship edition, I could imagine them doing well in 2012.

[aussieasker]

Australia – 2010 Stankovic Cup Team
Name / Height / Age / Position / Most Recent College or Pro Team
David ANDERSEN / 212cm / 30 / Centre / Houston Rockets (US)
David BARLOW / 205cm / 26 / Forward / CAI Zaragoza (Spain)
Aron BAYNES / 207cm / 23 / Centre / EWE Baskets Oldenburg (Germany)
Adam GIBSON / 188cm / 23 / Guard / Gold Coast Blaze
Joe INGLES / 203cm / 22 / Forward / CB Granada (Spain)
Steven MARKOVIC / 190cm / 25 / Guard / KK Crvena Zvezda Beograd (Serbia)
Damian MARTIN / 188cm / 25 / Guard / Perth Wildcats
Patrick MILLS / 183cm / 21 / Guard / Portland Trail Blazers (US)
Brad NEWLEY / 198cm / 25 / Guard / Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania)
Matthew NIELSEN / 209cm / 32 / Forward / Olympiacos (Greece)
AJ OGILVY / 211cm / 22 / Centre / Besiktas (Turkey)
Mark WORTHINGTON / 202cm / 27 / Forward / Brose Baskets (Germany)

[CKR13]

Panathinaikos center Aleks Maric has declared his availability for the Australian National Team and will be joining the Boomers in Melbourne this weekend for training.

What a boost for the Boomers, they have another ceiling to the team.

[Saskibaloia]

Panathinaikos center Aleks Maric has declared his availability for the Australian National Team and will be joining the Boomers in Melbourne this weekend for training.

What a boost for the Boomers, they have another ceiling to the team.

The great thing of having Maric join the Boomers is that the depth at the 4 and 5 spot has just grown immensely. However, the flip side of this great addition, is that there could possibly be an overcrowding in the frontcourt.

Having Maric around will take off the pressure on Captain and European veteran Matty Nielsen and NBA based- David Andersen. Furthermore, this will allow newly turned pro AJ Ogilvy the chance to learn the ropes. This World Championship will provide the Aussie-Serbian the chance to show Coach Brown that he is capable of stepping up and taking a possible starting roles in case any of the regular Bigs: Nielsen, Andersen, Bogut and Jawai are not able to provide that inside presence. In addition, this World Championship and the London Olympics could be the last international campaigns of Nielsen and Andersen thus, it is important for Maric and Ogilvy to grow so that they can be great support players for Jawai and Bogut.

[donmar]

Is the Boomers playing any tune-up games recently... The Tall Blacks (a.k.a. Oceania Champs!) are struggling in their recent tune-up tourney...

[Saskibaloia]

Boomers World Championship team named

Boomers World Championship team named

Name / Height / Age / Position / Most Recent College or Pro Team / Junior Team
David ANDERSEN / 212cm / 30 / Centre / Toronto Raptors (NBA) / Frankston Blues (VIC)
David BARLOW / 205cm / 26 / Forward / CAI Zaragoza (Spain) / Sandringham (VIC)
Aron BAYNES / 207cm / 23 / Centre / EWE Baskets Oldenburg (Germany) / Cairns (QLD)
Adam GIBSON / 188cm / 23 / Guard / Gold Coast Blaze (NBL) / Launceston (TAS)
Joe INGLES / 203cm / 22 / Forward / CB Granada (Spain) / Southern (SA)
Steven MARKOVIC / 190cm / 25 / Guard / KK Crvena Zvezda Beograd (Serbia) / Bankstown (NSW)
Aleks MARIC / 210cm / 25 / Centre / Panathinaikos (Greece) / North Sydney (NSW)
Damian MARTIN / 188cm / 25 / Guard / Perth Wildcats (NBL) / Gloucester (NSW)
Patrick MILLS / 183cm / 21 / Guard / Portland Trail Blazers (NBA) / Shadows (ACT)
Brad NEWLEY / 198cm / 25 / Guard / Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania) / Forestville (SA)
Matthew NIELSEN / 209cm / 32 / Forward / Olympiacos (Greece) / Penrith (NSW)
Mark WORTHINGTON / 202cm / 27 / Forward / Brose Baskets (Germany) / Bunbury (WA)

[CKR13]

Andrew Gaze on the Boomers:

Australian International Basketball Star Andrew Gaze: "Guards must step up."

SYDNEY (FIBA World Championship) - Australian legend Andrew Gaze has told Patrick Mills and the rest of the Boomers' backcourt they must score points if the team is to do well at the FIBA World Championship.

Gaze, who played in an Australian-record five Olympic Games, four FIBA World Championships and captained the team from 1994 to 2000, has been watching Australia's preparations for the tournament in Turkey, and believes a lack of points from the guards could prove costly.

Australia scored an average of just 67.5 points in the Stankovic Continental Cup, and the backcourt needs to step up, Gaze said.

"With (Joe) Ingles and (Brad) Newley, they need to put some points on the board," Gaze said in comments reported by the Sydney Morning Herald.

"You saw at the Stankovic tournament that from time to time they didn't shoot the ball all that well.

"Defensively they were quite solid but somehow or other you've got to find a way to put the ball in the hole. In that tournament there were times when they really struggled to do that.

"So a lot falls back onto guys like Newley, Ingles and obviously Patty Mills - outside of running the team we need some scoring from him - to find a bit more consistency on the offensive end."

Mills led Australia in scoring at the Beijing Olympics, but getting points from Newley and Ingles has been harder to do.

However, Gaze sees potential in the squad to cause an upset and grab a medal.

"If everything clicks and everyone plays to their potential and everything falls into place, it's not inconceivable to think that you could get yourself into a medal chance," he said.

"I think you have to stretch your imagination a little bit, but from what I saw of them last week at the training camp, I think they've got some defensive pressure that perhaps we haven't had in the past.

"With the guards in there it's going to be a different look and hopefully some of that defensive pressure will keep us in with a chance against some of the better teams."

from fiba.com

[Saskibaloia]

Australian International Basketball Star Andrew Gaze: "Guards must step up."



from fiba.com

I can see where Andrew Gaze is coming from that the guards on the Boomers have got to step up to provide that offensive power that the Boomers so need and coming from a former International Basketball Superstar, he sees that importance and value of perimeter offensive power in these major international tournaments.

However, I believe that the focus of this team should be still a balance and not turn into what had occured in the 1990s where the Boomers squad were overly reliant on the perimeter scoring of Shane Heal and Andrew Gaze.
The reason for my counter argument is logical that the shots taken from perimeter players are low percentage shots and are less likely to fall in comparison to a half court offense that focuses on post players who shoot high percentage shots. Though the 1990s was a decade where the Boomers had great success ('92 - 6th, '94 - 5th, '96 - 4th, '00 - 4th) compared to the last ten years, the Boomers should rely on the offensive power that their post players such as Bogut, AJ Ogilvy, Aleks Maric, David Andersen and veteran Matty Nielsen. Though Bogut is not playing the other players have played or are playing on squads where they were the focal point of the team's offense, thus, they are accustomed to such a role. An offense focusing on post players will force the defense to close in thus opening up shots on the perimeter, in contrast if the shots are not falling on the perimeter, the defense does not need to do anything and thus, it is easier for the opposition to beat them.

[2fast4u1]

patrick mills

Wish Portland would give him some game time!

[M Sindo]

Go Aussies !

[Saskibaloia]

So to all the Boomers fans and followers out there, how do you think the Aussies went for this edition of the FIBA World Championships?

Do you think they overperformed or underperformed or performed to your expectations?

What do you think are the ingredients for the Lads for the future and their success?

Do you think they'll ever be able to replicate that amazing run back in the 1990s?

What are your expectations of them in the 2012 Olympics?

[donmar]

I think it would have been different if Andrew Bogut was there... of course, I'm not downplaying the talent of the other centers... but I think Bogut could have made a difference..

But that just my opinion..