Australia needs a healthy Patty Mills to make a big impact at this year’s FIBA World Championship in Turkey and the signs are good that that will be the case with the point guard having enjoyed a dream start to the new year.

(Talk Patrick Mills and Aussie Basketball in our forum)

Mills has fully recovered from the foot injury he suffered last summer and after spending two games in the NBA’s Development League with the Idaho Stampede, averaging 30.0 points and 7.5 assists in 34.0 minutes off the bench, the Portland Trail Blazers have added him to their squad.

He will be with the Trail Blazers for Monday’s match against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Mills suffered a foot injury last summer that sidelined him for several months but was still selected by the Trail Blazers with the 55th overall in the NBA Draft.

He began full practice in December and wasted no time in showing his potential for the Stampede with a dominating 38 point and 12 assist performance in a January 1st triumph over the Reno Bighorns.

Mills followed that up with 22 points in a one-point victory against the same opponents on Sunday.

In that second game, Mills scored the winning basket with a put-back just 1.2 seconds from the end.

Australia will take on Argentina, Serbia, Germany, Angola and Jordan in Group A of the FIBA World Championship. Read the full article at FIBA.com.

This week’s quick roundup of the player performances around the world during the last few days. This week includes discussion about Aleksandr Marić’s monster month, Dirk Nowitzki to the 2010 World Championships of basketball, Tyreke Evans and the Sacramento Kings’ amazing comeback over the Chicago Bulls and more…

• The Sacramento Kings found themselves down 33 points, 83-50, with 6 minutes left in the third quarter, but would go on outscore the Chicago Bulls 52-15 the rest of the way to pull out an amazing comeback win. The King’s comeback was led by Ime Udoka, who scored 15 straight in the fourth quarter to get Sacramento rolling. Rookie sensation Tyreke Evans, who was selected over Ricky Rubio, led the Kings with 23 points. Udoka ended with 17 and Beno Udrih added 16 points. Luol Deng led Chicago with 26 points.

• Dirk Nowitzki to the World Championships? After Pau Gasol indicated that he might skip next year’s event and Yao Ming’s intention to represent China, Nowitzki chimed in about his participation. The 7-0 German was quoted by German daily “Sueddeutsche Zeitung” after he was informed about the wild card Germany had received : “Super. This wild card gives us a great perspective for the coming years. I thank FIBA and look forward to the summer of 2010.” (via TalkBasket)

• 6-11 center Aleks Marić, former Nebraska Cornhusker, was named the Euroleague’s MVP for the month of December. The Serbian-Aussie had a dominating month for Partizan Belgrade; winning EL MVP for three of the four weeks in December which included an amazing performance against Efes Pilsen in which he tallied a 49 performance index rating.

• Andrew Bogut tallied 31 points and 18 rebounds, both season-highs, in an 84-81 win over the Indiana Pacers last night. The 7-0 center from down under hit 14 of 19 shots and blocked three shots.

• It’s only one game, but ballyhooed Sudanese forward Ater Majok was a non-factor in his first game for UConn. The 6-11 high-energy 22-year old scored just one point and had two rebounds in 16 minutes in a win over Central Florida.

• Acie Law played just 9 seconds when the Charlotte Bobcats played the New York Knicks, but had his one and only shot swatted by 6-10 Danilo Gallinari to seal the win for the Knicks, 98-94.  Gallinari scored 21 points in that game, but missed a couple free-throws that allowed the Bobcats to hang around. Gallinari has started the last two games after coming off the bench the last five.

• Former Michigan State star guard Drew Neitzel left French club Chalon. The performances of the guard did not satisfy the coaching staff, especially defensively (Basket-Spot).

It’s been a busy week for FIBA as they announced the four wild cards on Saturday, and determined the top four seeds for the World Championships of Basketball on Sunday.

Now the federation that overseas international basketball has announced the draw results that will determine the groupings for the 2010 world basketball event in Istanbul, Turkey.

The 24 participating nations were drawn into four groups of six teams each:

• Group A: Serbia, Argentina, Australia, Jordan, Germany, Angola
• Group B: Croatia, Brazil, Tunisia, Slovenia, Iran, USA
• Group C: China, Turkey, Russia, Puerto Rico, Ivory Coast, Greece
• Group D: Lithuania, Lebanon, France, Spain, Canada, New Zealand

(Discuss the draw results in our forum)

The draw was held at the the Ciragan Palace Kempinski Hotel, Istanbul, on 15th December 15th, 2009 at 11:30AM local time.

The draw was conducted jointly by FIBA and the LOC in the presence of participating nations’ representatives, “National Federation members, prominent public figures and members of the international media.”

The FIBA World Championships are held every four years and determines the world’s top country in basketball.

Euroleague rookie Aleksandr Marić was amazing last night as he scored 34 points, pulled down 16 rebounds and amassed an amazing 49 performance index ranking.

(Discuss Euroleague Basketball Round 7 in our forum)

The 6-11 Aussie’s dominating performance, along with Dusan Kecman’s game-winning jumper with just under 3 seconds remaining, led Partizan Belgrade over Efes Pilsen 93-92 in one of the best games of the Euroleague season.

The 25-year old center converted 13 of 16 field goal attempts, 8 of 14 free throws and grabbed 8 offensive rebounds in 31 minutes of play.

Maric’s performance index of 49 ties him with Darjus Lavrinovič’s performance in week 2, for the highest performance index of the 2009-10 Euroleague season.

Igor Rakočević led Efes Pilsen with 24 points. Partizan improved to 4-3 and is nowtied for third place with Lietuvos Rytas, while Efes dropped to 3-4 with just three regular season games remaining (see the full game report). Maric’s and Lavrinovič’s performance index rating of 49 ranks as the sixth-best total of the decade.

• LeBron James is planning on switching his jersey number from No. 23 to No. 6 and the superstar wants all NBA players wearing #23 to retire the number in order to honor Michael Jordan, but is the King really making the change for altruistic reasons? We don’t think so.

• The 24-year old Andrew Bogut may never live up to the expectations of being the 2005 #1 overall draft pick, but if the 7-0 Aussie can continue being injury-free and putting up 15, 9, and 1.5 blocks while shooting over 55% from the field, no one in Milwaukee is going to protest too loudly despite other draft picks Deron Williams (#3), Chris Paul (#4), Andrew Bynum (#10),  and Danny Granger (#17) flourishing.

• Joakim Noah continues his improvement. The 6-11 center has recorded five-straight double-doubles including 15 points and 14 rebounds in last night’s 101-87 win over the Sacramento Kings. In fact, Noah has only had one game in which he didn’t have 10+ rebounds. For the season, the third-year player has started all 10 games for the Bulls and is averaging 12.1 points, 12.4 rebounds , 2.1 assists, and 2.0 blocks.

• Ask Kareem Abdul-Jabbar a question about his recent Leukemia announcement.

• After being let go by the Houston Rockets on Friday, Pops Mensah-Bonsu was immediately picked up by the Toronto, where Pops had a career-season in 2008-09. Mensah-Bonsu suited up for the Raptors last night; played six minutes, scored 5 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in the Rap’s 130-112 setback to the Nuggets. Pops played just 12 minutes with the Rockets before being waived.

• Marco Belinelli scored a season-high 16 points off the bench last night in the Toronto’s 130-112 loss to the Nuggets. The 6-5 shooter from Italy is averaging 8.9 points in 18 minutes off the bench for the Raptors this season.

• David Andersen, former Euroleague star pivot, hit 9-14 shots and scored a career-high 19 points off the bench in the Houston Rocket’s 101-91 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.  The 6-11 center-forward from Australia also pulled in 6 rebounds.

• Who are your 2009-10 NBA All-Stars?

• Sasha Pavlović scored 30 points off the bench in two Minnesota losses (17 vs the Golden State, 13 points vs. Portland). Previously, Pavlović had yet to reach double-figures all season and had scored just 33 points combined in the season’s first seven games. After the Timberwolves won their first game of the season against the New Jersey Nets, they have since dropped 10 straight.

• After Allen Iverson was waived by the Memphis Grizzlies because of disagreements over his playing time, Iverson still wants to play in the NBA, but really, who would want him after such a public debacle that was basically a temper-tantrum? An NBA team would really have to be desperate to… oh wait the Knicks want him. Makes sense.

After injuring himself in the beginning of training camp, turning down offers from Europe, Patty Mills’ hard work and patience has paid off after signing a two-year deal with the Portland Trailblazers.

“It feels like I finally got the gorilla off my back.” Mills said. “It was a massive gorilla and there were times when I thought I wasn’t going to make it, but finally I’ve got rid of it and now I just want to be part of the team.”

“This is amazing, it’s such a good feeling,” said Mills.

Mill was drafted 55th overall by the Blazers in the 2009 NBA Draft, but injured himself July 9th,

The 15th and final roster spot came down to Mills, Nigerian international Ime Udoka and Jarron Collins. With NBA active rosters of 12, Mills could be starting with the  Iowa Stampede, Portland’s NDBL team.

The NBA season begins Tuesday, October 27, 2009.

Aussie guard Patrick Mills is fighting for a spot on the Portland Trailblazer’s roster.

After suffering a broken foot in his first summer league practice a few months ago, the 21-year old Mills has nearly recovered from his injury and is now playing catch up.

The Blazers are stacked with young talent. They brought in Andre Miller and have returning point guards Steve Blake and Jerryd Bayless on the roster already, the question is whether they need another?

The Blazers had three point guards last season before trading Spanish guard Sergio Rodriguez in the off-season.

Portland sees something in the 5-10 speedster, and Mills is willing to risk several time-sensitive European offers at chance to play in the NBA.

”There are some offers from overseas clubs, but the goal is to play in the NBA not Europe.” Mills said. “(Portland has) kept in regular contact to see how my foot is going so at least I know they’re still keen and interested.”

“Europe is out of the question … it’s more about me marking myself in the NBA and cementing my spot there.”

Links and Resources: Mills eyes final Portland spot (Canberra Times)

Interbasket had the pleasure of sending a few questions over to Nathan Jawai and the 6-10 center from Australia was nice enough to answer.

The 23-year old, nicknamed “Aussie Shaq,” is the first Indigenous Australian player to play in the NBA, after being drafted 41st overall by the Toronto Raptors in the 2008 NBA draft.

Jawai was then traded to the Dallas Mavericks during the offseason.

Interbasket: What are your experiences as an Aborigine playing basketball in Australia?
Nathan Jawai: Playing in Australia is a great way for any player to understand the game as a professional sport. With the Australian media, the whole hype isn’t as much as in the states. So being a Aborigine isn’t much different as being of another cultural background.

Ibn: Because of this, are you closer to Aborigine players such as Patty Mills, than you are with other Australians?
Jawai: I am good mates with Pat, though, other Aussy players are still good mates of mine.

Ibn: What are the Australian things you missed about home? (eg. Vegemite? Tim Tams? Rugby League?)
Jawai: Cairns, big shout out to all over there. Well, Vegemite of course, don’t no why you guy’s don’t sell it over her, give it a chance. The Rugby league is not a fan of mine, though Union is much more of my likening. Also, the lifestyle, not complaining that NBA lifestyle is anything bad, though living in Australia is something special that you do not realize until you leave the great land of down under.

Ibn: What is your impression of the NBA, and the United States thus far?
Jawai: The NBA can be summed up well from my mate Bogut. It’s much more of a marketing ploy, other than a sport. Though, my impressions right now is that is high intensity and a massive privilege for anyone to be associated with the NBA.

Well, the states is ALL you can expect. Over the top.

Ibn: Are you working on any specific part of your game?
Jawai: Fitness, to keep up the game schedules

Ibn: How are you doing recovering from your heart problem?
Jawai: It’s going fine. No recurring symptoms for awhile and now hoping for a full recovery.

Ibn: Who are your favorite players?
Jawai: Well, a range of players for their specific fundamentals they bring to the game. Dwight Howard’s aggressiveness at the post and his D.  Now going back to the old-timers in Australian NBL, Andrew Gaze commitment and leadership. Though mostly the biggest influence on me has to be, (Dirk) Nowitzki. His current leadership and hints to me have totally influenced me on how to improve my game in every way. Oh, he’s gonna like that

Ibn: Have you ever considered playing in Europe before being drafted in the NBA?
Jawai:No, not really. Though the future is an untold story for today.

Ibn: What are your favorite countries to visit? What countries would you like to visit?
Jawai: To visit, I would love to go to Europe, specifically Spain. Though also, to see friends and family, go back to Australia for a extended holiday.

Ibn: Hey, thanks so much for your time, Nathan.  Good luck this season.
Jawai: Sorry I had limited time, I could only answer some of the questions. Thanks guys.

I ran across this Andrew Bogut interview on HoopsHype and found a couple greattidbits of information that I’d like to share:

HoopsHype: Now there’s more international flavor in Milwaukee. Do you like it?
Andrew Bogut: Yeah, I think it’s good for me, I’m an international player too. (Carlos) Delfino is a winner, he knows how to play the game and he will bring some toughness to our team. (Roko) Ukic obviously hasn’t had the opportunity to play too much in Toronto so I know he’s very eager to prove himself in Milwaukee. He’s a pretty good friend of mine.

I played with (Ersan) Ilyasova my first two years; when he came to the NBA he was very young, very skinny. I heard he’s improved a lot and I know his dream was to be back; his wife is actually from Milwaukee. And we already have (Francisco) Elson, (Dan) Gadzuric and (Luc) Mbah a Moute.

HH: What about Brandon Jennings?
Bogut: I’ve been working out with him the whole week. He’s a very good ballhandler, very smart point guard and very athletic. He brings energy everyday but obviously he’s young. He’s gotta have good times and bad times in his rookie year, but I think he’s going to be a great player in the NBA.

HH: What do you think Australia will do in the World Championships to be played in Turkey next year?
Bogut: That’s a good question. Obviously we have a new coach and new players coming up, so it’s still questionable what sort of system we are going to play and everything, but it’s definitely exciting. We hope to make the Final Four, but there is a lot of good countries these days playing basketball. It’s very hard getting to the Final Four, especially in the World Championships. If we can make it, it will be a success for us.

HH: Australia lost to New Zealand this summer.
Bogut: We had a lot of players missing, which is no excuse. Props to them, they played very well against us. They deserved the win and hopefully we can move on and play a good World Championships.

HH: What do you think about the new generation of Australian players?
Bogut: There are some exciting guys. Pat Mills is definitely one, although he got injured. But there are a lot of them in college who could lead the way next year.

HH: Would you consider playing in Europe once you are done in the NBA?
Bogut: Basketball in Europe has a different atmosphere than America and Australia. I’d like to experience it and if the body hold up by then it would definitely an option.

Read the rest of the Andrew Bogut interview at HoopsHype.

Kunshan, China - The Stanković Continental Champions’ Cup is an international basketball tournament held annually in China.

This year’s continental basketball championship features four teams: last year’s champions Angola, hosts China, Turkey and Australia.

The 2009 Stanković Cup is set for August 28-30.

I wonder how Turkey is going to participate in both the Efes Pilsen World Cup and the this tournament?  The Efes Pilsen World Cup started yesterday and is suppposed to run until August 30, while the Stanković Cup starts tomorrow, August 28.

edit: It turns out that Turkey and Angola will both send their B teams.

The tournament is in honor of Borislav Stanković, FIBA Secretary General Emeritus, for his significant contributions to the world of basketball.

This will be the fifth annual tournament.  China has never won the tournament, past champions include Lithuania (2005), Greece (2006), Slovenia (2007), and Angola (2008).

For more information and discussion about the 2009 Stankovic Cup, visit our forum.

Wellington – Playing at home and needing to win by seven or more points, New Zealand blasted Australia 100-78 to claim the 2009 Oceania Championships.

(discuss the 2009 Oceania Championships)

With the win, New Zealand not only gains a higher seeding in the 2010 World Championships, but takes home the Al Ramsay Shield, the all-important symbol of trans-Tasman mens basketball supremacy.

Supremacy indeed, the Tall Blacks were dominant; the 22-point margin was NZ’s largest win ever over Australia.

After trailing 40-38, New Zealand knew they had to turn up the game, as they must defeat Australia by more than 7 points to win the two-game series. The Tall Blacks used an extraordinary third quarter, fueled by a flagrant foul on Joe Ingles, to firmly take control of the game.

In that decisive third period, the Tall Blacks blitzed the Boomers 36-15, including a 19-2 run that ignited the home crowd as well as the players.  They would go into the final period up 74-55.

Mika Vukona led the Tall Blacks with 25 points and pulled in 12 rebounds, Kirk Penney had 24 points, 10 assists, and 7 rebounds. 7-2 center Alex Pledger tallied 15 points and a game high 13 boards.

This was the first time in a long stretch that another Kiwi led New Zealand in scoring other than Kirk Penney – and you can reason that because Vukona stepped up to the challenge, that is why the Tall Blacks were victorious today.

Brad Newley scored 20 points for Australia. Aborigine big man Nathan Jawai contributed 17 points, Andrew Ogilvy had 14, and Ingles was held to 13 points for the losing side.

Australia has taken the Oceania Championship 16 of the 19 times, and 2009 marks just the third time that New Zealand has won the Oceania Championships, having taken home the trophy previously in 1999 and 2001.

Sydney, Australia- Playing in a home-and-away series, Australia defeated New Zealand 74-67 in the first game of the 2009 Oceania Championships.

Australia went into the fourth quarter trailing by three points, but Joe Ingles would catch fire and score ten straight points in 90 seconds to help the Aussies take control of the game.

The Boomers would go from the three-point deficit to a nine-point lead outscoring their rivals 23-13 in the final period and take the first match of the two-game series.

Ingles would end up with 26 points to lead the Aussies.  Brad Newley added 13 points and Nathan Jawai of the Dallas Mavericks, was big underneath for the Aussies putting up 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Kirk Penney led the Tall Blacks of New Zealand with 23 points, and Alex Pledger added 16.

(discuss the 2009 Oceania Championships)

With the win, New Zealand must now defeat the Boomers in the next game by seven or more points in order to claim the Ramsey Shield. Obviously a loss would give the title to the Aussies, but also a NZ win of seven points or less would end with the same result.

If New Zealand ends up defeating Australia by seven points, the same as Australia defeated them, a tie breaker would have to go into effect. According to FIBA Oceania’s website:

“an extra period of five minutes will be played until the points difference is more or less than 7 points. If the Tall Blacks are in the lead at the end of the extra period, but by more than 7 points, they take the series, but ff the Tall Blacks are still leading at the end of extra time by less than 7 points, all prizes go the Boomers.”

The next, and final, game will be played in Wellington, New Zealand on Tuesday, August 25, 2009.

Both the Boomers and Tall Blacks have already qualified for the 2010 World Championships, so  this year’s Oceania Championships are more about the Trans-Tasman bragging rights, and higher seeding in next year’s World Championships.

Title: FIBA Oceania Championships 2009
Location: Canberra, Australia and Wellington, New Zealand
Discuss: Oceania Championships
Description: The Oceania championships features major players Australia and New Zealand, and very rarely smaller, island countries such as Guam, French Polynesia, American Samoa, and New Caledonia.

This year, Australia and New Zealand will once again be the only countries that are sending teams.

The 2009 championships also marks a change in tournament format.  The Oceania Basketball Federation switched from a best-of-three playoffs, to a two game, home-and-away playoff between the Boomers and Tall Blacks, with total scores as the tiebreaker should the teams split the series.

Generally, the Pacific Island countries that dot Oceania do not have the financial support to maintain their national basketball teams.

Collectively, these other countries have only participated in only five tournaments in the history of the Oceania Championships, the last time being 1999 when Guam brought home the silver (Australia did not participate in 1999 as they automatically qualified for the 2000 Olympics as the hosts of the tournament).

This is the fifth straight tournament in which only Australia and New Zealand have competed in the regional qualifier.

The Boomer squad features Brad Newley, Joe Ingles, Nathan Jawai, Luke Nevill, Mark Worthington, and Aron Baynes.  The Tall Blacks of New Zealand will be lead by Kirk Penney with support from Lindsay Tait, Rob Loe, Alex Pledger, and Tom Abercrombie.

Since both teams have already qualified for the World Basketball Championships next year, this year’s tournament is more about the Trans-Tasman rivalry and bragging rights.

Australia has won in all but two Oceania Championships since the inception of the tournament in 1971. New Zealand took gold medals in the 1999 and 2001 championships.

With the news that Yao Ming will miss the entire 2009-10 NBA season and Dikembe Mutombo officially retiring the other day, the Houston Rockets have brought in Aussie big man and Euroleague star David Andersen to help fill the hole they have at center.

“I’ve spoken with the coach and the general manager (Daryl Morey) and they’re all excited about me coming in and this is why the main deal was done,” Andersen said to Basketball Australia. “I should get something signed and sealed in the next few days.”

“David has been a winner with every team he has played for in Europe,” says Rockets GM Daryl Morey. “He is a very well-rounded player who possesses good offensive skills, a very good shooting touch for a big man and is a versatile post player who should fit well in (our) system.”

Before obtaining the rights for the 6-11 Andersen, the tallest player on Houston’s roster was Luis Scola at 6-9.  The Rockets acquired the rights to center David Andersen from the Atlanta Hawks for cash and future considerations.

The Hawks had signed the 29-year old Boomer last month.

Links and Resrouces: Is David Andersen moving to Atlanta? (Interbasket),  Mutombo chooses to retire in Beijing (CCTV), Yao foot operation opens up opportunity for Andersen (Herald Sun), Is Yao Ming’s season over before it began? (Interbasket)

Just images of some of the international players, and other players of interest, from the 2009 NBA Summer League.

[Show as slideshow]

Check out the pic of Blake Griffin’s jam and the Japanese National Team that participated in this year’s summer league. They played against the New Orleans Hornets in Las Vegas.

The team photo does not include Takuya Kawamura, the 6-foot-4 guard that was recently added to the Phoenix Suns’ roster for the Las Vegas summer league. Kawamura averaged 20.4 points for Link Tochigi Brex of the Japanese Basketball League (or B.J. League, seriously) last season. The 23-year old decided not to join the national team in hopes of making the NBA.