Club vs Country: Australia's Andrew Bogut in doubt for World Championships

[Saskibaloia]

Australia's Andrew Bogut has always put his hand up every 2 years to play for his country in either the World Chamionships or the Olympics ever since his college days with the Utah Utes. He is very supportive of the growth of basketball in Australia that he even forked out a couple of thousands of dollars to help Sydney's former club: Sydney Spirit from their financial struggles.

However, the big fella is still 50/50 on whether or not he will be able to suit up for the "Boomers" for their World Championships campaign.

The Bucks franchise are supportive of him going to the World Championships but do have concerns especially because they have invested heavily into the Australian's future. This looks very much like a Club vs Country issue. However, the Bucks can see the beauty of the tournament and international basketball especially since half of their team this season are from overseas.

Will he (Bogut) or won't he? That is the question.

The guy has been having a spectacular season and is on the verge of possibly being one of the NBA's best centres. However, will his back hold for the Boomers campaign and on top of that facing the task of jumping straight into the NBA's training camp following the World Championships.

[Dtown]

Nice to see the Bucks organization not holding him back, but I can understand Bogut's issue. No one can question Bogut's loyalty to Australian basketball, and for once it looks like the Bucks might actually have something to build on. On top of that this is probably going to be the longest season he's ever played.

[donmar]

Other NBA superstars will be playing in the World Champs and some of them will start right after the NBA finals.. far more busy than Bogut's team.. so I see no reason why Bogut can't participate... unless of course, he is hiding an injury... hopefully, he can play.. the Boomers needs him..

[durden_tyler]

Australia definitely needs Bogut but Milwaukee is iffy about such stint because this has been a career year for Andrew. How far can his body go? What if he gets hurt, they have something going at Milwaukee i understand if Bogut would just want to rest up after such a grinding season.

[Lietuvis]

Similiar story back when Ilgauskas was going to suit up at the Olympics for Lithuania but then held back by the Cavs. Once a player is in the NBA they are owned by the NBA it seems. It seems that they lose their rights to play for their countries.

[Dtown]

Similiar story back when Ilgauskas was going to suit up at the Olympics for Lithuania but then held back by the Cavs. Once a player is in the NBA they are owned by the NBA it seems. It seems that they lose their rights to play for their countries.

The Bucks franchise are supportive of him going to the World Championships

these two feelings don't seem to mesh.

[Lietuvis]

these two feelings don't seem to mesh.

Either does this

The Bucks franchise are supportive of him going to the World Championships

but do have concerns especially because they have invested heavily into the Australian's future.

Once you here that a club has "Concerns" about its investment, "money" not people, what do you think happens next. Do you really think they care about the "person" or the "money"??

[Franz]

Australia definitely needs Bogut but Milwaukee is iffy about such stint because this has been a career year for Andrew. How far can his body go? What if he gets hurt, they have something going at Milwaukee i understand if Bogut would just want to rest up after such a grinding season.

He didn't play for Australia in 2009 Oceania so I don't know why he can't play this summer.

[Saskibaloia]

Milwaukee trying to be diplomatic

What the organisation is doing is that they are using their diplomatic language to influence Bogut not to play for Australia. They are saying that they are happy for him to play in the World Championships BUT have concerns of whether or not he will be able to continue his incredible performance through to next season without having any injury.

[Dtown]

Still to say clubs out and out prevent players from playing for their national teams is misleading. No team wants any player to play, but unless they have reason they typically can't do anything about it. All they can do is try to convince them it's better to rest.

The Ilgauskas example is the exception because his career has been plagued by injuries. The Cavs actually have justification to say it's a risk to play extra ganes, as a opposed to Lebron or Varejao who they would love to sit for the summer but can't.

[pohani komarac]

basketball, profesionalisam, nba, stern, uleb, fiba is pice of shit

fuck you bastards for destroying this beautifull game and game spirit

[FIBA Europe Basket]

I have no idea what Dtown is talking about. Everyone knows the NBA does everything it can to make sure American Team USA players play and that NBA players from oother countries can't play.

EVERY year all the foreign NBA players are fighting with their teams and being threatened by them not to play in FIBA tournaments or they might lose their contracts and/or not get another one. Meanwhile never once do you hear a thing said to the Team USA players, who are praised and idolized for playing in the summer. It is clearly a blatant attempt by the NBA to weaken the competition for Team USA and anyone saying otherwise is full of BS plain and simple.

As for Bogut, of course it is much better for Australia if he plays but honestly I think Australia can do fine without him. They have Maric, Nielsen, Andersen and even Jawai could probably give them a few minutes and fouls here and there. Worthington is also a nice player and Barlow and Redhage are pretty good also. Plus their small forwards are very good with Newley and Ingles.

Their back court with Bruton and Mills is pretty decent also. So I don't think losing Bogut would be that big of a blow to them, because they are pretty deep with big men. I think they could still make the top 16 - top 8 without Bogut. With Bogut I think they have a big upset in them against someone, but I still don't see them winning a medal, although I would not rule them out making the semifinals.

[LordOfLeyte]

Bogut is a big loss and opens a gaping hole in the paint for Australia.

[Saskibaloia]

Bogut is a big loss and opens a gaping hole in the paint for Australia.

As for Bogut, of course it is much better for Australia if he plays but honestly I think Australia can do fine without him. They have Maric, Nielsen, Andersen and even Jawai could probably give them a few minutes and fouls here and there. Worthington is also a nice player and Barlow and Redhage are pretty good also. Plus their small forwards are very good with Newley and Ingles.

Their back court with Bruton and Mills is pretty decent also. So I don't think losing Bogut would be that big of a blow to them, because they are pretty deep with big men. I think they could still make the top 16 - top 8 without Bogut. With Bogut I think they have a big upset in them against someone, but I still don't see them winning a medal, although I would not rule them out making the semifinals.

I can definitely see where you're coming from especially after Bogut's poor performance in the 2008 Beijing Olympics where he only had one great game. In addition, over the years, other players on the national team have stepped up and have come solid to excellent contributors. NBA players: David Andersen and Nathan Jawai along with Valencia's Matty Nielsen are dependable and are able to carry the offensive load of the team and anchor the team's defense. CJ Bruton has immense experience running the point, Patty Mills brings NBA and NCAA experience as well as an incredible performance in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Barlow and Joe Ingles have developed into excellent contributors and have been developing as of late in Europe. Finally, Mark Worthington has been ripping up the Australian National Basketball League and has shown on the international stage why he is a key member of the national tam.

Having said that Andrew Bogut along with Matty Nielsen are the Heart and Soul of the team. He is still an important and crucial ingredient if the Boomers are to uplift their performance and finish in the top 6 or even the top 4.

Andrew Bogut has the experience on the international level for many years and has competed night in and night out against the best basketball players on the planet. The coaching staff and Bogut's peers look to him to bring in the big numbers when it gets tough. A perfect example was the Boomers crucial match against the Russians in the group stages of the 2008 Beijing Olympics when the Aussie needed to win the game inorder to progress through Bogut put up a stellar performance and even showed the Russians that he can still throw it down!

Bogut as we all know is having an phenomenal season with the Bucks and has showed the basketball word that he can be a Go-to-Guy in the toughest league in the world and also anchor the team's defense. As a result, there are high expectations from the Australian basketball fans and media for him to transfer that performance over to the international basketball scene and carry the Boomers into the top 4 like what Andrew Gaze and Shane Heal did back in the mid to late 90s.

Obviously, if he does not play for the national team there will be heavy criticism against the Big Fella because prior to his arrival to the NBA, Bogut had stated that he would always put country ahead of club and that the millions of dollars and pressure from club management would not hinder him from playing for his national team. However, the counter argument is that this scenario is different from the case from former Australian National Team member: Chris Anstey and the Chicago Bulls, where the Bulls demanded that Anstey stay in the US for the summer of 2000 to work on his game rather than play for the Boomers in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. The counter argument is that Bogut is resting in order that he does not get injured for the NBA's next season but also from him not sustaining an injury that could prevent him from playing in the 2012 London Olympics, where many Australian basketball fans would probably expecting a top 4 finish.

The loss of Andrew Bogut on the national team would be felt firstly on the defensive end. The Big Fella has finally developed into an excellent shot blocker and a great flopper. He protects the basket better than Houston Rockets' David Andersen and Minnesota's Nathan Jawai. Valencia's Matty Nielsen previously was known to be a "rim protector" but in previous Boomers campaign has not been assigned to such a role. Andrew Bogut has so much familiarity with guarding other international big men and in addition, has been guarding world class big men in the NBA. On the offensive end, though Bogut didn't have an great Beijing Olympic campaign, having developed an excellent offensive weaponary this season with the Bucks, the has the arsenal to be the inside presence that the Boomers so desperately need. Matty Nielsen and David Andersen are big men who like to step out and Nathan Jawai is a big man who is primarily used to rebound and to protect the rim. Maric, if he does get selected would only see limited minutes due to San Antonio's Brett Brown's preference to use the more experienced Andersen and Nielsen. The third area that Bogut would hurt the Boomers if he doesn't play is in the area of leadership. Though Matty Nielsen in the captain and CJ Bruton is the point guard, Andrew Bogut has a wealth of international basketball experience and more importantly the guy plays in the highest level of basketball in the world, something Matty Nielsen and Bruton have yet to reach.

In conclusion, we have to wait and see if the Big Fella will wear the Green and Gold but if he doesn't, as an Australian and an Australian basketball fan, though I would be disapppointed, I'm hoping that he will develop his game in the NBA so much so that by the time it's the 2012 London Olympics, Bogut can finally try and lift the Boomers to the long awaited medal.

[Federoy]

FIBA Europe Basket;405614]I have no idea what Dtown is talking about. Everyone knows the NBA does everything it can to make sure American Team USA players play and that NBA players from oother countries can't play.

I almost resisted the urge to satisfy your fetish for sucking posters into your usual pointless, asinine remarks, but since your nature is to agitate with your backwards rhetoric... I figured what-the-hell. I'll take a swing at you.

On the contrary, more then ever before the NBA has been promoting internationalism because David Stern & Co. are smart enough to know that marketing its foreign national players brings exposure and prestige to the league globally, not to mention they don't want to piss off international markets if they outright deny foreign nationals from competing for their home countries. Some owners may not like the prospect of their star players getting hurt in the off-season, but that's not going to prevent Yao Ming, Carlos Arroyo, Tony Parker, and others from playing if they have commitments to their national teams.

Please explain what evidence you have to support there is a league-wide conspiracy against foreign nationals playing in FIBA events? Whenever someone starts a sentence "Everybody knows..." their legitimacy is drowning before it steps off the boat.

And please don't bring up Mark Cuban. He's already on record as saying he doesn't support ANY of his players, American or foreign national, participating in international competitions mainly due to insurance issues if injuries occur. Cuban is investing millions of $$$ in his players. While I personally think he's boneheaded for not supporting international participation, I can also certainly understand his concerns and reasoning for being against it. Besides, his opinion is not unlike presidents/owners of big name soccer clubs in Europe that don't won't their players playing in international tournaments (the controversy at last year's African Cup of Nations comes to mind).

EVERY year all the foreign NBA players are fighting with their teams and being threatened by them not to play in FIBA tournaments or they might lose their contracts and/or not get another one. Meanwhile never once do you hear a thing said to the Team USA players, who are praised and idolized for playing in the summer. It is clearly a blatant attempt by the NBA to weaken the competition for Team USA and anyone saying otherwise is full of BS plain and simple.

Given that the teams that make up the US's main competition (Greece, Spain, Argentina, Lithuania) have the MAJORITY of their players playing in Europe (or Argentina's Liga-A), even if what you're saying is true, would it really impact the level of competition? Sure, Spain would be somewhat hampered in future tournaments since Sergio Rodriquez, Rudy Fernandez, and Marc Gusol recently joined the NBA, but the last time I checked, during the US's Olympic run most of the teams they faced didn't have rosters full of NBA players, so exactly how does that weaken the competition when most of the competition plays outside of the league?

Strangely enough, people like you bitched and moaned that the Americans didn't care enough about international competition and now that the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction you're lamenting how Team USA is "praised and idolized" by its supporters for playing in the summer. Go figure.