who will be the new generation of boomers?

[kajacko]

With the changing of the guard after the beijing olympics what are everyone's thoughts on who will be there for the boomers in 2012.
I'm thinking that Goorjian is likely to continue as coach now - particularly as the future looks quite bright.
Of the current crop of boomers those to still be around (barring injury) in my opinion will be: Bogut, Mills, Newley, Ingles, probably Barlow and possibly Andersen and Worthington.
Of the new crop of up-and-comers I think Nate Jawai, Aj Ogilvy and Adam Gibson are most likely, with the side topped up by players like Aaron Bruce, Damian Martin and Alex Loughton.
I think there will be a few more young players developed in the next few years, either through the nbl or college system. but most will have come through the AIS program obviously.
What are your thoughts on this. If anyone knows how to set up a poll it would be interesting to grab everyone's thoughts.
Are there any others on the horizon i might have missed? (i'm sure there are!)

[mvblair]

Australia is lucky. They survived the loss of the Heals and the Gazes and now it's clear that they've got some fresh faces along with a couple of guys who might now be considered experienced, like Anderson and Bogut.

I'm thinking that Goorjian is likely to continue as coach now - particularly as the future looks quite bright.

Agreed. And Goorjian is a good coach to boot.

Of the current crop of boomers those to still be around (barring injury) in my opinion will be: Bogut, Mills, Newley, Ingles, probably Barlow and possibly Andersen and Worthington.

Yes. All of those guys look to be around for another ten years or so. Truthfully, I'm not sold on Patty Mills yet. Yeah, he was fantastic at the Olympics and a lot of people have been saying that he's fantastic at Saint Mary's. I guess I just wonder why he ended up playing in the West Coast Conference when schools like Wake Forest wanted him so badly. I always question that. Of course, Steve Nash played in the WCC too, so I'm probably wrong...Also of these players, it's clear that Bogut and Anderson will be around for a long time. I'm a huge fan of David Barlow. He really impressed me in the game against Lithuania this summer. I hope he stays around. I thought he made some very smart decisions.

Of the new crop of up-and-comers I think Nate Jawai, Aj Ogilvy and Adam Gibson are most likely, with the side topped up by players like Aaron Bruce, Damian Martin and Alex Loughton.

I don't disagree with any of your picks here because I don't know anything about these guys. Ogilvy was scoring something like 18 points per game in the US NCAA, but Australia is loaded with big men, so I'm not sure there is much of a need for him on the team. Obviously everyone is excited about Jawai. I am. He won't get much playing time in Toronto, but they signed him for two years, and Toronto seems to know what they're doing. The kid must be good.

If anyone knows how to set up a poll it would be interesting to grab everyone's thoughts.

Done!

[kajacko]

thanks for doing that mvb.
on barlow - i like his size etc but that is a real ugly shot!!

[mvblair]

on barlow - i like his size etc but that is a real ugly shot!!

Yeah, but he's a wonderful athlete!

What is the Aussie press saying about Goorjian? Is he staying or going? I hope he stays. I think he knows what he's doing.

[kajacko]

goorjian

before beijing word was that goorjian was not going to go around again - that he'd done the job he set out to do rebuilding the national team.
but after the relative success in beijing opinion switched to wanting him to stay on.
on the national team he has also assembled the best coaching team available with gordie mcleod and brendan joyce around him.
joyce is a very good coach but brings baggage if he were to be an alternative to goorjian at the helm. mcleod would be a good option he has done well with poor teams in the nbl and also took a national under 19 team to the gold medal game in a world championship. he is a former Institute of sport head coach too.
having said all that though the underlying assumption is that goorjian will decide to continue and if he does the job will be his.
in the nbl the coaches are miked up so you can here what they are saying in timeouts. it does no one any good in goorjian's case cause it sounds like a totally different language. the players he has though always perform under him - which is after all what counts.

[mvblair]

the players he has though always perform under him - which is after all what counts.

You mean like Greg Popovich for San Antonio? All the players, from Duncan to the 12th man, always get quiet when they listen to Popovich.

[kajacko]

yeah that sounds about right. never liked pop early on but he is a master coach and won me over.
did you know that brett brown, an assistant with san antonio, was once in the running for the australian head coaching job. he was an assistant coach under barry barnes i think. brown coached in the NBL for a number of years and was very successful. i never met him but i know a guy that did and he says brown was an excellent person too.

[Saskibaloia]

Australia is lucky. They survived the loss of the Heals and the Gazes and now it's clear that they've got some fresh faces along with a couple of guys who might now be considered experienced, like Anderson and Bogut.

However, like all changes it took a while to adjust and it was quite long.

Truthfully, I'm not sold on Patty Mills yet. Yeah, he was fantastic at the Olympics and a lot of people have been saying that he's fantastic at Saint Mary's. I guess I just wonder why he ended up playing in the West Coast Conference when schools like Wake Forest wanted him so badly. I always question that. Of course, Steve Nash played in the WCC too, so I'm probably wrong...

I believe that one of the main reason for his selection was because the assistant coach in St Mary’s David Patrick is a family friend of Patrick Mills’ family because David Patrick used to play in Australia for Patrick Mills’ hometown team for the Canberra Cannons.

I'm a huge fan of David Barlow. He really impressed me in the game against Lithuania this summer. I hope he stays around. I thought he made some very smart decisions.

I’m hoping that the 6’9” swingman moves over to Europe especially if he is able to obtain a UK passport. What’s amazing this season in the NBL is that he’s been shifted to point guard for the Melbourne Tigers thus, I believe that not only will he be expanding his skills and abilities but also his leadership skills.

The starting five of the Melbourne Tigers is really frightening:

A 6’9” point guard
A scoring freak – Nigerian National Team Member Ebi Ere
Rod Grizzard @ small forward – former 2002 2nd Round NBA Draft Pick
2007 NBL MVP & Defensive Player of the Year – Sam McKinnon
Former NBA & Euroleague import – Chris Anstey

Obviously everyone is excited about Jawai. I am. He won't get much playing time in Toronto, but they signed him for two years, and Toronto seems to know what they're doing. The kid must be good.Done!

I’m definitely excited especially the fact that the Raptors signed him up for 2 years. Some websites have predicted that he will become, at best a Charles Oakley.

thanks for doing that mvb.
on barlow - i like his size etc but that is a real ugly shot!!

At times his shot reminds me of “The Matrix” ugly set shot.

yeah that sounds about right. never liked pop early on but he is a master coach and won me over.
did you know that brett brown, an assistant with san antonio, was once in the running for the australian head coaching job. he was an assistant coach under barry barnes i think. brown coached in the NBL for a number of years and was very successful. i never met him but i know a guy that did and he says brown was an excellent person too.

I would that Goorjian and Popovich are quite similar because both preach defensive/ team basketball and both are not the type of coach who relaxes and sits down during the game rather someone who would always be yelling instructions.

Coach Brown was the former coach for my beloved Sydney Kings and the North Melbourne Giants. The things that I would remember him was that he was always willing to use his US contacts to try and get Australians to in the US whether it was helping Gaze in San Antonio or even getting Matty Nielsen and James “Showtime” Smith on the Spurs summer league squad. In addition, he was also a coach who would bring over some pretty exciting players such as James “Showtime” Smith or Acie “Larger than Life/ I don’t give a f**k” Earl (7’0” 270lbs) or even Chris Jent (btw he destroyed our league in pieces avg approx 26ppg 6rpg 4apg and almost bringin’ North Melbourne a championship).

[ricodgame]

I really think Bogut should exert more effort in the next tournament for boomers.

[artful[D]odger]

thanks for doing that mvb.
on barlow - i like his size etc but that is a real ugly shot!!

i like his shot.. he shots 23/24 out of 25 from 3pt land in practice.. consistantly - kid doesnt have anything extra in it shot.. jus snap the wrist and count it

[CKR13]

I look for the following young blood in Australia. They could be part of the Boomers in the future, depending on their development.

Ben Simmons - Son of Melbourne Tiger Dave Simmons. 14 years old and is a 200 cm forward.


Tad Dufelmeier Jr. - Son of former Canberra Cannons import Tad Dufelmeier. A 186 guard who is a dynamic scorer.


Dante Exum - Talented. Son of NBL star Cecil Exum. Trained with the Senior Boomers squad.


Dane Pineau - Son of former Melbourne Tigers import Brad Pineau.


Nick Duncan - Reportedly to being scouted by NCAA D1 and D2 schools.


Hugh Greenwood - Played for the U-19 team in the FIBA U-19 World Championship. Greenwood had 26 points on 10-for-23 shooting, making six 3-pointers and collecting six rebounds and five assists against Team USA. For the tournament, he averaged 17.1 points, 2.6 assists and four rebounds. Greenwood will be playing in the NCAA for the New Mexico Thunderbirds.

[thespywhozaggedme]

I look for the following young blood in Australia. They could be part of the Boomers in the future, depending on their development.

Ben Simmons - Son of Melbourne Tiger Dave Simmons. 14 years old and is a 200 cm forward.


Tad Dufelmeier Jr. - Son of former Canberra Cannons import Tad Dufelmeier. A 186 guard who is a dynamic scorer.


Dante Exum - Talented. Son of NBL star Cecil Exum. Trained with the Senior Boomers squad.


Dane Pineau - Son of former Melbourne Tigers import Brad Pineau.


Nick Duncan - Reportedly to being scouted by NCAA D1 and D2 schools.


Hugh Greenwood - Played for the U-19 team in the FIBA U-19 World Championship. Greenwood had 26 points on 10-for-23 shooting, making six 3-pointers and collecting six rebounds and five assists against Team USA. For the tournament, he averaged 17.1 points, 2.6 assists and four rebounds. Greenwood will be playing in the NCAA for the New Mexico Thunderbirds.

Dellavadova, Greenwood, Drmic, Iggy Hazadovich and the Mitch's to name a few. Possibly Jordan Page too.

[Jon_Koncak]

I look for the following young blood in Australia. They could be part of the Boomers in the future, depending on their development.

Ben Simmons - Son of Melbourne Tiger Dave Simmons. 14 years old and is a 200 cm forward.

Found this video of Ben Simmons.He definitely looks impressive for a 14 year old kid and i guess i'm not the only one who notices similarities to a particular south american player.Guess we'll see him in next year's u17 world championship.

[CKR13]

Ben Simmons impressed in the recent Pangos All-American camp.

[thespywhozaggedme]

Man, between Delly, Page, Iggy, Drmic, Greenwood, Thon Maker, Dante Exum and Ben Simmons the future for Aussie hoops is insane.