I really think Australia's best basketball stocks develop in the US college programs. Unless someone is an exceptional talent, I don't think we're going to produce an NBA success here on home soil.

And IMO all those leagues mentioned are better than or at least equal to the Australian NBL. Maybe Sweden might be the only one that's a bit iffy, but I'm certain that Israel and Ukraine are better leagues, and France has a pretty decent league, but it obviously isn't up there with the best in Europe, which is the Spanish ACB.

To be fair.. Patty probably should have pulled out of this draft. If you are going to nominate from College you had better have a really good year. To be honest, Patty had an okay year in his second year and there was just too much doubt there.

His injury didn't help him and he didn't look the same after it. Ogilvy stayed for another year and i believe will do better in the draft next year. There is also Ater Majok who could do anything at UConn this coming year.

For the size of our country we still punch way above our weight and will only continue to improve our stocks. More of our juniors are going through the College system and we have to be fairly honest and say there is only ever going to be one or 2 of these guys good enough at the College level to get drafted in the NBA. I can see the next 10 years being the best for Australian basketball, in terms of guys who are playing in the NBA.

I still think Patty will make an impact when given a chance in the NBA, just hope it's soon and he doesn't get put on the backburner for too long.

France has over 200 coaches that are paid for by the government. These coaches work only in the schools. It is hard for Oz to compete, but we (you at the moment) do a good job.

Patty really had to go this year whilst the Olympics performances were relatively frsh in clubs minds. I think it would of been far more of a risk if he had of gone back to college because then he would of had to really been an absolute standout even more than he already was. Think of Aaron Bruce - he was touted as a first round pick after his 2nd year I think it was, he played at a world championship with Australia and went well, he stayed in college to secure a future beyond basketball for himself by gaining an education, unfortunately his minutes and numbers decresed over his final 2 years as Baylor recruited well and had a much better team which meant less work required from Bruce.

Millsy was probably also miss lead by clubs I think. From all the reports I read, clubs provided him with guidance that said he would be a late 1st round pick yet every club passed up on him once and most clubs passed up on him the 2nd time around too.

He wouldn't have stayed in draft if he thought he wasn't a chance of being picked in first round in my opinion, so in a way i guess he was misled. His scoring average would have to have improved from 18 next college season for him to have been a chance next year, and this is after teams target him moreso than last season, this also assumes he's injury free. Remember he outplayed or equalled: Stephen Curry (taken at number 7) and chris paul, deron williams. In fact in most games he played in college he would have to have been one of the top 2 players in each game.

The more I think about it the more I think Portland will be a good fit for him. They're goten rid of rodruigez and only have Blake and Bayless ahead in the rotation. Most teams have 3 pgs and Bayless is less of PG than Mills from what i've heard.

For Aussie draft stock to improve NBL should look at putting an AIS team in thhe league made up of Aussie players under the age of 23. The AIS is as goos a nursery for great talent as anywhere outside of USA, and is also well known overseas, plus giving these players who would otherwise go to college in the USA a chance to play proffesionally would rise their draft stocks. I'm not saying players should forego the chance to play college ball if given the opportunity, but 3 years in a pro league for a team which is as well known as most mid-ranked college teams for developing talent could definately work. Also perhaps the players could get a college degree here as part of their contract.

I've liked the idea of an AIS team in the NBL for awhile. Keep it to under 22's or something, then NBL teams can snap them up, or if they are good enough they can enter the NBA draft or go to Europe.

On Mills staying another year, I don't think the Olympics would fade that much. Scouts still use Youtube and will be sure to remind themselves of what he did there, as well as his more recent body of work.

The other thing is, both Rubio and Mills played well at the Olympics, yet there was a massive difference in their draft projections. I think this shows that scouts were much more interested in everything each player had done. Rubio had been on the radar much longer than Mills, and hence teams were more comfortable taking him with a high pick.

Its unfortunate for Mills that he got injured this year. All signs pointed to his Gaels knocking off Gonzaga and going to the NCAA tourney before he went down. If they'd done that, and beaten a team or two in the tournament, Mills would have been top 20 for sure.

Such is life though. He's in Portland now, and I agree with you Guam, he's go a shot behind Blake and Bayless. I actually think Bayless is an undersized SG anyway, and Mills may supplant him as the backup PG quite easily once they see he has great handles.

It will help a lot if Portland's attempts to land someone like Hinrich fail as well, because they are not committed to Blake, who could also be knocked off if Mills learns their offence fast enough! If I were Mills, apart from learning the offence, I would be taking three after three and shooting FTs! Roy really runs the offence anyway, so Mills just needs to bring the ball up safely, hand it over if the fast break isn't on, and make his threes when he is open!

Oh yeah, and I don't think we've peaked as far as providing NBA players go. Aussies have strong ties with the Spurs, the Gaels and the Utes now, and a lot of Aussies are being recruited to colleges. So we have a much greater toe hold in the US than we did a decade ago. I think we'll continue to produce a few NBA quality guys here and there.

A really important factor with Mills and Jawai is their indigenous/ islander backgrounds. You'd have to think that if they can succeed, and earn a couple of million dollar contracts in the NBA, that a lot more indigenous kids will develop an interest in basketball. That has to be good for the game here, because there is clearly a higher ceiling on the general athletic ability of indigenous kids - just watch the AFL!