sort of/not really. he still has some developing to do imo. he is great when he is switched on but when he isnt he isnt extremely useful. with a bit more experience he will definitely be a boomer. thats my 2 cents worth

It is an interesting issue.

I was incredibly impressed with Simon Katich's comments last week about the Australian team and their "youth" policy and his strong view the Aussie team being the best 11 blokes available and the squad in effect being the best 15 available etc etc.

Cricket is different but Goulding right now has more credentials than the very talented and promising Dante Exum. Goulding was more credentialled than Jason Cadee who not only got a squad call up but played for the Boomers last year.

I am not a big Goulding fan either.

But does it cheapen the call-up every time Brown (or any other coach) wants to "look at someone"? Is it imperative because it is basketball?

I dont like it.I think it's getting to the point where youth is almost becoming more important than skill, experience and 'proven performance' (Goulding).

Do people think that it downgrades the reputation of the Boomers by selecting young guys like Exum?

I think it is unfair to guys like Goulding that a player like Exum can get an opportunity to be part of the Boomers squad, when he hasn't really proved anything at a level of basketball even remotely close to International basketball.
It seems like 'if your young and you attend the AIS' then youl get a Boomer call up.

He is injured at the moment anyway so wouldnt have been able to go to the camp.

I dont think youth is an issue for Goulding, he is only 22. He has things to work on to get his game up to international standard. If he had been fit you would hope he would have got a call up in recent weeks though.

I think there is a time and a place to get young guys involved, and it is when there is an initial camp, that's the time to do it. And FWIW, this is the first initial camp. So it is great to expose the promising talent at this level at this stage so they see what is required to make it to that next level.

I think with some of the late inclusions in particular, they were struggling to get anough fit players to commit so they could have an adequate scrimmage! They still only have 16 players fit at the camp as far as I'm aware.

so LC, you tab the individual stuff pretty well. What is your view on Cadee actually playing for the Boomers last year?

a) did he earn the camp call up (compared to all those guys running around in the NBL etc)?
b) did he perform so brilliantly at camp that he HAD to be selected?

The latter is my problem. If you call a kid into camp (and i mean an uncredentialled kid) and they perform brilliantly at camp for 3 days, do you then have to take them to the next camp?

I would think yes. If so, it makes the notion of selecting them initially an even more difficult one.

I dont have a problem with guys who have stood out in Australian junior teams getting a chance to play for the Boomers in a development series.

goulding shows all the rookie/young player symptoms but i have to admit there looks to be a fair bit of upside in his game.......i suspect there may be some doubts about what is going on upstairs(in his head)

brown would be looking at stats from the nbl and not in person.....a big difference,compared to when watching young players in clutch situations!!

all in all, if goulding was fit for this series, i would say it is a bit unfair for him not to get a gig.

I think the posters have raised some good points, particularly about the value or not of a boomers singlet.

Being called into a training squad (Exum, Jervis, Joyce and Lven) doesn't make you a Boomer, however I agree a certain level of devaluation occurs with players selected either ahead of their time, or totally unworthy.

Whilst its easy to see potential, I think a players record and the distane they are from playing senior basketball for our country is something Brown and Co. should be more mindful of. For that reason, if fit, I would have guys like Goulding (well credentialled Junior Aussie, expereinced NBL-er, good Intl potential) over a kid like Exum (Just made Aus U17s).

Personally I never liked less expereinced, skilled or physically able players in my training squads. If we want a U17 to be tested he should train with the U19s or Universiade squads.

Paul, don't you think everyone (fans, other players, basketball members) would value the boomers singlet more if it wasn't just handed out on a come and try basis?

At the time Cadee was selected (and played!) there were probably 15 or more tried and true NBL players who could have taken that spot - I reckon it sends an terrible message to them.

It also means that if I am an Adelaide supporter, my guys, Herbet or Carter maybe, are overlooked, thus detracting from my interest and understanding of the NBL in forming the Boomers teams, whenever they play.

I understand what you are saying, and maybe there needs to be a point of differentiation between these development squads and the real Boomers. Tough to do though as we dont get to see the Boomers much on home soil and it is hard enough to draw a crowd to the games as it is.

I would certainly prefer to see a Greenwood or Cadee playing than Rhys Martin, even though Rhys did a great job for the Hawks two seasons ago and is better than those two kids at the moment, he is very unlikely to ever be a genuine Boomer, whereas they might be.

On the other hand, guys like Larry Davidson and Matt Knight have been overlooked in recent years when they definitely shouldnt have been. Still, this year guys like Daniel Dillon, Steve Weigh and Ben Madgen got invites which I think is good.

It is a tough job balancing development with the best at the time. Other countries involve young players in their national programs (Durant in the US is a classic example of that) and it is very important to do.

BTW - there werent 15 or more tried NBL pgs to take Cadee's spot, and I think that is an important point to note.

But in the Australian make-up i reckon its a poor approach.

The Wallabies are our best, the Kangaroos are our best, the Hockeyroos are our best, the Boomers are a handful of our best and sometimes a kid we "want to take a look at".

The best parallel is probably the socceroos, and while there are times they decide to not play the true guns (the best) the second string team are almost certainly the "next best". You don't see them selecting a 17 year old from the VIS or SASI because he looks like he might be an international in the future! There may have been times this has been done because the 17 year old is good enough, but its not for experience or to "take a look at".

And I did not say there were 15 PG's, I said there were 15 tried and true NBL players who could have taken Cadee's spot. I think that is important to note.

Well i think Goulding Deserves a call up. He has good Size, Handles the ball decently, Shoots the 3 well, runs the floor and hustles well. I think he would be a great role player off the bench. I think hes the next best guard behind Gibbo, Marto and Crawford.

I know what you said, but Cadee was picked as a point guard, not as a centre!!

The Australian cricket team regularly trials players in different forms of the game who arent close to the best 11 players in the country, the Wallabies trial players against lower ranked teams, from memory James O'Connor was involved in the national program from very early on. The Hockeyroos basically rebuilt with a development team a few years ago.

I dont think Cadee or Greenwood sitting on the end of the bench in a development series against Argentina and getting some junk minutes harms the brand of the Boomers at all.

I am all for development for the future so the Boomers perform better when it matters - that is against NZ and in Olympics and WCs - so long as the balance between having the best team and nurturing players at the right time is achieved. I think that has been done pretty well by the past two coaches, even if I havent agreed with everything they have done.

One thing to remember with Cadee was that following the Boomers camp and subsequent Argentina series he was involved in a very severe car accident where he was lucky to survive let alone play basketball again.

If it wasnt for that accident Im sure he would have continued his rapid development (the Blaze brought in an import guard in Hudson to help cover Cadee's inability to play the minutes they expected when he was signed) and could very well have been now commanding a place in Boomers calculations without anyone even giving it a 2nd thought.

The coaching staff obvioulsy see a very big upside with him and are keen to help him get back on track so he can fulfil the potential he showed before the accident.

Apparently Goulding has been replaced by Dante Exum !!!

AA-try the AAA'S they might work in your playstation remote !!

The China team isn't looking top strong... Only beat a WA SBL 'allstar' side by 3 points this afternoon in a scratch match.

Paul, if we are including centres (and then I presume forwards), then there were 30-40 tried and true NBL players who should have been in that Boomer squad ahead of Cadee, not 15, I apologise.

Your examples don't stack up. The Australian cricket selectors don't use the Australian team in that way at all in any form of the game. They may use Australia A that way, but I cannot recall any examples in the last 20-30 years, where a rookie was picked on potential, and named in an Australian side, and played, based on potential. I cannot think of a case recently where that player had not already earned their stripes playing in the state based competitions in whatever form of the game.

Rebuilding from a development squad is not playing boys who have never played and dominated at the top level within their country.

The Wallabies certainly rotate players within their squad, but putting selection debates aside the squad is their best, again, I cannot recall a 17 year with potential but no real credentials named to a Wallabies team because "they want to have a look".

And O'Connor, gimme a break. Played a full season with Western Force before being named to the Wallabies squad.

Cadee had never played top level men's basketball, he had played top level boys basketball. And I agreed he is very talented, along with Hugh G, along with Exum, but you can hardly say they 'earned' the right to represent Australia as a Boomer. In that respect it trashes the brand.

This should be about representing your country, not playing for a team or a coach.

While I dont think my views on this topic are that far removed from yours, I disagree with most of that post. We are going to have to agree to disagree.

My view is the same as yours in that the national team is for the best players, and I think that should be the case in WCs, Olympics, Oceania series and warm up series close to those events.

However, there are some series the national team plays that are clearly development series and I have no problem with a standout junior being involved in that series.

Patrick Mills hadnt played pro basketball when he debuted in 07, in fact he was straight out of the U19s. Bogut hadnt played against men when he debuted in 04. A similar argument was apparently used against Andrew Gaze's first Olympic selection. If you dont test these guys you dont know whether they are ready.