Anonymous, this was just a list of the guys that 'played' for the Boomers this year (2011).

Bogut, Andersen and Jawai did not play for the Boomers this year.

Any ideas for the starting 5 for the 2012 Olympics?

Aussie,

Assuming everyone is fit and available (and insurable!!!) I would say that the Boomers starting five will be Patty Mills, Brad Newley, Joe Ingles, Matt Nielsen and Andrew Bogut.

Anonymous,

Fair enough mate. No, I'm not quite that brave!

Although, it would appear obvious that Bogut and Andersen will be automatic inclusions for the Olympics. I don't think that the same can be said for Jawai. Given the emergence of Maric, the 100% committment of Baynes to the Boomers program, and Jawai's absences for the past two international seasons, I think big Nate probably needs to look to the 2014 World Championships and beyond if he wants to be a Boomer at the OG or WC level.

Yeah what about Maric can you not start him?? I think if everyones healthy. Patty Mills, Brad Newley, Matt Nielson (or Joe Ingles), Maric and Bogut.

Aussie, I cant see Maric and Bogut starting together. I think Maric will be Bogut's back-up, as he was in the 2003 Aussie Emus junior world championship winning team.

It's a real plus for the Boomers. As we all saw, when he's on song Maric is a beast. He was voted the best centre in the Euroleague last year (2010 season), so to have him coming off the bench will be a real bonus and further increases our already substantial depth.

Yes i defiantly agree i think we are going to be a real chance next year.

Aussie, winning an Olympic basketball medal is a massive task! I would say that at full-strength, we should be able to compete with anybody. If you can compete, you can win, so we'll see what happens.

One thing is for sure it is an exciting time for the Australian Boomers!

If Kyrie Irving plays for Australia, we could shift Mills to the shooting guard spot and get rid of some dead weight like newley onto the bench.

I wouldnt call him a dead weight but i think you would put patty on the bench and start kyrie irving instead.

Yes I'd start Kyrie and bring in Patty as a spark off the bench too.

Everyone has talked about this Olympics being the one for the Boomers, as we're no longer developing key guys like we did in the past two.

newley and ingles both have boomer positions in their skill sets.
that curl cut/slash that newley has at his size and length is very difficult to guard at any level.
joe is a very intelligent basketballer these days,he probably needs to find other ways to score eg.getting to the free throw line(penney style).
Vart,to win a medal we WILL need jawai coming off the bench,there is no substitute for a good BIG with 'presence' at the international level.
i like barlow more these days, he looks comfortable coming off the bench and is money in the bank from the field and f/t line.

This is the squad I would like to see:

Bogut / Maric
Nielsen / Andersen / Jawai
Ingles / Worthington
Newley / Barlow
Mills / Dellavedova / Martin

I did not include Irving as I highly doubt it will happen.

Ogilvy, Baynes are victims of our big man depth in my current selection.

Lots of ifs and buts before London - but we will be there ;)

Off topic slightly, how would team USA pick its squad for the London Olympics if the lockout cancels the entire 2011-12 season? Reputation alone?

LC - yep,apart from kyrie replacing delly/martin, thats the squad that will contest a medal.

curtley - who gives a shit ?

Not that it will happen, but the last time there was a lockout the NBA players boycotted the WCs for the USA, who then only came home for a bronze medal.

How is the quality of the players playing for the favourites going into the biggest international basketball tournament irrelevant?

If the Boomers win a medal and team USA is made up of euro based americans it wouldn't be the same would it?

All the Euro Americans are playing for Euro countries...

I like the below team also with the last 4 man being contested by Jawai, Baynes and AJ. Would tip Baynes to get there, he just gets after it more. AJ still looks soft and Jawai is absent and inconsistent. All the others deserve to be there.

Bogut / Maric
Nielsen / Andersen / ?
Ingles / Worthington
Newley / Barlow
Mills / Dellavedova / Martin

However, I think we really need a pure shooter, someone to stretch defences and pour on points. No idea who that person is??? Probably don't exist for a while, some talk about Bose or Crawford, but I don't see them taking any of the above spots for now. Perhaps we coerce some streaky shooting American to naturalise... ? Any thoughts?

Interesting that a lot of people have dropped Adam Gibson from their teams, and kept Damian Martin, despite the fact that Brett Brown started Gibson in Turkey and played him significantly more minutes in the NZ series.

Des, I like your thoughts. Baynes has improved dramatically and has made himself available constantly available to play for the Boomers, which is much more than can be said for Jawai. Whether this has any baring on selection come the Olympics I'm not quite sure. I would think Brett Brown would pick the best team possibly available. That having been said with Baynes' improvement, I'm not sure there is a huge gap between them at the moment.

As for the 'pure' shooter Des, I don't think we're going to see one develop between now and the Olympics in nine months time.

For the future I would say Anthony Drmic seems to fit the mould. He should 44% from three-point range during this years under-19 World Championships.

Steven Weigh appears to have the 'purest' stroke of any players mentioned above, and certainly brings nice size the two-guard spot and international level, but needs to improve to become a Boomers regular. This is undoubtedly one of the reasons behind his move to Adelaide to play under Marty Clarke.

I'll bring up Damian Martin again, as he shot 48% from three-point range in the NBL in 2009-10 (the Wildcats' Championship winning team). I see this as another reason that he should be ahead of Gibson in the rotation. They both bring essentially the same things to the table (solid point guard skills, suffocating defence, the ability to guard bigger players) however in my mind Martin's superior outside shooting should get him the nod, as the Boomers could clearly use it at the moment. Not sure that Brett Brown sees it this way though!

They're pretty selective stats, Vart. I'm sure you're aware that Martin actually shot only 32% last NBL season from 3, and 34% on his career. It's an over simplification, but I think that the general consensus is Gibson - good scorer, solid defender and Martin - fantastic defender, average scorer.

With the emergence of Dellavedova, if Martin and Gibson are to fight over one remaining spot (and I personally believe that they are still a chance to both be selected) then that spot is a role players spot. I think for this reason many people are siding with Martin.

Fair call aussieboomers4eva. The reason for the selective stats is that the entire Perth team shot the ball poorly last year, and had been widely acknowledged by their coaching staff in relation to their offensive sets and shot selection. For that reason I didnt include last years figure. Martin was widely acknowledged as a poor shooter prior to the 2009-10 season, hence the reason I didnt mention his career average.

There is no argument in my mind that Martin is a superior three-point shooter when compared to Gibson, especially as a spot-up three-point shooter. This is something to keep in mind as the addition of Bogut is going to spread the floor quite a bit and open up some looks from the perimeter.

I too believe they are both a chance to be selected, there is no doubt about that, though I personally believe it is counterproductive to carry two players who essentially bring you exactly the same things.

Vart, didn't Martin's return to his career average for 3p% coincide with the introduction last season of the extended three point line (which will be used in all FIBA competitions)? Not sure there is evidence that Martin is a great 3 point shooter from the new distance.

I would argue Gibson is a better shooter than Martin too - but I think Martin's positive outweight those of Gibson. In any case, I think either would only play an emergency backup role in London. Mills and Delly are first stringers right now.

Appreciate your input XY, I must admit I hadnt considered that. It most likely has something to do with it. Thanks.

LC, you're quite right, they are emergency backups for sure. It's two years away, but it will be interesting to see where Delly ends up playing professionally. He will only get better and better.

Both Martin and Gibson are good players but what they bring doesn't help our situation, we need scoring. Such a shame Kirk Penney is a New Zealander, he is just what we need, even if he is getting on.

I haven't seen Steven Weigh in action much, saw a bit of college stuff but thats old now. Frank Drimic maybe in a few years. Any college players currently lighting up? I almost fell off my chair when Carfino and Heal suggested James Harvey. Surely he is out of the picture these days, I can't be certain though as I really don't watch much NBL.

I agree Des, we certainly could use some more perimeter scoring.

Hugh Greenwood and Anthony Drmic could certainly help us in this area in the future. Hugh is an very long outside shot at playing in London, and Drmic would not be on the radar for London, so realistically they are both long term prospects for the Boomers.

I really thought Steven Weigh would have been in the picture by now. A shooter of his size would be invaluable at the international level, but he really hasn't lifted his game to the heights most people would have expected. I think he realises this and is one of the reasons he has moved to Adelaide to play under his mentor from the AIS days, Marty Clarke. Hopefully he can have a breakout season with the 36ers, and really put his name up for contention for London.