Vart
Years ago
Some signs of life for the Aussie Boomers
Article from FIBA.com - http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/news/colu/p/newsid/51519/arti.html
MELBOURNE (Paulo Kennedy's View from Downunder) - A lot of Australian basketball fans smiled when they saw the draw for the men's Olympic basketball tournament this week.
For those who missed the draw, the Australian Boomers drew Brazil, China, Great Britain, Spain and a qualifier from the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT).
When I wrote earlier in the year that New Zealand had received a favourable pool at the OQT, a friend asked if I really thought they had an easy draw.
The answer, of course, was no. There is no such thing in a major FIBA tournament, but their draw gives them a chance, and it is no different for the Boomers.
Turn up with anything less than their A-game and they will miss the quarter-finals. But play close to their best when it matters and they could avoid the top team from Group A - most likely the USA – in the first knockout round.
It was a dose of good news that was much needed after Andrew Bogut’s withdrawal from the squad, and follows on from some other signs of life in Australia’s campaign.
Things had been looking gloomy with many of our national team members anchored to their club team’s benches for much of the season.
But firstly Patty Mills got a couple of starting gigs for the San Antonio Spurs and promptly nailed 27 and 34 points. He also dished out 12 assists against the Suns.
Now it is true to point out both teams were resting players and the games counted for little, if anything, but you still have to put the ball in the basket and you still have to create those shots for teammates.
After Mills had spent a month playing in the lower-level Chinese league, then three months waiting for a CBA clearance and an NBA contract, any sign of form against any opposition is most welcome, let alone NBA opposition.
With Bogut gone, Mills will have to be Australia’s main scoring threat, and to see him in the top 10 for points per minute in the planet’s best league should warm any Boomers fan’s heart.
He is not alone in a recent resurgence either.
Brad Newley, after just three double-figure scoring efforts from October to March, has posted a dozen points or more points three times in the past three weeks.
After shooting a woeful 3-of-25 from long range at the 2010 FIBA World Championship and 2011 FIBA Oceania Championship, Newley has made 7-of-14 since the start of April. Small mercies in the big picture, but pray that continues Aussie fans!
Nathan Jawai had 13 points and 13 rebounds for UNICS Kazan against CSKA Moscow in the final of the VTB United League, and averaged 14 points at 64 per cent and 7.3 rebounds a game in the Euroleague quarter-finals against Barcelona.
Now that’s stepping up against quality opposition.
David Barlow moved to the 4-spot for Murcia against Real Madrid and collected 16 points and nine rebounds. It would be good to see him used in tandem with Mark Worthington at the two forward spots for the national team to give opponents a different, more mobile look.
Sharpshooting Peter Crawford averaged 19.7 points at 39 per cent from long range against the New Zealand Breakers in the NBL semi-finals.
Even Aleks Maric got a good run for Panathinaikos in the Greek A1 semi-finals and collected 16 points in 17 minutes in Game 2.
Again small mercies, and yes there have been plenty of other games where these guys, and other Aussie squad members, have been stuck on the bench or not produced, but the picture is certainly brighter than it was a month or two ago.
If you could choose the time your national squad members were producing better form for their club teams you would take the end of the season every time.
A couple of camps, two games against China, three against Greece, two against Spain and a friendly tournament in France will fly by and soon the Boomers will be facing Brazil in their opening game in London.
So a bit of momentum coming into camp could work wonders for a team that still doesn’t quite know where it sits in the pecking order. I hope so anyway.
Of course, this whole discussion brings up the issue of whether Australia is well served by having so many players not only a long way from home, but also on squads where they don’t get a great deal of court time.
But I’ll save that for another time. For now Aussie fans should just smile with relief that something is finally going right for the Boomers’ Olympic campaign.
Have a great weekend.
Paulo Kennedy
