Agree, the Boomers need Jawai and it would be awesome to see him at the Olympics as a dominate dunking big..Jawai has played with the Boomers previously, he is in Australia atm and is injury-free coming off a good season in europe.

BA has been silent on the issue and have promoted the idea of Patty coming back (as they should) but have said nothing about another former NBA player returning to the Boomers line up. You can imagine if this was the Wallabies or even a AFL match when a player of Jawai's talent and potential wasn't being considered because of a coaches issue (?) or player rift of some kind at least there would be some media commentary.

Bottom line is get over it fellas, its the Olympics..

Can someone please interpret what the previous post actually said? I just spent 2 minutes reading and attempting to decipher it and now I cannot recover said 2 minutes..... Is it me or do others have issues with so called grown men letting out gossip with "tweets"? Women really have taken over this world.....

Reid asks Jawai "So no Boomers action for you mate ?"

Jawai replies to Reid "Don't know yet mate"

Ol School, if you are struggling to read Twitter feeds, just ask any passing 12 year old in the street - they can probably help.

LOL ...

Bigs considered at the moment are Jawai, Ogilvy, Maric, Andersen, Baynes. There's no way all 5 of these guys can make the team and apart from Andersen the rest are about as good as each other. I'm guessing the boomers coaches are looking for reasons to keep players out however small the reasons are. The fact that he's made the NBA shouldn't automatically get him in the team.

Jawai stats last season are 11ppg, 5rpg
Ogilvy 5ppg, 2rpg
Baynes 14ppg, 9rpg
Maric 11ppg, 4rpg
Andersen 14ppg 5rpg

some good Jawai highlights from his time with the T-wolves

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkJmEdcOtX8

"Women really have taken over this world..."?

Wow. as far as off-the-cuff sexism goes, you pretty much take the cake Ol School. Classy

I saw Nathan in cairns a couple of weeks ago and he was in the best shape I have ever seen him. I don't profess to know what is going on but I thought I saw something somewhere that said he was having another tilt at NBA . He was in the states last week and only just got back.

I think the problem with Jawai the last time he was in the team was not his offence, but his defence. Yes he averaged some good numbers against NZ in that series, but we ultimately lost (on pts diff) because our bigs (Jawai and Ogilvy) couldn't defend the pick and roll and Pledger and others had a field day with dunks and layups at the rim in the second game.

IF Jawai is fit and mobile enough to defend pick and roll offence consistently, then he could be a great asset offensively, where his size around the basket gives us something noone else currently can.

In the end, I'm sure the coach knows Jawai's situation and would put him in the squad if he thought he was up to it, but time is running pretty short, so odds are Jawai won't play this time around.

The issue is that out of all of our bigs - only Aleks Maric can score in the paint, which is a pretty big problem if you ask me.

I understand his shortcomings, but I'd be taking a flyer on him.

The Boomers are making it so hard on themselves with no three point shooters and no easy buckets in the paint.

What Beantown said,

If he doesn't even get a bait to the camp and/ or farewell series it is probably more than just him being out of shape or a whisker off making it (which is what most people are saying) I gather that other fringe players will be training with the squad and then not make it on final London team. A no show all together suggests he's been excluded by coaches and hes not bothering etc... Just seems odd. They've involved lots of other players so far who won't make the team

Obv his D is his weakness due to effort/conditioning, but are our other options at the 4/5 much better on that end?

Damian Martin said on Perth radio that Brett Brown is going to let the 12 Olympians know of their selection prior to the June 20 deadline. Given that Melbourne camp starts tomorrow, it's a pretty sure bet everyone already knows. Brown has gone on the record that the first 10 pick themselves, and it's only the last two spots that they (the coaches) really had to make decisions on.

The reality is that Brett Brown would be selecting Jawai as an Olympian without him having played for the Boomers or even so much as attended a camp since 2009. Whilst Jawai would certainly add value as an 11th or 12th man, it doesn't seem like Brown's style to pick Jawai based on his lack of committment to the national program.

In my opinion, which is probably not worth a lot, it's simply going to be a case of the same team that went to the 2010 Worlds, with Dellavedova replacing Markovic.

@ anon #366426? I was at the first two games of the barca v kazan series and I can tell you he was in great shape and played much more than just a couple of minutes at a time...just saying

Maric and Nielsen can defend, but Anderson isn't great...

All the other options at the 4/5 who have been mentioned are atrocious.

Nate was in Cairns at the Relay for Life on Saturday/Sunday. He is looking fit and mean and keen to play at the Olympics. He was visiting Patty the week before and flew back home. He is in Melbourne this morning and going to spend time with Patty and Ingles - make of it what you will...

The thing with fitness though is you dont want someone who was forced to work hard on one or two possessions in a row then taking a short cut on the next one. This is the most intense level of basketball there is and it only takes a small slip-up and your team pays.

I keep reading the Adam Gibson is nearly a lock for the team....at SG.

So picking a grossly undersized and unathletic guy to play the 2 who has flat-out chooooked in a Boomers uniform in big games before and brings nothing whatsoever to the table in terms of international basketball is not a risk, but taking a "flyer" on Jawai -- who by all accounts is in the best shape of his career -- is? I suppose you can't quantify it as a "risk" if there's no potential "end reward" in the first place. It's just a "dive".

I must have really, really lost touch.

Also in NBL.com.au's recent article by Marc Howard rating guys' chances for the team, Jawai isn't even mentioned in the frontcourt depth chart of potential players...

You can't blame politics for Jawai's personal decision not to make himself available for national team duty for three years, and then fling his hand in the air three months before the Olympics because we've lost our number one centre. Then after that spur of the moment decision, and after being named to the squad, he again decides to skip the first camp to go to San Antonio?

I understand the debate regarding his talent, and that it may be superior to other bigs in the mix, however it sends completely the wrong message about the committment required to be a national team player if BA and the coaches let Jawai waltz back in after a three year absence and become an Olympian at the expense of someone who hasn't missed a single camp or game for the Boomers during the same time frame.

I think youve hit the nail on the head with what Brett Brown and his coaches have to tussle with.

They know that without Bogut this squad has a total of zero low post scorers, so just on talent and balance Jawai makes sense.

But there's a lot more to putting together a successful team than that, and without knowing the ins and outs it's hard to second guess their thinking.

What if Jawai had been asked repeatedly to camps the past few years and declined? Now, after a mediocre season in Russia that had a few very good games but some very poor ones, what has he actually done to earn a spot?

It's a tough decision, but I watched a lot of Jawai this year and he wasnt close to international level form for almost the entire year.

Even though he had a couple of massive games in the Euroleague QFs, some of his efforts walking down the court asking for a sub and some atrocious efforts when asked to step out to defend pick and rolls would be big crosses against his name.

Guys let all be honest here and state the real reason why Jawai may not be selected.

Australia does not like playing any kind of post up basketball what so ever. The Australian coaches prefer to watch our PG, SG, SF & PF all shoot from the high post outwards. Even when AB played for the national team he was always on the high post. That is just the way out Silly coaches believe they will win.

The challenge to all on here is to find me a game where (Australian team) we last had 15+ low post big man post up possession in 1 game. In case you do not have time to do the research, the answer is the Barcelona Olympics. A certain Australian Youth team coach did it in 2003 with our under 19's team.

While the real story behind Jawai's regular omissions will probably never be known to those outside the inner circle (hell it is such a state secret that Wortho has not even been able to tweet it) what is disappointing is the fact that as fans we have never really had the chance to see what Nate can do on a decent stage. Anyone can see that the potential is there and also that there is some substantial limitations and similarities to the regulars(not named Bogut)who play that spot. I disagree about how much his fitness plays in all this as his role would be an explosive one in short bursts anyway as he is by no means any sort of endurance athlete. Surely you need a plan B if your main system is not working and Nate could have been a big part in that.

ummmball, in 2010 under Brown there was plenty of ball in the low post to Maric.

fstos - fitness impacts whether you can get out to three screens on an offence, it's not just an endurance thing. If Nate is fit now great, but there were times this year where he simply couldnt defend at an Olympic level on any play. In 09 when he played for the Boomers his defence was missing.

anon - I think you are quite glib re 'a few practice matches against China'. There was also a world championship and an olympic qualifying series in there.

As I have said before, from an outsider's point of view I like the idea of taking an x-factor like Jawai with the 12th spot, but the talk of him being a 'serious talent' at international level is not backed up by what he has done on court in recent years.

There is massive potential and some breakout moments, but other guys in the squad have also had this (and some more) in club ball and they have more experience internationally.

I list him as a fringe Boomer, someone who should do the hard yards if he wants to play for his country. The good thing is he is only 25 so there is plenty of time to see him in the green and gold if he commits to the camps etc.

Well it is a Boomers camp...I still think Jawai is a very good chance for London

In The Cairns Post today - Nate isn't playing for the boomers due to not committing to the program and will stay in Cairns for 2 months training with the Marlins/Taipans (rumoured to suit up for the Marlins). Also looking at other Euro options but the states haven't been ruled out.

So which one is it?

Jawai is at the Melbourne camp for a couple of days as a reserve big man in the place of David Andersen. He is not a member of the squad though. I believe it's a good sign for the future, given his lack of commitment to the Boomers prorgam, that he was willing to undertake such a role. Though as per his tweets, he could just be using it as a chance to catch up with his mates Patty and Jingles.

Either way, he's not going to London. Perhaps this experience will reignite a passion for representing the green and gold, and we'll see him in Spain in 2014.

That's great news. If we want to make serious waves at future tournaments a fully fit and committed Jawai is nearly a must.

People talk crap about Worthington being overpaid at various teams and out of shape at camp, but you always get the impression he will go to war for the Boomers and seems more than happy to play whatever role is required of him. Coaches would really value that sort of thing and fans are forever underrating those characteristics in a player.

Jawai, throwing himself 100% into any team structure, training commitment and so on, would have a huge ceiling and would be a lock for these teams. But he's not and I think a good deal of that responsibility probably falls on him.

Just to clarify - Nate will train with the Marlins and Taipans teams (same complex / both under Cairns Basketball). He WON'T play for the Taipans until much later on in his career similar to Baynes - Fearne as their mentor encourages them to have an international career before returning back home.

Fearne has hinted that Nate may play for the Marlins in the QBL to keep his match fitness in check while he goes through a heap of euro offers (looking for somewhere warmer apparently)

Often the Nbl Aussies are on more than imports. Why do ppl think the imports are on big money?

Heard Jawai wants to play in Spain..with Barcas PF Erazem Lorbek heading to Spurs next season, could Jawai end up playing alongside Ingles for FC Barcelona? would be great to see, but unlikely

He didnt do himself any harm in the Euroleague QFs. I reckon he added a fari bit to his next contract in two games!