Nate tweeted the other day that he is still recovering but working hard on getting back to hoops with a focus on the 2014 WC.

That is good to know.

tweeter feeds suggest a lost soul, probs pissed off with not playing. he was so fit. hope he doesn't stress eat and have too much work to do for WC's

It will be tough to make the WCs, going against guys who have had full seasons behind them. Hopefully he can time his run well.

Must say though, with Bogut, Baynes, Andersen, Nevill, Ogilvy, Maric, Knight and Jawai we are spoiled for choice in the big man department. If only a couple more of them could shoot!

Andersen can shoot out of that lot Paul :)

Exactly. Knight and Nevill good from mid-range. There's definitely a spot for Daniel Johnson once Andersen retires if he can get the physical and defensive sides of his game going.

Paul that would be great re:DJ, just can't see that happening

will younger big guys like jonah bolden and ben simmons be in the frame to play wc 2014?

http://www.cairnspost.com.au/sport/local-sport/cairns-jawai-sets-sights-on-a-boomer-berth/story-fnjpuwsz-1226794596513

Article in Cairns Post signalling his intention to play for Boomers in WC.

"Jawai will spend time training at the AIS in Canberra and has indicated to Australian head coach Andrej Lemanis he is serious about a return"

THATS AWESOME!! Thats really the first time I am aware that he has expressed his commitment for the National Squad.

Good Luck Nate
(I'm sure he reads hoops.com.au)

Hahaha! Yes indeed, good luck.

Yeah, forgot about him, got his foot in the door pretty well last year, some quality depth - just wish he could shoot too!

could we field a boomers team made up predominantly of nba players in the near future?

it seems theoretically possible.

mills , delly , exum (back court)

baynes , bogut , jonah bolden , ben simmons and thon maker (seems talk has them at good chance of nba prospects) (front court)

thats 8 players , with no clear small forwards. drmic? i think anotoly drmic and ingles at this point.

(i dont know all the up and comers by the way)

that would make 11 players and the core of the team all playing in the nba. wouldnt that be fantastic.

by the way , i think with the way mitch creek has added shooting to his game he can be an option for the boomers if he continues to work on his game when he peaks around the age of 25/28.... others agree?

Mitch has a ways to go to be a serious Boomers contender.. but I would throw him in a training camp to put guys on there toes and help him get to that level.

creek will give us something we don't have in the boomers team. is still so young with the improvement ive seen this year i think in 3-4 years he could be very good for us.

how do people rate exum simmons and bolden at this point?

amazing that talk has exum at a top 5-10 draft pick as a kid ,

simmons and bolden as high schoolers just entering college are rated in the top tens of their draft class.

Mitch could play a similar role to Newley down the track.

I wouldn't include simmons/exum or Bolden on the next team.. too much at stake, too many guys who can contribute right now.. they are too young and not use to playing against men. This will be Dantes team in 2016.

If he can ever get healthy he would have to be considered for 2014 WC.

If Jawai gets back to pre NBA form and shape before he had the heart scare and had to sit out 3 months he will be unbelievably good!!

I would argue that Nate was fitter than ever before prir to this current injury - he was really looking good at Fenerbahce in Turkey.

Australia has some serious talent, and if the majority are all available, it will be hard to battle for a place in the team.

I don't believe that guys like Simmons or even Anthony Drmic (who is tearing it up in college this year) are ready just yet, although I would think the team can afford 1 place for a develoment tye role - i.e. for Exum - with a view to the future.

If Lemanis coaches well, in all reality we should only be using around 9 players in the main rotation in any case. Exum should therefore potentially make it as 12th man as an investment for the future.

I agree LC I think there's been alot of talk of Exum and co not being ready. If Exum is good enough to be top 10 draft pick then he is good enough to be 11/12 man for boomers.

Exum should definitely be in the WC team, getting him involved now will make him better in 2016, and who knows how far he will develop in the next eight months? He might be able to make a genuine contribution of some sort, even if just a spark in one game when the team needs it.

Very Keen to have Jawai in the mix.. I just wish there was some way to get Bogut.. then we would be talking about a genuine medal threat

I think we only need two of Bogut, Baynes and Jawai, but the likelihood of having all three available seems low anyway.

Baynes will be there, its the availability of the other two that could determine our medal prospects. My 12 is
Dellavedova
Mills
Ingles
Baynes
Bogut

Martin
Exum
Goulding
Newley
Bairstow
Andersen
Jawai.

steven-love the starting five....lock that in!!

am I the only person who thinks nate jawai is over rated

not so commonsense, no you are not the only person, but most who have seen how much of an impact he can have, like he has shown in the last 2 years in Europe, want him fit and in the team. Fitness and motivation are the keys.

Jawai gives us something we havent had. A true, bulky, back to the basket banger that has the sheer weight and size to push most people around in the paint.. Not just post up like Baynes, Nate will just run guys over.

He is more a pick-and-roll guy these days, would work well with Delly just as Baynes does.

Bogut has already said he won't play at the World Cup, but is aiming for one more crack at the Olympics in 2016. Whilst it is most unlikely that a team can win an international medal without their best player, it is fortunate for the Boomers that we have significant depth in the big man department to negate Bogut's absence. That having been said, the only big man that could really be considered a lock at the moment would be Baynes, and he isn't really playing much which is a shame. I guess that will mean he'll be fresh for the Boomers campaign!

Jawai would have also been a lock in my opionion is he had not of gotten hurt. Good to see at least that he is committed to going to Canberra and working with Andrej. This may even work to his advantage in the long-term.

On a side note, I really hope BA sent Pop and Mike Brown Christmas cards for the awesome jobs they've done developing the Boomers World Cup starting backcourt. Patty is becoming more proficient in the point guard spot everygame, whilst Cleveland's use of Delly as a SG and sometimes even a small forward has been a masterstroke. Basically they've got both guys playing to their strengths, Patty being able to use his quickness and scoring ability, and Delly being a ball mover and spot up shooter, not having to worry about getting into the lane to create.

Nate was at the Taipans game on Sat night. Sure could have used him on the court...

Just getting back into basketball in past 3 years in a big way - after about ten years not paying much attention save for the boomers and opals.

As a result i can't comment on how good Jawai was when he was in the NBA, but I have really enjoyed his play for Barca and Galatassaray in past couple of seasons -especially early on this season for Gala when he seemed to be getting more minutes than at Barca - before his injury. So I hope he can recover in time for the WC.

On other boomers- Barlow never seems to get much game time for his Polish(?) Euroleague team - does he get more minutes when they play in their national league...?

Anyway, love these discussions

Cliff

Dave has actually left his team in Poland, and no, he was rarely getting minutes in either comp.

Would Barlow be considering a gig back here. No great loss to be getting out of Poland.Not renowned for looking after their players well.

Latest news on Nate Jawai

Dave could be a handy replacement if an NBL team lost an import to injury/NBA call-up.