@aussie_kyrie is not playing to give Exum more development minutes.

Just praying these players don't suffer injuries in the mean time. But you would think, for once, the hoops gods would smile upon Andrew Bogut.

This looks like it could be our best team to ever line up for a qualifier?

Delly
Mills
Broekhoff
Motum
Bogut

Exum
Newley
Blanchfield
Goulding
Baynes
Bairstow
Simmons

Word is BA is in talks with Channel 7...

Maker might be worth a spot to lock him in for Australia for the future. I would put him in the 12th man spot.

Worthington has retired from international ball and we no longer really need his services (as good as he has been for us).

Gibson falls into the same category as Wortho. In a team that already has 3 guys who can play the point, I am not sure Gibsons services are required. But would be the first PG I'd call in if there is an injury.

I bet bogut will come back to Aus for camp, but wont suit for this series. He will come back and develop the young guys in training camp, but what is seriously to gain for him playing this qualifier, for anyone.

1: we can beat NZ without him
2: he could get injured and surely GSW would risk him.

I just cant see it happening

Why the hell would Bogut be doing this?

Baller#3, he has said he is committed... so he is committed. Everything else is just assumption and conspiracy theory.

Whats to gain from playing? Making sure we make the Olympics? You know, to most basketball nations, that actually matters. We would be cocky to assume it is going to be handed to us on a plate.

I am sure Bogut can offer a conservative 20 minutes per game.

Bogut has never called himself a development coach, and at this point, I expect he will be playing unless he gets injured before then.

Isaac Humphries is playing AAU ball this season so might not be available for the Camp.

Ben Simmons will be enrolled in summer school at LSU so might not be available either... same will probaly go for Thon Maker depending on which school he ends up going too(tho if he is ruled ineligible by the NCAA, which could be a possibility with his moving around every year, he will be available)

Jonah Bolden is a kid people shouldnt forget, he's got a outside chance of breaking into the NBA in a few years I think.

Any network would be stupid to turn this down, 6 NBA players playing!

Bogut would be splitting minutes with Baynes and possibly even Bairstow infact I think with all that talent no one will go over 25mins

Dellavedova
Mills
Broekhoff
Bairstow
Bogut

Exum
Goulding
Newley
Blanchfield
Motum
Baynes
?

Not so sure about last spot could be DJ, Ogilvy or Jois.

I just mean he is sooo injury prone and he's turning up to play in a non-tournament year. Seems like a bad career move.

Must really hate NZ.

How much camp preparation time is there for this? Apart from that, Bogut would be playing about 20 minutes max, with just 2 games. Seems like not a hell of a lot of commitment time to secure an Olympic spot. Given the strength of our time heading into 2016, it would be a disastrous missed opportunity if we failed to qualify. Good that our top players realise what is on the line here.

Why do all these anonymous say "attend but not play" and they point out specific players, but don't come up with specific reasons. Why would Exum attend but not play? Seems like people just invent scenarios in their heads with no evidence to back them up.

Having said that, if there is one NBA player we can lose for the series and not miss a great deal, it is Exum. He has just been rated the worst starting PG in the NBA. Now, I get that he is 19, I get that he is developing, but I wouldn't cry too hard if someone older and more experienced took his spot.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/us-sports/dante-exum-ranked-worst-starting-point-guard-in-nba/story-fnp542pi-1227285523216

Assuming no Simmons (due to scheduling difficulties) I would be inclined to add Petrie. He didn't have his best year, but he brings a lot of the skills that that Matty Neilsen had.

New Zealand will be no pushovers. Our 'B-Team' could struggle against the likes of Adams, Fotu(?), Vukona, Webster, Jackson(?) and Abercrombie.

Delly / Exum
Mills / Goulding
Broekhoff / Newley / Blanchfield
Bairstow / Motum
Baynes / Bogut / Ogilvy

Exum's starting in the NBA because he's a decent defender, low-usage offensive player (necessary due to Hayward and Burke), but more importantly he's 19yo and Jazz weren't (before the emergence of Gobert) in a position to compete for a playoff spot.

Zero chance he doesn't make the team if healthy. Moreover, he deserves to, even if just the 10-12th man.

when do tickets go on sale ?

PlaymakerMO - can you tell me the rationale behind starting Baynes over Bogut?

Great news. I'm keeping an open mind that this will all happen! Be good to see Bogey showing off his ch'ship ring :)

GWB, starters are pretty irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. It isn't even necessarily the 'best' 5 players. They're most likely the best unit the team can put forth.

Baynes is a quality player, he's played for Lemanis and within his system, and I feel that bringing Bogut off the bench gives the team more balance. Not that I'd be opposed to starting Bogut, but not with Baynes as well.

E.g. Who guards, and 'how' do you guard guys like Vukona if Baynes and Bogut start alongside one another? It complicates things unnecessarily when guys likes Bairstow and Motum fit the bill pretty well on both ends of the floor - JMO.

I tend to prefer the idea of a more versatile and agile power forward than Baynes. Someone like Motum who can run the floor and stretch the D out a bit more. I tend to think of Baynes as a more traditional Centre. Maybe I am wrong in this appraisal?

Anonymous - I don't think starting Simmons, who is essentially a kid, would be the best idea. He is not going to have his way the way he does in high school against men. He is in the 10-12 spot where I consider Exum to be.

Plus Damien Martin over Exum? I can't really support that. I don't think a great deal of Exums game at the moment. But offensively, he would offer more in just his passing ability and "okay" 3 point shot, than Martin. And defensively, Exums length at the point and speed would mean their worth would probably be around about even.

The thing Martin really has over Exum at this point is experience in big games. But we have plenty of experienced players in this boomers team. It does hurt to put a young guy in there. Exum would beat out Martin for mine, and would be comparable to Gibson in worth in my opinion. However, Exum is the bigger name right now. I would expect him to get the position.

I am not sure what everyones fascination with Ogilvy is right now? He is a good player, but he hasn't been in form for a long time. I would be more inclined to take Jawai.. just because of his sheer size and girth. 5 minutes a game of bullying guys around.

GWB, that's how I see Baynes as well. I wouldn't be surprised or overly opinionated over who started out of him and Bogut. You can't really go wrong.

Similarly, I wouldn't be too fussed about picking between Ogilvy and Jawai. Both are capable players, but with different skill sets at Center.

If Jawai's available you'd think that he'd get the nod - for some reason I assumed he wouldn't be.

I'm hoping that Andersen doesn't make the team if Lemanis intends to play the 5th big. He was very ordinary in the 2014 WC's.

Anderson is done. He shows glimmers of greatness, but he is always the guy you can count on to fumble the ball like an unco baby elephant and basically do some irritatingly dumb shit.

Jawai can atleast be really wide, post up, make some nice passes... and overpower any centre they have for position. I suspect that an Ogilvy or Jawai would be getting spot minutes at best anyways. Atleast Jawai gives you something different. Ogilvy gives you something you get with every other centre in the team.

Once again, why Ogilvy? What's he done for me lately?

Ogilvy's average defence and lack of toughness hurt him internationally, they've hurt him in the NBL and a number of leagues in Europe.

I would expect our five bigs to come from Bogut, Baynes, Bairstow, Motum, Andersen, Simmons and Jawai.

I can't see Simmons playing as he appears to want to concentrate on his Freshman year in College to go as high in the NBA draft as he can. Can't blame him for that, $$$$$$

Bolden and Humphries would be good 12th man options, but if all the big guns are playing you may as well go all out.


Mills / Delly / Exum
Newley / Goulding
Broekhoff / Jois
Bairstow / Motum
Bogut / Baynes / Jawai or Maric (whoever is healthy)

If Creek gets an invite to camp I could see him as the backup SF, as the coach may love his D and intensity. I can also see them playing 3 guards with Bogut and Baynes to protect the paint.

I'd definitely take Matt Knight over Maric, but in reality Bairstow is like a younger clone of Matty so it's like he's there anyway!

Why choose Venky Jois over Newley? or even over Blanchfield?

I would invite Creek, Jois and Blanchfield to the camp to battle it out for the backup SF spot.

With Newley at about 30 years old, and lacking an outside shot, is Blanchfield a better option going forward for the qualifiers and rio?

How many players would be invited to the training camp? 20 or so?

I have no idea. My 20 would be kind of obvious. (assuming Simmons unavailable)

First 11 would be near enough to locks for the team..


Delly
Mills
Broekhoff
Motum
Bogut
Exum
Newley
Blanchfield
Goulding
Baynes
Bairstow
Gibson
Greenwood
Gliddon
Creek
Petrie
Anderson
Jawai
Jois
Tragardh

Assuming Simmons is unavailable, there is a possibility at the mobile forward spot for Petrie. Or a possibility for Gliddon if we are looking for more 3 point power. I am not sure that Gibson would get a look in, we don't need 4 point guards.If we have all of our centres, I can't see Jawai or Anderson pushing out Bogut, Baynes or Bairstow for a spot. If one of those should be unavailable, Anderson would be the most likely inclusion. With Goulding's form a question mark, the door is open for a Gliddon or even Greenwood to take his spot if he should underperform in camp. I feel like Blanchfield has a great shot at making the team. He has performed well on Lemanis teams before, and had a great season. I think he is the most likely pick for back up Small Forward behind Broekhoff and Newley. I don't consider Gibson, Jois, Jawai, Anderson (if bogut available), Creek or Tragardh to have much of a shot at it.

I would have suggested a squad of 22 from which they would choose from.

Okay, I will throw 2 names in that could be added. But they have no chance of making the team this time around (but have boomers futures)

Deng Adel
Isaac Humphries

McCarron is an interesting one. Being a Div 2 player, he is most likely to fly under the radar. But watching his game, and considering that Wortho starred at the same school, can't help but think he has a good NBL future...

As for Boomers... hmm.. He is like a lot of guys at that level... might get some spots on some nothing series.. but I think we are too deep for him to make it into this series, or worlds/olympics ever. But hey, who knows what could happen in 5 years time.

One thing is for certain, pending injury, Australia could well assemble one of the most talented Boomers team ever to take on New Zealand in August, with the series importance underlined by the prospect of booking a ticket to Rio 2016.

The Road to Rio: Boomers stars commit to qualifiers against New Zealand

Looking a bit further ahead to the Olympics, my present full strength team would be:

Bogut Baynes
Motum Simmons Bairstow
Ingles Newley
Broekhoff Goulding
Mills Dellavedova Exum

I think this roster would be hard to beat and is well balanced.

Not a bad looking team...

Rodney, your team looks about right to me. But I think Goulding/Newley might have asterisk next to them. Newley is a great player, but lacks an outside shot and we really need that. And Goulding really depends on form. I think those spots will be a dogfight between Newley, Goulding, Drmic, Gliddon and Blanchfield.

Newley has been in outstanding form for Gran Canaria in Eurocup - between him and Broekhoff for best performed Aussie in Europe this season.

Does he have an outside shot in Europe LC? Because I havent seen it for the Boomers in many years.

Whats ogilvy even doing these days?

In Eurocup where Gran Canaria and Newley are one step away from Eurocup final, he has been schooting a very good 43% from beyond the arc across 18 games.

Brad Newley - Eurocup Stats

However in the Spanish ACB, he is shooting only 33.6% from the three-point line.

Ogilvy is recuperating from a foot injury.

Injury derails AJ Ogilvy's season in Spain, returns to Australia