@176

Canada has the USA problem, which would be preparation, but talent-wise, they are in the top 5 currently in my opinion. The CzechRepublic beating them last OQT was hard to watch, especially with the plethora of NBA players on that squad. Italy always brings quality squads. It would be nice to see a dominant Italy team again like in the 90s. Serbia seems to never run out of talent or prospects, (Nikola Jovic, 6'10 PG) they already have a successor to Teodosic/Jovic. 

In the 2024 Olympics, I think France will have the best frontcourt (Gobert, Wembanyama).

@177

The best part about him is that he can speak Japanese. I think Japan has found the right man for the job. Well deserved promotion for him after the Olympics. Hopefully, things will translate better for them.

Canada has the talent on paper but they never get a full squad to compete and build chemistry.
They should be a top 4 team in the World.
Let's see if it even eventuates.

Canada needs to understand they don't need a team full of NBA players. They’re only available in the NBA offseason. They have heaps of talent and they should be focusing on team chemistry rather then NBA talent. Many Canadians playing in the Europe and there’s 2 in the NBL.

@Aussiebballer @Victoria Titans

That's the double-edged sword of Canada's talent. Most of their players are in the NBA or NCAA. They have to find a way to balance things out between their talent and preparation. Canada has always been raved about as a top 5 team on paper since 2016 with Wiggins, Tristan Thompson, Ennis, Joel Anthony, Bennet, etc. They always have these rosters that most teams can't compete with on paper, but their preparations always make them underperform. Just look at what happened in the last OQT. 

@184 @192

From what I have read and seen, Lithuania has a squad of studs that could potentially cement them as a top 5 team in Europe in 5 years. Plus, they still have guys like Sabonis.

PF - Azoulas Tubelis 6'9 (19)
SF - Matas Buzelis 6'8 (16)
PG - Rokas Jokubaitis 6'3 (21)
SG - Liutauras Lelevicius 6'7 (18)

I believe Spain will always be an elite European team, as they have a great system in place that should produce players capable of keeping them in the top five. Their talent at the last U19 was still pretty solid. Dominguez and Godspower looked good. They still have Garuba and, importantly, a winning culture that has been built on many years of success. 

For me, though, I think the best team in Europe come 2023/2024 would be either France or Serbia, just strictly on the talent and players that I have seen.

What does an all NBL side look like for qualifiers?

Humphries, Reath, Magnay, S Froling bigs?

Cooks, Creek, Broekhoff in that SF position?

McCarron, Sobey, Goulding, Delly guard options?

"Top 20 in asia region, camp list?
Should all be available next window.

Delly-Mccarron-Sobey-Norton
Cotton-Goulding-Glover-Vasljevic
Creek-Broekhoff-Dech-Drmic
Kay-Cooks-White-Mcveigh
Reath-Magnay-Humphries-Hunter"

Cotton shouldn't be considered until we know he’s Aussie, otherwise we just disappoint ourselves like Simmons playing for Boomers!

Vasiljevic I think is injured for a substantial amount of time?

Kay would be great but wouldn’t assume availability/intention to play.

It’s very possible we see Humphries, Reath, Magnay, Cooks join Landale and Kay in making up the big contingent in the final 12 side for Paris 2024, so it’d be nice to see those guys work together as much as possible and play as many Boomers games as they can.

@204

Spain will "struggle" in the sense that they will not be as successful as in previous years. I still believe that they will be a top 5 European team, but no longer a top 5 world team in 3-5 years. I still see them as a top 5 European team because I have yet to see Spain's program fall hard. I think the next batch of talents is enough to keep their place as a top 5 team in Europe. 

@205

It really shows how competitive Europe is. Before, they had a super player like Dirk to lead them, but now their talent is more spread out, but they don't have a player that will put them in the same tier as France, Serbia, Italy, and etc. But still, they can beat any team if they are not careful. I will put them on a tier below, along with Lithuania. 

@207

Yep, they have that chance. They have the players in place. Italy just needs to secure that culture and environment to cultivate medals. Italy in the past was pretty unstable, but things seem to be better these days. Hopefully, no more BS from them.

Tier 1 Europe teams in 3-5 years

1. Serbia/France
3. Italy
4. Luka Slovenia (without luka, a tier below. Re: Failure to qualify 2019 world cup)
5. Spain

Tier 2 Europe teams that can beat tier 1 teams
Germany
Lithuania
Greece

Top 5 world teams in 3-5 years (includes what they did in previous competitions plus roster)

1. USA
2. France/Serbia
4. Australia/Italy

Canada has yet to show its potential. I got burned many times by them. They should be with France and Serbia if they can prove themselves. 

^ I think that's a fair summary tbh

@ Anonymous;

This seems like the team for February.

Delly-Mccarron
Goulding-Sobey-Dech
Creek-Broekhoff
Kay-Cooks
Reath-Magnay-Humphries


Reserves
Norton
Glover
Drmic or Travers
Mcveigh
Hunter or Froling

Delly & Macca ok, but not much scoring from the 1 spot. Macca can but chooses not to, Delly struggles as a scorer. Adman, who NEVER gets a mention (a la DJ), would change that.

Unfortunately, Dech misses out. Adman is a better scorer and if he is on-court as the 1 or the 2, Delly or Macca can cover the loss of Dech's defence.

And, as Cotton has been left out due to availability(?), are we sure of Kay? Count on Sam Froling.

If Kay is there, then Broekhoff or Creek may miss out and Cook goes to the back-up 3. Sounds unthinkable that Creek may miss out but IMO, he and Sobey are a bit too similar.

Delly-Mccarron-Adman
Goulding-Sobey
Creek-Cooks
Kay-Froling
Reath-Magnay-Humphries

@RobT

No worries, Kay will be available. The B league has a 2-3 week break per FIBA window, which will allow Kay to rejoin the boomers. Same thing for this window. The B league is on a break to give way for the WC Qualifiers. No B league until the first week of December. I don't think quarantine will be a factor by February.

An Anonymous:

"Creek and Sobey similar lol"
LOL all you want, I said, "a bit too similar", meaning a bit alike. They are both multi-position players who are both dynamite at run-and-gun, same size(ish), both fast and strong. Sobey a better scorer, so went with him.

"Dech should be the defensive specialist in the guard spot,"
My point exactly. What's Dech's role going to be? Rest a defensive player? Yeah, right! Shut down the opposition gun? We have defence everywhere. Delly, Macca, Sobey/Creek.

"Adnam is just another scorer/facilitator."
My point exactly(again). Neither Delly (can't) or Macca (won't) are renowned for their scoring. Facilitating, defence and IQ, yes, but they are just not scoring PG's. That's what Adnam is, a scoring PG. And that's what I think we need more than another defensive specialist.

(Another) Anonymous:
"Froling only gets a look because goorj."
You think that doesn't apply to the whole roster? Gurujian picks the team!