Boomers future bright with Simmons, Maker set to strengthen squad in coming years
BASKETBALL Australia says it is poised to cash in on the record eight NBA players taking the floor in coming months after the Boomers deep Olympic run in Rio.
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BASKETBALL Australia says it is poised to cash in on the record eight NBA players taking the floor in coming months after the Boomers deep Olympic run in Rio.
Australia’s Boomers play Spain tonight in the bronze medal play-off but regardless of the result the exposure to the national team has been unprecedented.
With the new-look NBL up and running under Larry Kestelman and most of those eight players to commit to the 2019 World Cup, there is genuine progress for Australian basketball.
When the NBA season kicks off on October 25 Australia will have its highest ever representation and with elite juniors expected to make an immediate splash.
No. 1 pick Ben Simmons (Philadelphia) and no. 10 pick Thon Maker (Milwaukee) will join Matthew Dellavedova (Milwaukee), Dante Exum (Utah), Aron Baynes (Detroit), Patty Mills (San Antonio), Joe Ingles (Utah) and Andrew Bogut (Dallas).
Bogut has already spoken of his desire to play a more expansive and dominant game with the Dallas Mavericks after being an effective but low-profile role player with Golden State.
David Anderson (Melbourne) and Cam Bairstow (Brisbane) will return to the NBL, with Chris Goulding, Kevin Lisch and Damien Martin boosting their profiles.
Basketball Australia chief executive Anthony Moore said it was a key moment in time for the Australian game to capitalise on the profile of its players.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for the aspirations of our kids coming through,’’ he said.
“They can see the boys performing on the world stage and they see them in the best league in the world.
“They see if you can have a crack and work hard enough they have the opportunity to get to that league.
“Two decades ago Luc Longley was our sole flagbearer in the NBA.
“The guys at Channel Seven have been over the moon with the ratings and I just got a note from Australia to say our Aussie Hoops registration which is our junior development program is heading into term four with all-time high registration.”
ESPN Australia also plans to show more than 200 NBA games into Australia this season, with Simmons sure to feature prominently.
He has committed to the Australian program through the Commonwealth Games and World Cup qualifiers, a massive shot in the arm for the Boomers.
NBL owner Kestelman is keen to get more NBA players to Australia for camps, or perhaps an NBL-NBA pre-season game in Asia, but the NBA has resisted overtures to play a regular-season game in Australia.
The Winning Edge funding program that continues to be hotly debated at national levels had the Opals down for at least a bronze medal under their benchmark standard.
They crashed out in a quarter-final to Serbia, finishing fifth in the competition won by America yesterday after a gold medal play-off win over Spain.
“It shouldn’t (impact us too much). Under Winning Edge the Opals were a podium team and we didn’t make the podium.
“We will have to work through those questions with the AIS. It ended up a disappointing campaign but what comes out of that remains to be seen.”
Originally published as Boomers future bright with Simmons, Maker set to strengthen squad in coming years
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