Inside the two-hour lunch with Jock Landale that has Boomers coach Brian Goorjian ‘pumped’

Boomers coach Brian Goorjian has revealed how a two hour lunch with big man Jock Landale helped pick up the pieces after the Boomers’ failed World Cup campaign last September.

Boomers coach Brian Goorjian has lifted the lid on the two-hour lunch with Jock Landale that has him “pumped” about the return of the Houston Rockets big man for the Paris Olympics.

Injury prevented Landale from playing in last year’s failed World Cup campaign, but he is back and playing world-class basketball on the eve of the Games.

This was on show when he produced a dominant performance in Australia’s gutsy warm-up loss to a star-studded Team USA side.

Landale went toe-to-toe with America’s NBA big men Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo to finish with 20 points on an impressive 75 per cent shooting from the field.

Jock Landale pumped coach Brian Goorjian back up after the World Cup. Picture: Graham Denholm/Getty Images.

He also added seven rebounds, six assists and two steals in a commanding display.

Goorjian wasn’t surprised to see Landale excel against Team USA.

He knew the big man was shattered to miss out on last year’s World Cup and he would use the setback as motivation to take his game to another level.

This was certainly the feeling Goorjian received from Landale when he went for a meal with the proud Victorian in America last December.

“I walked away that day thinking to myself, ‘wow, Jock has got me motivated’,” Goorjian said about Landale, who played a major role in the Boomers’ historic bronze medal in Tokyo after veteran Aron Baynes went down with injury.

“Everybody was crushed about how we played at the World Cup, but man, he was really down about it.

“He was in constant contact with me throughout the whole Cup.

Landale is in peak form heading into the Paris Games campaign. Picture: Graham Denholm/Getty Images)

“We lost that pool game to Germany and my phone is pinging and it’s Jock Landale.

“He was on it. A lot of the guys were concerned about themselves and how do I see them in this (selection) picture, but Jock was like: I watched the World Cup, I wasn’t a part of it but I’m totally about winning and losing and getting this thing right.

“Jock has helped me get through this process post the World Cup. It was a pretty tough hit for everybody.

“I’m really excited to have Jock back with us and I know the group is.”

The prospect of Australia’s premier centre being in peak form and fitness for the Paris games has Goorjian pumping his fists in excitement.

The Boomers desperately missed Landale’s presence in the paint at the World Cup, forcing the team to play smaller line-ups that we exposed as the Australians bombed out to finish in 10th position.

The Josh Giddey and Jock Landale connection 👌

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It’s why Goorjian knows the return of his first-choice centre is a monumental boost for the side’s podium aspirations in Paris.

“It was identified leading into the World Cup that we were in trouble without Jock,” he said.

“We had to play small ball a lot more than we wanted to play it. We wanted small ball as an option at the Cup, but boy it was rammed down our throat.

“When Jock played with us, we were different. He ran the floor and had that paint penetration and we just didn’t have that at the World Cup.

“The quick on-ball, roll out power to the basket and the offensive rebounding. “You lose (Aron) Baynes and (Matthew) Dellavedova and there is a physicality hole and Jock was a big piece of that as well.”

Originally published as Inside the two-hour lunch with Jock Landale that has Boomers coach Brian Goorjian ‘pumped’