Boomers coach Brian Goorjian has revealed he fears his top stars aren’t playing enough basketball
It’s the alarming trend for Aussie basketballers overseas that has Boomers coach Brian Goorjian on red alert 10 months out from the Olympics. Read how he plans to fix it.
Boomers coach Brian Goorjian has revealed he holds fears over the lack of minutes his star players are getting on court this season amid plans for a Christmas reconnaissance mission to the US.
Australian icon Patty Mills was one of Goorjian’s major concerns as he embarks on a 10 month campaign to get the Boomers in competitive shape ahead of the Paris Olympics.
Mills has played just five minutes for the Atlanta Hawks after 16 games and with the Olympics on the horizon, there is definite cause for concern.
Mills is not alone with Ben Simmons only managing six games for the Brooklyn Nets before he succumbed to injury while veterans Jock Landale and Joe Ingles have been used sparingly by their clubs.
Only Boomers young guns Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels, who have both averaged more than 27 minutes per game across 16 and 17 games respectively this season, have seen good time on the court in the NBA.
Giddey is also under a cloud of uncertainty with the Oklahoma City Thunder guard currently the focus of a Newport Beach Police Department and NBA investigation of an alleged relationship with a minor.
When quizzed on the lack of playing time for his stars, Goorjian didn’t hold back.
“Without a doubt (it is concerning),” Goorjian said.
“One of the things that took place in the World Cup, we had a lot of NBA players, but we also had a lot of NBA players who weren’t playing. Our best players at the World Cup were Josh Giddey and Dante Exum and both of them were playing major minutes in their competitions.
“The ones that were down and struggling a bit within themselves, some of them may have played well but when you look at their ceiling and what their level is and what they can play at, they were a step down and a lot of it was due to the fact that they were in the NBA and not playing.”
With such a short turnaround between the World Cup and the Olympics, Goorjian has had no time to relax and reflect on the disappointing exit in the group stages.
But that hasn’t stopped Australia’s most decorated domestic coach from performing some level of soul searching in his quest to medal in France.
That soul searching will take him to the United States next week where he plans to tour the country, getting one-on-one time with every athlete earmarked for the Boomers Olympic campaign.
“As soon as the World Cup was done (preparations began), the World Cup finished and right away within 10 months we have the Olympics,” Goorjian said.
“I am flying to America and going around to all the players that are playing in the NBA, that we are looking at for the Boomers team for Paris.
“Part of my reason for going there is not only seeing the ones that are doing well, but those ones that aren’t playing. I will be saying ‘it is seven months away’ and trying to be involved in their processes now, for when they get to camp. Patty Mills is a good example of that.”
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