Basketball On The Internet.

INTERVIEWING Dante Exum this week just further reinforced to me what a great group of young men and women basketball has at its forefront as ambassadors.

What you see is what you get with Dante, who had to endure rookie scrutiny - especially early in his NBA career at Utah - that bordered on ridiculous at times but which he weathered with the aplomb of a seasoned veteran, moreso than a 19-year-old a long way from home.

The upshot of our interview can be seen here at News Corp: http://bit.ly/1F2EIr5

He also spoke of the fact all the Aussies in The Show are friends and try to hang out when their schedules cross paths and time permits.

That camaraderie extenmds further to people such as high school tyro Ben Simmons.

"Yes, we're friends. We've known each other a long time," Exum said.

"We keep in touch with a few texts and stuff."

Exum is excited to reunite with other members of the Boomers' 2014 World Cup outfit, plus - injuries notwithstanding - other notable players such as Andrew Bogut and Patty Mills, who missed the Spanish campaign.

Both have made themselves available for August's two-game Rio Olympic qualification series against New Zealand, along with the bulk of Australia's elite professionals.

In the interim though, Exum is having a short break in Melbourne.

"I'm going back to Utah shortly to work out," he said.

"The Jazz have been great about me developing on my own and at my pace, and very supportive."

Exum sees playoffs in the Jazz's not-too-distant future.

"We finished very well," he said.

"There's a couple of games we should have won but didn't and we had a nine-game losing streak early which hurt us a lot."

But the continued growth of the core group as a unit is what most excites Exum about 2015-16, and beyond.

As for the NBA at some point bringing a game to Australia - given the nation's record-high uptake of NBA League Pass and its growing number of competitors - Exum is realistic.

"There's a lot of logistical issues," he said.

"It's a very long flight to Australia."

That it is and makes missing family and friends acute at times.

"But they send me packages with Tim Tams and Vegemite," he laughed.