Basketball On The Internet.

THERE were no huge surprises in the 22-man Boomers squad for the Paris Olympics as revealed by Basketball Australia, Mitch Creek the usual casualty, Joey Wright's absence from the coaching staff a mistake and Ben Simmons latest injury confirming what most believe - that he will never be seen in green 'n' gold.

Mostly, the squad picked itself and, in BA's terminology, "will be refined" ahead of July's training camp. The final team of 12 will have its work cut out to escape its group which already includes World Cup Bronze Medallist Canada, the other likely pool teams Spain and Slovenia for the Olympics in late July–August.

The squad's only absentees from the team which historically won Bronze at the Tokyo Olympic Games are Nathan Sobey and Aron Baynes. The remaining 10 - Patty Mills, Dante Exum, Jock Landale, Matisse Thybulle, Josh Green, Nick Kay, Joe Ingles, Duop Reath, Chris Goulding and Matthew Dellavedova -are all back in the squad of 22.

Boomers 2023 FIBA World Cup returnees include Josh Giddey, Dyson Daniel, Jack White and Xavier Cooks.

Johnny Furphy (left), the Melbourne-born 19-year-old, 206cm freshman forward who enjoyed a stellar college season at Kansas Jayhawks, is now eligible for the NBA's 2024 Draft and projected as pick 16. His inclusion in the squad showed selectors are mindful of the future.

The NBL provides an additional "magnificent seven" led by 2024 Larry Sengstock Medallist Jack McVeigh, his Tasmania JackJumpers championship teammate Will Magnay, Illawarra's reliable forward/centre Sam Froling, Breakers free agent playmaking talent Will McDowell-White, Perth forward/centre Keanu Pinder, Adelaide 36ers sharpshooter Dejan Vasiljevic and burgeoning big man talent Rocco Zikarsky.

Boomers coach Brian Goorjian had a good look at Vasiljevic and Zikarsky during recent Asia Cup qualifiers against Korea and Indonesia, the latter also coming off a tournament MVP performance at the Albert Schweitzer Cup in Mannheim, Germany.

Goorjian is back after leading Australia at the Athens, Beijing and Tokyo Olympics. His fourth Olympic Games in Paris will match the Boomers' Olympic coaching record held by Australian basketball icon Lindsay Gaze (Munich, Montreal, Moscow, Los Angeles).

“The FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2023 marked a new beginning for the Boomers,” Goorjian said.

“We were able to introduce some new faces and identify areas that we needed to advance and improve. We’ve been actively monitoring the Aussie players across international leagues in USA, Europe and Asia as well as domestically in the NBL and we’re confident in the potential chemistry of this list.” 

Boomers Paris 2024 Olympic Squad: Xavier Cooks, Dyson Daniels, Matthew Dellavedova, Dante Exum, Sam Froling, Johnny Furphy, Josh Giddey, Chris Goulding, Josh Green, Joe Ingles, Nick Kay, Jock Landale, Will Magnay, Will McDowell-White, Jack McVeigh, Patty Mills, Keanu Pinder, Duop Reath, Matisse Thybulle, Dejan Vasiljevic, Jack White, Rocco Zikarsky.

Boomers Staff: Head Coach - Brian Goorjian; Assistant Coach - Matt Nielsen; Assistant Coach - Adam Caporn; Assistant Coach - David Patrick; Analyst - Jacob Chance.

My team for Paris would be: Josh Giddey, Dante Exum, Patty Mills, Josh Green, Dyson Daniels, Jack McVeigh, Matisse Thybulle, Joe Ingles, Xavier Cooks, Nick Kay, Duop Reath, Jock Landale. Staff: Coach Brian Goorjian; Assistants Trevor Gleeson, Joey Wright, Matt Nielsen; Analyst - Dean Vickerman.

RIGHT: Joey and The Goorj. What a coaching team they would have made. (And no BA funds wasted on shampoo.)

Mine is a team built more for now than the future, which, frankly, will take care of itself.

That said, having players such as Furphy and Zikarsky there makes good sense for down the road. But you can eliminate them from cracking this final 12, probably along with NBLers such as Froling, Pinder, Magnay, McDowell-White and Vasiljevic. Jack White also is questionable. 

In my team, I take Jack McVeigh over Chris Goulding. Both have won NBL Grand Final MVP awards, but Goulding did it in 2018 and he is 35 now. McVeigh did it this year and he is 27. He also is 203cm to Goulding's 192cm and can contribute in more areas than just as the "flat out shooter" - which, by the way, he also is.

In the NBL Season 2024, Goulding averaged 16.9ppg at 43 per cent, 40 per cent from 3-point range. He also had 1.5 assists and 2.4 rebounds. McVeigh averaged 17.2ppg at 52 per cent, 40 per cent from 3-point range. He also had 1.7 assists and 5.9 rebounds. Yes, Goulding can make the big shot, but so can McVeigh. He has earnt his shot at it.

Leaving in Nick Kay and Joe Ingles was the toughest call, to be honest. I have been big fans of not only their careers and contributions but also who they are and what they represent as human beings. But Father Time was knocking on their doors at the World Cup and their roles still would be reduced in my team.

That's unlikely to be so on Goorj's team though, which he has said needs experience too, which is one reason why Matthew Dellavedova is back in calculations.

Again, Delly is a player most of us have loved at various stages during his NBA time at Cleveland and at past Olympics. He has done a heap of work to get back among prospects for Paris which is worthy of great respect. Sadly though, at this level, he was toast in Tokyo so it's hard to see him as priceless in Paris.

That said, students of the game such as 20-year top level veteran Brad Newley say Dellavedova's driven will-to-win and perennial persistence is hugely motivational to teammates and Goorjian has indicated that aspect was somewhat lacking in the Boomers' lack-lustre World Cup campaign.

So it's fingers crossed for Australian basketball fans hoping the final 12 Boomers selected for the Paris Olympic Games can match or improve on that famous Tokyo result.