For a Boomers team that boasted a talented roster with nine NBA players, this felt too soon — like the ceiling for this group was so much higher than what they dished out in Okinawa.

But with a premature exit from the FIBA World Cup comes more time for reflection before what Australia coach Brian Goorjian described as “some big decisions ahead”.

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“I think the youth of this thing is for real and we’re changing styles of play,” Goorjian said after Slovenia knocked the Boomers out of the World Cup.

“We’ve made some moves coming into this — the Delly, the Baynes — and I really like Daniels. I think that’s another piece to add to that. You’ve got Jock Landale to add to this.

“There’s some big decisions ahead but again I like what is in front of me.”

With the Paris Olympics less than a year away, time is already running out for Goorjian — should he even remain the coach moving forward — to settle on what the new generation of Boomers could look like.

After all, while Australia had the kind of talent to go deep in this year’s FIBA World Cup there was also an understanding that this also shaped as a transitional tournament for the Boomers.

Josh Giddey would be making his long-awaited major tournament debut for the Boomers, forming a new-look backcourt alongside the far more experienced Patty Mills.

The loss of Jock Landale, meanwhile, pushed Nick Kay and Duop Reath into more prominent roles than they likely would have played had Goorjian’s first-choice big not gone down injured.

An injury-interrupted preparation during the warm-up games also limited Josh Green’s ability to ramp up, later flashing his potential in Australia’s win over Japan.

But that is the frustrating part for Boomers fans. Between Green’s flashes, Giddey’s impressive tournament and even the emergence of Xavier Cooks there are plenty of reasons for optimism.

There is also, however, a lingering sense of disappointment in the fact this team was never really able to put it together and develop the necessary cohesion and chemistry.

As Michael Jordan himself once said, “talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships”.

The talent of Giddey almost got the Boomers over the line against Slovenia but Australia’s opponents were far better drilled and disciplined as a unit and it showed late in the game.

That is not to say Australia was playing a selfish style of basketball; far from it. In fact, the Boomers spread the ball around in selfless fashion against Japan with 19 assists at halftime.

It is just that unless they were pushing the pace in transition off defensive stops, Australia lacked structure and an identity in offence.

An inability to consistently spread the floor with outside shooting also played its role as did some of the rotations across the tournament.

Although in the case of Friday’s game, the decision not to give Chris Goulding any real minutes may come under particular scrutiny given Australia was in desperate need of spark.

While it was understandable not to give the Melbourne United sharpshooter many minutes in other games given defensive concerns, he was worth a try against a Slovenia team that only looked in real trouble late as Giddey caught fire.

“Some of the guys from Australia played an amazing game tonight, especially Josh Giddey… he was almost unstoppable,” Slovenia coach Aleksander Sekulic said.

Giddey is, as expected, the shining light to come out of this tournament for Australia after averaging 20.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 6.5 assists across four games.

Giddey’s evolution as a scorer in particular was pleasing to see, with the 20-year-old using his size and playing with physicality to develop his finishing around the rim.

Speaking on the ‘Ball and the Real World’ podcast ahead of the World Cup, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said finishing without a medal wouldn’t necessarily make the tournament a failure for Australia.

“I know the standard for the Aussies is to medal and I’m not saying that shouldn’t be it,” he said.

“But if they walk out with these young guys playing well and holding a bid [for the Olympics], I think they will have had a successful event.”

Well, they have that Olympic bid after finishing as the top-ranked side from Oceania, while Giddey was not the only young player to show growth on the international stage.

Cooks may be 28 years old but he still has plenty of development left in him as he looks to build on a successful FIBA World Cup campaign next season with the Washington Wizards.

Dante Exum even made a noticeable impact on both ends of the floor as he prepares to return to the NBA after being rewarded for his impressive form with Partizan Belgrade.

Dyson Daniels is another key piece for the Boomers, although the 20-year-old barely saw any minutes during the World Cup and so he didn’t have a chance to further his development.

Of course, the biggest question mark hanging over the Boomers ahead of next year is whether Ben Simmons will be a part of the national set-up. He suggested this week that he wants to put on the green and gold again.

Goorjian though was clear when speaking to ESPN before the World Cup that Simmons wouldn’t simply walk back into the team.

“This is very important,” the Boomers’ head coach told ESPN.

“In my dealings with Ben, it’s always been: I’m not recruiting you. It’s important for the country [to know], we’re not going, ‘please, Ben, please, we don’t have anything if you don’t play’. We’re not like that at all.”

For Simmons, the priority will be getting to the right physical and mental space with the Brooklyn Nets before even considering his place with the Boomers.

Adding Simmons into the mix would obviously offer Australia even more athleticism and length on both ends of the floor, something Goorjian clearly wants to lean into moving forward.

“The blueprint for our success, what we’ve talked about leading in this, is the small ball, switching, the defence,” Goorjian said after the win against Japan.

“The blueprint was the first half. I’ve talked a lot about the change, from the experience we had at the last Olympics, we’re going through evolution. Some guys get spit out, some guys get moved in.

“Three big pieces tonight: Josh Giddey, Josh Green, and Xavier Cooks are three guys… that’s what we’ve been talking about for the future of the team.”

Speaking of the future, the hope will also be that Tyrese Proctor — who is set to be the latest Australian drafted into the NBA in 2024 — can improve his shot while playing at Duke.

Proctor likely won’t be ready by Paris but the Boomers need all the outside shooting they can get at the moment, particularly if Mills and Joe Ingles aren’t having their best nights.

Those two will likely be there again in Paris, although regardless a decision needs to be made on how heavily Australia leans into the future and it sounds like that discussion is already underway.

“The medal ranking teams in this, and I think Slovenia is that and I think Germany is that, they could get a gold medal, silver, bronze. We are a step off that right now,” Goorjian said on Friday night.

“We were right there with Germany and going into the fourth tonight, as bad as we played and as shaky as we were offensively, it was 66-62. It starts now, preparation for the Olympics. “But we learned a lot and I think we’re in the process of change in style of play, both offensively and defensively. We’re all disappointed but I’m excited about where this thing could go and definitely a clear picture after playing this tournament.”