Basketball Australia on Thursday morning announced a 22-man Boomers squad for the 2024 Paris Olympics, with a mix of established veterans and fresh faces selected by Brian Goorjian.
The squad builds on what was a transitional tournament for the Boomers at the FIBA World Cup last year, where Josh Giddey formed a new-look backcourt alongside Patty Mills.
There are a few bolters in Johnny Furphy and Rocco Zikarsky who, while unlikely to make the final team itself, will only benefit from the experience of being part of the Boomers set-up early.
Furphy has rocketed up NBA draft boards and is currently No. 28 on ESPN’s big board after a strong college season with the Kansas City Jayhawks, which included one stretch where the 19-year-old scored double figures in 11 of 12 games.
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Zikarsky, meanwhile, stands at 7-foot-3 as the tallest player in the NBL after joining the Brisbane Bullets at 17 years old as the league’s youngest Next Star.
The Australian big man will be eligible for the NBA draft in 2025 and led Australia to victory at the Albert Schweitzer Tournament earlier in the week, crowned MVP after averaging 18.7 points, 11 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game while shooting at 73.1 per cent from the field.
Speaking to ESPN, Goorjian floated the possibility that either Furphy or Zikarsky, while players of the future, could also gain selection for the Paris team.
“I just think it’s really important that he’s brought into the Boomers program and culture,” Goorjian said of Furphy.
“The worst case is he gets to see the Boomers and be around this group, but, also, we need a shooter. He does that.”
As for Zikarsky, Goorjian compared him to an “upcoming [Andrew] Bogut”.
“He’s probably a year earlier than Bogut was when he went to Athens… There’s nothing like him,” the Boomers coach said.
“He’s 7’4, and he’s co-ordinated. I talk about some of our gaps after the World Cup, with the shooting and adding McVeigh [to the squad]… rim protection [too], a presence around the rim, we didn’t have it. Rocco is that.
“Touching those guys is one thing, but both of them, in their position, have a skill.
“When you pick your nine, with this group; those last three, you never know what it is. Is it a rim protector? Is it defence? Is it a chemistry guy? Is it, we have everything covered so let’s give a young guy a piece of this so they’re ready for the next one?”
There are plenty of familiar names in the 22-man squad, with 10 members of the Tokyo bronze medal team included while all players from last year’s FIBA World Cup selection camp outside of Thon Maker are back in the mix.
Elsewhere, JackJumpers duo Jack McVeigh and Will Magnay have been rewarded for their fine form in Tasmania’s triumphant NBL season with selection while Adelaide’s Dejan Vasiljevic is the other new face.
As expected, Ben Simmons is not available for selection after his 2023-24 NBA season with Brooklyn was cut short by a nerve impingement in his back.
Goorjian said the Boomers coaching staff were able to draw on the team’s disappointment from an early exit at last year’s FIBA World Cup to better identify specific areas Australia needs to improve ahead of Paris.
“The FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2023 marked a new beginning for the Boomers,” Goorjian said in a statement on Thursday morning.
“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.
“The complexity of international tournaments like the Olympics is that you have a relatively short window to train and prepare – so you have to identify and implement a style that works fast and amplifies the collective skill set.
“There’s always a correlation made of our offensive play with European styles, which is interesting considering there isn’t a whole lot of exposure to the Euro system with our players.
“What we have experienced is the emergence of Australians at the top level overseas and the evolution of the NBL as a world class league with high powered scoring offences, so we want to drive a game that is familiar but unique to our group.”
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Goorjian also pointed to the added versatility in this year’s Olympics squad, which is better equipped to handle any further injuries in the frontcourt after losing Jock Landale in the lead-up to last year’s World Cup.
It is not just the squad’s versatility either, with Duop Reath also benefiting from a significant role with the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA.
“When Jock Landale went down we had to adjust to small ball. It was challenging but ultimately rewarding as we got to trial different packages and get prime minutes into Duop Reath which fast-tracked his development,” said Goorjian.
“Looking to the Olympics, we will have Jock Landale available for selection and the added versatility of Kay, Xavier Cooks as well as guys like Will Magnay and Rocco Zikarsky.
“We’ve also introduced more depth across shooters in the squad with veteran Chris Goulding joined by Dyson Daniels, Jack McVeigh and DJ Vasilijevic.”
Australia faces a tough road to another medal at the Olympics, drawn into Group A alongside Canada and two other teams which will be determined through qualifying tournaments.
At this stage, Spain and one of Slovenia, Greece and Croatia loom as the most likely countries to be joining Australia in its group.
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“We’re really excited at this opportunity. The consensus is that the tournament will be at an unseen level with the talent and international NBA star-power across the teams,” added Goorjian.
“I will emphasise and instil with the group that we’re not aiming to match or replicate the style of game heading our way from other nations. Our goal is to beat them.
“We’re going to play Aussie ball. And we’re going to go at them with all we’ve got.”
Goorjian told ESPN that ‘Aussie ball’ will centre around “playing at tempo, at pace, downhill”, which plays well into the strengths of the likes of Josh Giddey, Dante Exum and Josh Green both as scorers and playmakers.
The initial squad will be trimmed down further before training camp in Melbourne in July, with Goorjian to then narrow it down again to a final 12.
Boomers Paris 2024 Olympic Squad
Chris Goulding, Joe Ingles, Nick Kay, Dante Exum, Johnny Furphy, Patty Mills, DJ Vasilijevic, Sam Froling, Rocco Zikarsky, Duop Reath, Josh Giddey, Will Magnay, Dyson Daniels, Josh Green, Will McDowell-White, Jack McVeigh, Keanu Pinder, Xavier Cooks, Jack White, Matisse Thybulle, Jock Landale, Matthew Dellavedova