MBK | Five Gaels Named To Aussie 26-Man Olympic Squad
3/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Courtesy Basketball Australia
MELBOURNE -- Basketball Australia announced that five former Saint Mary's College basketball players are among the 26 players named to the Australia Boomers Olympic squad.
SMC Gaels Matthew Dellavedova, Daniel Kickert, Patrick Mills, Clint Steindl and Lucas Walker were listed among the group who will train in advance of the announcement of the 16-man squad that will gather during the summer.
Dellavedova and Mills participated in the 2012 Olympics, serving as the side's starting backcourt. Mills also played in the 2008 Games. Both are currently playing in the NBA, while Kickert, Steindl and Walker are playing professionally in Australia's National Basketball League.
All 12 players who competed in the FIBA Oceania Championship against New Zealand last year are included in the team.
It is a benefit to have a group that has spent time together both on and off the court," said Australian Boomers head coach Andrej Lemanis.
That group went through a campaign together and a majority of that group also went to the World Championships which will certainly help in our preparation.
What we've done is ensured we have depth in all positions which will help us if injuries ever occur.
We have a fantastic core group of players that has been with us for a significant amount of time now and we have some exciting young talent that we have added to the squad."
A reduced squad of 16 will enter into a selection camp from July 5-10, once the Boomers commitments in the NBA and Europe conclude.
That July camp will give the coaching staff the opportunity to make their final decision ahead of Rio.
The time frame dictates that we can only have one camp but it is the way it has been for years so it's not unusual."
Lemanis and his coaching staff know what they are looking for when narrowing the squad down to 16.
It's a case of the selection staff taking into account previous history with the Boomers, current form, injuries team balance and chemistry and putting all that together.
One of the reasons I like getting to 16 is because it's not only about determining the final 12 but it's the start of us working out our offensive and defensive structures. We need practices to be productive so that we can build as a team," Lemanis said.
Once in camp, the Boomers will be subject to practice matches as well as an inter-squad scrimmage to fully assess each player's contribution in a playing environment.
The Boomers 2016 Olympic squad:
| NAME | SURNAME | CLUB |
1 | David | Andersen | ASVEL (France) |
2 | Cameron | Bairstow | Chicago Bulls |
3 | Aron | Baynes | Detroit Pistons |
4 | Todd | Blanchfield | Melbourne United |
5 | Andrew | Bogut | Golden State Warriors |
6 | Angus | Brandt | Sydney Kings |
7 | Ryan | Broekhoff | Lokomotiv Kuban (Russia) |
8 | Mitchell | Creek | Adelaide 36ers |
9 | Matthew | Dellavedova | Cleveland Cavaliers |
10 | Dante | Exum | Utah Jazz |
11 | Adam | Gibson | Adelaide 36ers |
12 | Cameron | Gliddon | Cairns Taipans |
13 | Chris | Goulding | Melbourne United |
14 | Joe | Ingles | Utah Jazz |
15 | Nathan | Jawai | Perth Wildcats |
16 | Daniel | Kickert | Melbourne United |
17 | Kevin | Lisch* | Illawarra Hawks |
18 | Aleks | Maric | Buducnost Podgorica (Montenegro) |
19 | Damian | Martin | Perth Wildcats |
20 | Patrick | Mills | San Antonio Spurs |
21 | Brock | Motum | Zalgiris Kaunas (Lithuania) |
22 | Brad | Newley | Gran Canaria (Spain) |
23 | Mitchell | Norton | Townsville Crocodiles |
24 | Ben | Simmons | LSU |
25 | Clint | Steindl | Townsville Crocodiles |
26 | Lucas | Walker | Adelaide 36ers |
* Subject to citizenship
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