Boomers eyeing the next big hit!

Stephen Howell wrote a great article today...

Boomers eyeing the next big hit

Wednesday, August 22, 2007 - 10:24 AM
Stephen Howell - The Age

Debutant Patrick Mills was a quick hit with fans in the Boomers' Olympic qualifier against New Zealand in Melbourne this week, and by the Beijing Games next year, there could be a second indigenous player in the team who is built to be an even bigger hit.

The player being eyed by coach Brian Goorjian to come into the 12 with 181-centimetre Mills is his 20-year-old mate, Nathan Jawai — all 203 centimetres and 130 kilograms of him.

In fact, if Jawai had not been recovering from a knee injury and getting his weight down after it ballooned to 140 kilograms, he might have been in the team alongside the explosive Mills already, as the first indigenous members of the national senior side since Mills' uncle, Danny Morseu, in the 1980s.

That is the view of Goorjian and former Boomers assistant Alan Black, who will coach Jawai in his National Basketball League debut with Cairns Taipans in the season starting next month.


"I wanted Patrick involved in the program now," Goorjian said.

"I saw him as maybe No. 11 or No. 12 (the likely learner spots in Beijing), as I did Nathan Jawai. Succession planning is important and we need two or three young ones in there for the following games (the world championships in 2010)."

Mills had a third season at the Australian Institute of Sport in his home town, Canberra, last year, whereas Jawai, who came to Cairns from Barnaga in far north Queensland as a 15-year-old identified by Australian football scouts, left the institute for the US.

He came home at Christmas, 14 games into his rookie season with Midland College, a junior school in Texas, after injuring his knee. He signed for two seasons with the Taipans. His knee is better now, but he has had to fight back to fitness after letting his weight go.

Black said he would wait until Jawai produced on court in the NBL before labelling him a future league star and national team player, but said he had the potential to reach those lofty levels.

"He's still learning," Black said. "He wasn't a basketball kid … when he came down here (to Cairns), all the basketball people said come and play a real game, and he did.

"He's big and powerful, but he's quite a bit different to anything we've seen in Australia — he's got quick feet and he's got good hands."

Goorjian had a comparison to draw on. "He looks like Shaq," he said, putting up American giant Shaquille O'Neal as Jawai's type.

"He's powerful, he's a beast. I think that kid's gonna draw more attention (than Mills). People will come out just to look at him.

"Those are the two I wanted. I wanted Jawai before I wanted him (Mills), but he's matured real quick in the past 12 months."

For now, the focus is on Mills as he already is a Boomer.

The hope is Jawai is a boomer, too.



I took the opportunity to introduce myself to Nathan late last year when he'd travelled to Melbourne to see his mate Joe Ingles play live for the South Dragons. He was very courteous and seemed a little surprised I knew who he was. Now, add these two prospects, with Joe Ingles and there you have the three players that should make the Olympic squad next year that Goorjian speaks of. All three have experience playing together at the AIS, and from what I can tell (and Myspace can be accurately relied on) are the best of friends...

Things look very exciting for the Boomers 2008 and Beyond!

Dear Basketball Australia...

I've got to get something off my chest. Last night the Boomers defeated a very talented NZ team, but as a spectacle it was atrocious.

The NBL in Melbourne does such a great job, I assumed that an International clash of this importance would have been even better, but frankly, it stank.

The announcer for the game was neither of the great entertainers from the Melbourne NBL clubs, The Rattler from the Tigers or Glenn Manton from the Dragons. Both would have been perfect to help get the crowd into the game. Snory Mc SnoozeFest, (apparently a Dandenong announcer?) was not the right choice. Little things make a huge difference, and this whole spectacle wreaked of unprofessionalism. Where was the music, where were the cheerleaders, where were the sound effects after a missed free throw or turnover... Who doesn't love a "Bum-Bow" - (or however it's spelt), or a "Doh!"... These are little things that lighten the mood and get the crowd involved. Even the halftime and timeout games showed the imagination of children.

The stadium was half full, and it felt like it. No Mexican Wave, one half hearted Aussie Aussie Aussie. Terrible. Help was needed.






I've been to some wonderful Boomers games before, (Hell, I travelled to Japan last year just to go to the Games and support) the atmosphere has been electric. Not so last night, and considering the importance of the outcome it should have been.

Unfortunately, all of the parents in the crowd last night, that were contemplating making this a night out for the family over the coming NBL season, would surely be dreading exhibitions like this. All of the people I spoke with there were bored. It was embarrassing. The people I know from Basketball Australia circles were looking at each other and saying things like, "this just doesn't seem right."

The game didn't end up being close, but considering the lack of support from the organisers, they were lucky. On a Monday night, with half of your crowd school aged children, it didn't surprise me that it was so quiet and it could have been worse. I sat right next to Shane Heal, commenting for fox sports or NZ Sports of something, and he looked bored out of his brain. Certainly nothing like his usual self. Something else was needed and Basketball Australia let Melbourne and basketball in this country down. BIG TIME.

Here's hoping they turn things around for games two and three, but they blew it for us in Melbourne. I can't wait for the NBL to start so I can drag my friends back again and prove that not all basketball in this country is this draining.

Thanks for your time

Ryan

I hope Goorjian knows what he's doing.

By Ryan Mobilia

Brian knows what to expect. There is a lot of pressure on some of his selections to perform. Losing this series is almost the worst thing that could happen to Basketball in Australia. He says he's not scared. That's good.
I agree with the thoughts of Phil Smyth and Boti Nagy. Perhaps it is more important to have players in the squad that know Goorjians system, than a more talented bunch that don't know work as well together. This isn't necessarily a chemistry problem that cannot be overcome, but I think that Brian and perhaps much of BA were thinking that the NZ squad is know each other well, after essentially playing together for the TalLBlacks for years.


But I strongly disagree with leaving out Luke Schensher over, say, Russell Hinder. NBA experience is NBA experience. Rusty may see quite a few minutes in this 3 game series but, whatever our next stop is, Olympics or another Qualifying tournament, I would much rather have seen how Schensher meshed with the rest of the Boomers now. Hinder will not make the Olympic team period. Schensher has a chance. Considering Hinder is expected to have a miminal impact as probably the 11th or 12th guy on the current team, it would have been much more beneficial to the program to have him involved. Especially now that we know he is not injured. Hopefully we don't lose him from the national squad now for good.

I agree with Shane Heal that talent wise, Luke Kendall is a down grade on exciting youngster Joe Ingles. But this team desperatly needs point guard experience, and with CJ out, and this being Darnell and Patrick first real international experience. I understand why he went with Kendall. If CJ was available I could see Luke being left out.


Issues of favouritism arrive due to the fact that so many Syndey Kings players made this team. This has been happening for the past few years, and I don't blame the players, and now I can see where the coach is coming from is his selections too. He is desperate. If we lose this series, there is every chance we miss out on the Olympics and a great chance at a medal, with a 100% available list. It's just that players who are less than NBL allstar's appear to be able to make the Australian Squad if they play for the Sydney Kings.

It happened in 2005 with an unknown Mark Worthington. It happened in 2006 in Japan with Jason Smith, Russell Hinder, Luke Kendall, Mark Worthington, Dave Barlow, CJ Bruton (all players from Goorjians system). And it is happening again now, with 5 Kings selected in the 12. Only two of which have any real chance of making our Olympic squad (Saville and Worthington).

I suppose time will tell, and in a fortnights time we will know if the gamble of choosing in effect, a champion team over a team of champions!

Go Boomers!