Creek, Green and Landale headline Australia's 24-man pool for the next Asian Qualifiers window
CANBERRA (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers) - The pool of Boomers for the next Asian Qualifiers window has been released, and it is certainly not short on marquee names.
Australia 24-man pool for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers Fourth Window | |||
Cam Bairstow | David Barlow | Todd Blanchfield | Angus Brandt |
Jason Cadee | Mitch Creek | Anthony Drmic | Adam Gibson |
Cam Gliddon | Chris Goulding | Josh Green | Matt Hodgson |
Daniel Johnson | Nicholas Kay | Jock Landale | Kevin Lisch |
Alex Loughton | Damian Martin | Mitch McCarron | Craig Moller |
Brad Newley | Mitch Norton | Nathan Sobey | Jesse Wagstaff |
Foremost among the pool's members is star wingman Mitch Creek, who recently signed with the Brooklyn Nets and will be among their most intriguing players at pre-season training camp.
Joining him is big man 6ft 11in (2.11m) center Jock Landale, who graduated from St. Mary's College in California earlier this year and played for the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA Summer League before finally deciding to take his talents to Partizan Belgrade in Serbia. His size and heft make him a top-tier option in the slot for Australia.
Perhaps the most tantalizing name on the list, however, is that of young gun Josh Green. The 17-year-old guard who was born in Sydney, New South Wales, is currently among the top high school prospects in the United States, playing for the IMG Academy in Florida. He is rated a 5-star recruit for college, and has received a myriad offers from several high-level US NCAA schools.
Also in the pool is former Chicago Bull Cameron Bairstow, who has since gone home and has been a solid presence for the Brisbane Bullets in the NBL.
Speaking of the NBL, the league continues to be the main feeder of the Boomers, and their delegation here is spearheaded by 2018 All-NBL First Team player Daniel Johnson along with returnee Adam Gibson, who last saw action for the Green & Gold in the Rio Olympics 2016.
In addition, Jason Cadee, Mitch Norton, Cam Gliddon and Angus Brandt are among the slew of national team mainstays who remain in the Boomers' pool.
New @BasketballAus Boomers @FIBAWC Qualifying Squad 👀
— NBL (@NBL) July 31, 2018
More details ➮ https://t.co/NsSL7BgiIL pic.twitter.com/lYRt8BTYCN
Given the squad's 5-win, 1-loss slate, head coach Andrej Lemanis is confident they can qualify to next year's FIBA Basketball World Cup in China, especially with such a deep roster of players at his disposal.
"We are obviously pleased to have completed stage one of qualifying on top of our group – this puts us in a strong position as we now enter stage two of the qualifying process," he said. "I'm so proud of this group, the way they represent Australian Basketball and their unwavering commitment to the cause– as a sport, we are blessed to have these guys representing us on the world stage."
Coach Lemanis plans for the team to fly to Doha, Qatar a week before the next window begins to jumpstart their training. They face Al Annabi on 13 September before heading back home to play the Steppe Wolves of Kazakhstan on 17 September at the Bendigo Stadium.
FIBA