MELBOURNE (Paulo Kennedy's View from Downunder) - While much focus has been on the Australian Boomers’ move into the Asian zone, our country's women’s team took their first step into a new era this week.

A 21-woman squad was selected for the FIBA Women's Asia Cup 2017 in Bangalore starting on July this year, and it’s pretty clear the Opals won't be taking this tournament, which they will enter incredibly short-priced favourites, lightly.

Nine players with Olympic and/or World Cup experience are in the squad - eight of whom have medals in their pool rooms - alongside the WNBA experience of naturalised forward Kelsey Griffin and European hoops veteran Natalie Hurst.

That's already a near team full of quality and experience, but then you have players like Sara Blicavs, Steph Blicavs (nee Cumming), Maddie Garrick and Lauren Mansfield who have all been a part of Opals squads and will step into the selection camp in Phoenix in late June understanding what’s required.

For as long as I can remember, fans have bemoaned the size of the squads named for both the Opals and Boomers under successive coaches, particularly in 'off years', but I guess this is exactly why it’s done that way, to make the transition as smooth as possible when quality players move on or aren’t available.

It is great to see Louella Tomlinson getting her chance to shine in the green and gold, and alongside Marianna Tolo gives two genuine defensive pillars inside. Alex Bunton also looks to have a genuine physical presence after her stint in Europe.

With Erin Phillips continuing her international career that means the Opals have a high-quality defender at the one-spot, and I certainly hope the new coaching crew doesn’t make the same mistake Brendan Joyce did in Rio of playing her at shooting guard.

As a two, Phillips is undersized and simply can't have the defensive impact she does at point guard, where she is a physical specimen. Anyone who watched both Turkey 2014 and the Rio Olympics will understand the difference that move makes to the Opals' defence.

Yet while there are some good defensive pieces in this squad, I don't think that will be their defining identity. What stands out for me is the versatile offensive talent.

At point guard, Hurst can pile on the points in a hurry, Mansfield is a pure floor general and Phillips a disruptive player with a smart basketball brain.

On the wings, Katie Ebzery is someone who can make plays off her own bat, Snell a deadly bomber if left open, Steph Blicavs is a lockdown defender who is an efficient finisher, her sister-in-law Sara a 1.88m athlete who can handle, shoot and pass like a much smaller player, and Rachel Jarry someone who can make things happen in transition.

In the frontcourt, Griffin and Abby Bishop both have all-court games that present tricky match-ups, especially traditional power forwards, while Laura Hodges can open up the floor if her deadly mid-range game is on.

Jenna O'Hea has an all-court game and a deadly three-point shot, and I think it will be fascinating to see how she is used - what position(s) she plays and more so what line-ups she plays with.

But I think that is the tale of this whole squad, how will so many versatile pieces be slotted together into a team of 12?

Will the coaching staff look to go with two smaller guards to generate some pace? Will they go big on the wings to create offensive mismatches and give them defensive length? Will they go traditional in the frontcourt or go for mobility in the power forward spot?

Just as importantly, what defensive style will they use? Because with the amount of players who can make plays if given the ball in the right spots, if this team can generate some pace from its D  to enable quick ball movement then they could become very hard to guard.

However, without any genuine offensive superstars at international level - sans Lauren Jackson and Penny Taylor and with Liz Cambage unavailable - this is also a team that could get bogged down in the halfcourt, and perhaps lacks the size to defend the best teams in a purely halfcourt battle.

OPALS | @MariannaTolo says there will be a learning curve with new coaches and fresh faces but is excited for the selection camp next month. pic.twitter.com/fh9VsWpQhJ

— Basketball Australia (@BasketballAus) May 26, 2017

Realistically, we won't find answers to a lot of these questions at the Asian champs, given this team  has far more talent than its opposition, however it will be good to see how so many promising pieces are utilised.

I suspect we will see an Opals team that can play many different ways depending on which players they have on the court and what kind of opponent they are facing.

If Brondello, Goriss and Chambers can achieve that, it will create a flexible team that can problem solve during tricky and unexpected situations at major tournaments, something that the 2016 Opals weren't able to do.

Paulo Kennedy

FIBA

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