MELBOURNE (Paulo Kennedy's View from Downunder) - It's safe to say that 2016 was a landmark year for Australian basketball. I feel equally comfortable saying 2017 is going to be a year of change.

The past 12 months brought us the best Boomers team of all time, our country's best international coaching performance by Andrej Lemanis, a FIBA U17 Women's World Championship gold medal, Ben Simmons selected first overall in the NBA Draft and yet another NBA champion in Matthew Dellavedova.

What will the year ahead bring? A lot of firsts.

The Opals will be trying to qualify for the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup through Asia for the first time, the Boomers participating in their first FIBA Asia Cup and then taking their first steps towards China 2019 with their opening home-and-away FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifying games in November.

This week I've taken a quick look back at the Aussie men who made 2016 so good, and those I think could step up to make our transition to Asia a success.

Coach of 2016 - Andrej Lemanis
An easy one to start with, 'Drej confirming his outstanding ability to build a program slowly but steadily, turning the work he had put in - in terms of strategy, scouting and people management - from 2013 to 2015 into a Rio Olympics team that executed as well as any international team I’ve seen in a decade covering world basketball.

Coach of 2017 - Rob Beveridge
If Lemanis does not continue, then Beveridge - Australia's FIBA U19 World Championship 2003 gold medal coach - becomes the standout candidate. His work in Illawarra, overcoming the loss of Kirk Penney and Kevin Lisch to keep his Hawks near the top of the table, again shows how well he can adapt his high-octane game plan, a system which will be very challenging for international teams to counter.  

We're excited to launch NBL's #intheirownwords series. Ep 1 with @illawarrahawks coach Rob Beveridge debuts on NBL TV tomorrow @ 7:30pm AEDT pic.twitter.com/rGuVkFCe7a

— NBL (@NBL) December 13, 2016

Referee of 2016 - Michael Aylen
I'm sure Aylen would admit his high standards had slipped a little in recent years. It's not that he was refereeing poorly, just clearly below his best in terms of form and fitness. But he seems rejuvenated by his appointment as a full-time NBL referee, has been a model of consistency so far this season and embraced his role developing the next crop of Australian refs.

Best Defensive Player of 2017 - Mitch Norton
Norton's mix of intelligent play and intensity is reminiscent of Martin, and it’s hard to believe he is the same age Martin was in his rookie NBL season. He has a World University Games silver medal as starting point guard, is perfectly suited to both Lemanis and Beveridge's styles, and even if another coach takes the reins it's hard to imagine Norton won't be a handy back-up point guard as the Boomers move through Asia.

Most Improved Player of 2016 - Patty Mills
Already a star, Patty's Rio Olympics showed he's taken his scoring efficiency, decision-making and defence to a new level. He scored more than 20 points at 47 per cent or better in five of the six games against high-class opponents - including 30 against the USA and Spain - and at 28 still has plenty of good basketball left. That's a scary thought for Australia's international opponents.

Most Improved Player of 2017 - Nate Jawai
Unlucky to miss the Rio Olympics, Jawai made the smart choice of heading back home to Far North Queensland to play under long-time mentor Aaron Fearne, whose no-nonsense approach has big Nate in his best condition for arguably a decade, showing improved footwork and no longer a player exposed ruthlessly at the defensive end. If the body holds up, more green-and-gold action awaits.

Comeback Kid of 2016 - Andrew Bogut
When the Bogey Man shook off his back injury to dominate Game 2 of the 2015 FIBA Oceania Championship, we saw clearly what the Boomers had been missing since 2008. But deep down many wondered how his body could get through an eight-game Olympics.

When he was racing against the clock and a knee injury just to make it to Rio, I’m sure I'm not the only one assuming he would only play limited minutes. In contrast though, he was +50 in the opening three games against France, Serbia and the USA, scoring 42 points, grabbing 17 boards, dishing 14 dimes and blocking seven shots. Amazing.

Comeback Kid of 2017 - Brad Newley
Probably the only point of contention from the Boomers' campaign - apart from that call - was the omission of Newley. No question he was extremely unlucky, someone always is, but the way he has bounced back this NBL season suggests he isn’t a spent international force.

Playing full time in the Australian style he has been rejuvenated, averaging an efficient 17.6ppg, 5.2rpg, 4.2apg and 1.3spg. The next World Cup is little more than two years away, and the FIBA Asia Cup and World Cup qualifiers only months off, no reason Newley can’t be a key leader for the Boomers once again.

.@BradNewley came to play in the 3rd with 16 points getting the @SydneyKings back in it as they trail @BrisbaneBullets 60-62 at the end of 3 pic.twitter.com/91LWOJ3jqd

— NBL (@NBL) November 10, 2016

MVP of 2016 - Matthew Dellavedova
This could have been Bogut or Mills, but it’s hard to ignore that Delly was Australia’s glue at both ends of the floor and was able to contribute in so many ways. His 11-point, 11-assist, six-rebound performance against the USA spoke volumes to his value – the Boomers were outscored by 15 points in his eight minutes of bench time.

For mine, Delly's Rio effort - which featured 47 per cent long-range shooting and 56 assists to just 11 turnovers - was the best Olympic campaign by any Australian point guard, as that’s saying something considering Phil Smyth’s 1984 tournament and Shane Heal's red-hot Atlanta Olympics.

MVP of 2017 - Chris Goulding
Australia is going to need home-based heroes over the next two years as they prepare for China 2019. Despite being hampered by injury, Goulding impressed in Rio with his willingness to do the little things, showing a maturity that suggests he has the poise and understanding to be a genuine star in Asia and a leader of the Boomers.

This NBL season in Melbourne, he has continued his progression from young gunner to an all-around star. A journey that picked up discipline under Chris Anstey, added tricks while in Spain, and now sees him as a quality playmaker, defender and scorer with enormous responsibility under Dean Demopoulos. His time has come to transfer that to the FIBA game.

With 28 points including 6 triples @ChrisGoulding43 is your @ladbrokescomau player of the game in the @MelbUnitedHQ win #NBL17 #yourgame pic.twitter.com/rnotf12XYg

— NBL (@NBL) December 11, 2016

Paulo Kennedy

FIBA

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