MELBOURNE (Paulo Kennedy's View from Downunder) - The Australian Opals team for the FIBA Women's Asia Cup has been named, and unlike the men's team, this outfit needs to get the job done quickly.

The Boomers' trip to the FIBA Basketball World Cup depends, in the first stage, upon six games that will be played over the next 12 months, then a further three qualifying windows which run into 2019.

In contrast, the Opals must finish in the top three in the tournament in India beginning in just over two weeks to qualify for the renamed FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup. There they have three group games, one day's break and then into the three-day knockout round.

In the space of seven days from 23-29 July, the Aussies' World Cup fate will be known. Of course, it's highly likely the Opals will take one of the spots on the podium, but that doesn't diminish the importance of the six games they will play in Bangalore.

This will be the only serious competition they get before next year's World Cup in Spain, and there’s a lot going against the Opals at the moment.

Question marks
None of their coaches have been there and done that as an international coach. Their head coach, Sandy Brondello, won't be in China due to WNBA commitments, and a number of their best players will also be watching from the US.

Only four members of the Rio Olympic team - who averaged a combined 56 minutes per game - will be in Bengaluru. There is no one player who could be described as a genuine scorer in the international game and only two players on the roster are taller than 1.90m (6ft 3in).

It's funny though, because while a lot of people are ready to write the obituary for Australian women's basketball, this is reminiscent of three years ago when an unproven international coach picked an unproven squad for the Women's World Cup in Turkey.

The scenario's a little different now but a lot the same too. But write off the Opals at your peril.

Coaching crew
There has been criticism of new play caller Brondello's selection of her husband Olaf Lange as an assistant coach.

To me it just seems like sense. Brondello and Lange have coached together as a team for the better part of a decade and developing basketball philosophies together for more than twice that time.

If you want help educating players and coaching staff about the new system, you can't really pick a better person for the job.

I also heard some people questioning the selection of Penny Taylor as the team's fourth assistant coach. Many a sporting team has struggled because of a lack of connection between the coaching and playing groups, and the presence of Taylor means that is unlikely to be an issue.

She is fresh out of the international game, has played with a number of squad members, has knowledge of the success and failings of recent Opals teams, strengths and weaknesses of opponents and works with Brondello at the Phoenix Mercury.

While having an absentee head coach is never ideal, and may come back to bite Basketball Australia, in Brondello they have a very talented coach, and in the four assistants they have two very familiar with Brondello, one with a great connection to the players, and two with extensive knowledge of both the WNBL and junior national team programs.

It is a different approach, but it deserves to be given a chance.

Roster spots?
As for the selected team, it is indeed indicative of the phase the Opals are heading into, with few if any superstars, but I like the development approach it has taken.

Alex Bunton, Tessa Lavey, Maddie Garrick, Steph Blicavs (nee Cumming) Sara Blicavs, Katie Ebzery and Lauren Mansfield are all players who have been developed in various Opals squads over the past few years and now get the chance to take another step.

All up, nine of the 12-woman squad are aged between 23-28 - three of whom are 23 or 24 - a line-up that is not raw, but where the majority of players have multiple major tournaments ahead of them if they make their mark.

The remaining players are Belinda Snell and Laura Hodges - who both bring a world of experience to an inexperienced team - and Kelsey Griffin, the naturalised American who would have played in Rio if not for a dubious adjudication on indigenous Australian Leilani Mitchell's citizenship status.

Bishop certainly hasn’t set the world on fire during her Opals career, but at 28 she is now in her prime, and her absence has been spent playing in quality European competitions and the WNBA - it's exciting to see how she has developed, especially in terms of defence and physicality.

With Leilani Mitchell, Erin Phillips, Liz Cambage, Cayla George, Jenna O'Hea, Rachel Jarry, Steph Talbot and Bec Allen unavailable, this Opals team was never going to be world beaters, but the level of competition at the FIBA Women's Asia Cup should give some good insight into what coach Brondello wants Opals basketball to look like, and whether she can maintain Australia's position near the top.

Yes, you could make the case that a next generation star like Tahlia Tupaea or Ezi Magbegor could be starting their education, but that aside this squad, and these coaches, should be given a chance to show their worth.

Let's not judge things too soon, the clock will turn quickly enough as we count down to Spain 2018.

Paulo Kennedy

FIBA

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