MELBOURNE (Paulo Kennedy’s View from Downunder) - What's the 2017 series? I'm glad you asked. It is a bunch of players who could become very important to Australian and New Zealand basketball as the international landscape changes.

As most hoops fans know, next year sees Australia and New Zealand competing in the FIBA Asia Cup (formerly the FIBA Asia Championship) for the first time. Then, from November 2017, they will attempt to qualify for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 from the Asian zone.

These qualifiers will be played during professional club seasons and while most leagues are likely to release their players in these qualifying 'windows', the NBA won't be one of them.

That means Australia in particular needs to not only find new players to represent the Boomers in place of Matty Dellavedova, Patty Mills and Co, but must also figure out who are going to be the focal points, what type of role players are required and where all the current and new pieces fit.

New Zealand have the obvious advantage of the Breakers program, which currently has nine Kiwis in full-time roster spots and more in their superb development program. However, with key players Isaac Fotu and Tai Webster overseas (as well as Steven Adams), there is still some problem solving for coach Paul Henare to do.

Come the new year and the 2017 series I will have an in-depth look at specific players and how they might help the puzzle to come together so the Boomers and Tall Blacks can overcome the likes of China, Iran, Korea and the Philippines to win the Asian Cup and then qualify for China 2019 in style.

Obviously there are some past and present internationals playing in the NBL who could well be important players for the Aussies and Kiwis - think Chris Goulding, Adam Gibson, Corey Webster, Kevin Lisch, Cam Gliddon, Damian Martin, Tom Abercrombie, Brad Newley, AJ Ogilvy, Alex Pledger, Cam Bairstow, Nate Jawai, Mika Vukona and David Andersen.

Today though, I'm having a quick look at 10 next generation players who may not be the stars of the FIBA Asia Cup 2017 and the FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifying campaign, but could be the ones who complement the main players and help create a team that works on the court as well as on paper.

Mitch Creek
An absolute star of the junior international game, his opening to this season suggests he is ready to translate that to the men's side of things. He impressively was the scoring star in the opening game, then stepped back and played his role when others were firing in game two, something essential for a national team player.

His defence and physicality are two areas he can really make a mark in, but he needs to keep hitting the three-ball and to fulfil his potential as a rebounder. A mobile, bull-strong 1.97m player, he has the potential to be a mobile four-man in the Asian game - perfectly suited to the Australian style too - but must show he can board and run consistently, where his athletic ability can shine.

Todd Blanchfield
There was a curious suggestion in a blog this week that Blanchfield should come off the bench for Melbourne United. The reality is though, United lost two games last weekend by a total of 13 points, and were -20 during the 35 minutes that Todd was on the bench.

Always be wary of people who only talk about individuals when analysing a team, rather than looking at what actually makes that team work cohesively, and that is an area where Blanchfield has become a real contributor.

After being a go-to guy in Townsville, Blanchfield has shown international quality in the way he has accepted his complementary role with a more talented Melbourne team, happy to do his bit even if he's capable of more. He has also starred for Boomers development teams and now needs to show he can hit the spot-up triple more consistently to fill a role on the national team.

Blanchfield with a big three to win it in OT for Melbourne United #HardBall @PerthWildcats @MelbUnitedHQ https://t.co/WdRZyaCi0v

— NBL (@NBL) January 29, 2016

Rob Loe
The Tall Blacks' duo of Fotu and Mika Vukona is quite remarkable indeed with their ability to match up physically with much bigger frontcourts. That's an area the finesse game of Loe has struggled and NZ need him to step up in the qualifiers with Fotu possibly unavailable.

Loe made an impressive debut for the Breakers last week, not just making his trademark smart plays but providing a real presence inside, clearly outplaying import Devin Williams and logging a remarkable +30 in 20 minutes of court time. Coach Paul Henare will be saying "more please" for both club and country.

Jason Cadee
The Sydney Kings were being blown off the court by Illawarra on Thursday night and the only thing that kept the Kings alive was Cadee's cool head and hot hand. Like Creek, Cadee appears to be finally converting his junior brilliance into the senior game.

The question marks have been consistency, physicality and defence. Keep an eye on those things as the NBL season progresses, because Cadee has shown he can be a major player in Boomers development teams, and if he can handle the physical NBL night-after-night he might be ready to step up for the national team.

Matt Hodgson
This is one from left field, but the reality is Hodgson stands just a fraction short of seven foot, has long arms and is growing into a physical specimen. In Adelaide's win over Melbourne, he was a brute inside, chasing down six rebounds in less than 10 minutes of action.

Every national team needs a solid big guy they can bring on when there's foul trouble to defend and rebound - something could give smaller Asian opponents some troubles - and given this is just Hodgson's second professional season, watch out for how much he develops after banging against Ogilvy, Jawai, Pledger, Bairstow, Matt Knight, Josh Powell and Co over the next few months.

I'll revisit this in a few weeks, there are plenty of other developing NBL players who could possibly play a role in upcoming World Cup qualifiers next year or into the future like Shea Ili, Majok Majok, Bo Liu, Mitch Norton, Anthony Drmic, Shaun Bruce, Finn Delany and Nick Kay.

Paulo Kennedy

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