Baynes, Exum and Ingles back in the mix for Australia
MELBOURNE (Rio 2016 Olympic Games) - Australia head coach Andrej Lemanis has not sprung any surprises in announcing his latest preliminary squad for the 2016 Olympics. The 17-strong group is made up of NBA players, European-based stars and National Basketball League stalwarts.
| Australia 17-player preliminary squad for Rio 2016 Olympic Games | |||
| David Andersen | Cameron Bairstow | Aron Baynes | Andrew Bogut |
| Ryan Broekhoff | Matthew Dellavedova | Dante Exum | Adam Gibson |
| Cameron Gliddon | Chris Goulding | Joe Ingles | Nathan Jawaii |
| Kevin Lisch | Damian Martin | Patrick Mills | Brock Motum |
| Brad Newley | |||
"The coaching staff had a discussion on what will give us the best opportunity for success and the players that make up that team," Lemanis said.
"Several other factors come into it, though, including current form, previously proven experience with the Boomers, previous performances in the campaign since 2013, a familiarity with the team and the systems as well as team balance."
Among those included is Dante Exum, the Utah Jazz guard who missed the entire season after tearing his ACL last summer in the Boomers' build-up for the FIBA Oceania Championship. Australia squared off against a tough New Zealand Tall Blacks side without Exum and won both games to clinch a spot in the Olympics.
Exum, an All-Star Five selection at the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship, is going to have a long career with the national team. Lemanis admits he is unsure if the rising star will be in the final squad this year.
"Dante is going really well," Lemanis said. "His rehab is on track but there are still a few hurdles to overcome. Dante needs to be confident he can handle the load of the campaign, the Jazz need to be comfortable with his involvement in the program and we all need to feel that his skill set is back to where it needs to be to compete on the world stage."
In addition to the 12 players that featured last year, NBA duo Aron Baynes and Joe Ingles are available for the Boomers again and likely to make the team.
Baynes just played his first season with the Detroit Pistons. The 2.08m power forward/center appeared in 81 games for Detroit following his move from San Antonio and averaged 6.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. An Olympian in 2012, Baynes was Australia's top player at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Ingles, a 2.03m shooting guard/small forward, just had his second campaign with the Utah Jazz. He has played at the last couple of Olympics with the Boomers.
Honoured to be in the 17 man squad to represent Australia at my third olympics. Really exciting times ahead with a great bunch of guys!
— Joe Ingles (@Joeingles7) May 26, 2016
Ingles, meanwhile, has a lot to be excited about and not just a third Olympic appearance. His wife, Renae, a world champion netball player for Australia, is expecting twins. The due date is 4 August - two days before the start of the tournament in Rio.
The 17-man squad will attend a selection camp in Melbourne 5-14 July.
FIBA
