AUS - Barlow eager for return to Summer Games

MURCIA (Olympics) - David Barlow is one of those unsung heroes of Australia.

He’s tough and hard-nosed, yet very skillful.

Former coach Brian Goorjian relied heavily on the sweet-shooting, 2.05m forward at the 2006 FIBA World Championship and the 2008 Olympics.

Barlow was also vital for coach Brett Brown at the 2010 World Championship in Turkey.

The 28-year-old, who plays professionally in Spain’s top flight with Murcia, is gearing up for another run at the Olympic podium with the London Games coming up.

He gave the following interview to FIBA.com.

FIBA: The Olympics are just over three months away, David. How do you look at the opportunity to go to another Summer Games?
Barlow: I’m really excited about it. I look at our team and think we’ve got a truckload of talent and I can’t wait for it.

FIBA: Matthew Dellavedova made a lot of headlines this season in American college basketball at St Mary’s and he’s already featured for Australia’s senior team. You played with him last summer at the FIBA Oceania Championship. What do you know about this 21-year-old, both as a player and as a person?
Barlow: I know he’s very good. Not only that, he’s really fun to play with. He’s a point guard that is really beyond his years in age. I personally love playing with him because he’s just a traditional point guard that just finds the open man, is just really level headed and on top of that, physically he’s good. He’s fast, a strong defender and a great kid.

FIBA: Australia coach Brett Brown would appear to have some very tough decisions to make when it comes to his squad selection for this summer. Is it fair to say some really good players won’t make the Olympic team?
Barlow: Absolutely, especially with our ‘bigs’. We’ve got so many good ‘bigs’ playing overseas.

FIBA: Remembering your first Olympic experience in Beijing, when Australia lost their first two games, what were the lessons learned by the Boomers?
Barlow: You have to play your best right from the beginning. We lost that first game to Croatia (97-82). If we hadn’t lost that game, we wouldn’t have ended up playing against the US, which was unfortunate. We did beat Russia by 30, we beat Lithuania by 40 and unfortunately ran into the US in the quarters (The star-laden United States beat Australia 116-85 and eventually won the gold medal).

FIBA: What is the Olympic tournament like for you compared to the other tournaments you play in? Is it the most meaningful?
Barlow: Absolutely. There is no sporting event bigger. Everybody knows the Olympics is an unbelievable event and to be able to go there and represent Australia is what dreams are made of.

FIBA