didnt marko turn his back on oz ?

I dont exactly like Bogut because of his attitude but i would have him in the Boomers team as he is playing the NBA. He was a number one pick remember

Hellooo mediocrity...

Milky - i ask you... Besides - what business of yours is his Croatian pride... Compared to some of our friends with central/eastern european heritage he's tame...

Id run with this

C. A.Bogut/C.Andersen
PF. C.Anstey/M.Neilsen
SF. S.Mackinnon/M.Worthington
SG. D.Barlow/J.Ingles
PG. A.Bruce/P.Mills

this is how i would go
starter/bench/backup/shadow

C-Bogut/Luke/Anstey/Neville/Ogilvy
PF-Andersen/Nielsen/Kickert/Loughton/Maric
SF-Mackinnon/Worthigton/Saville/Barlow
SG-Newley/Black/Smith/Ingles
PG-CJ/Bruce/Markovic/Mills

i dont think i have missed anyone out have i?

i'd go for

PG - Bruce/Mills
SG - Newley/Ingles
SF - Mackinnon/Worthington
PF - Andersen/Nielsen
C - Bogut/Anstey

well johnny sack, croatian pride is one thing. but when i read the Alpha magazine article in which he admitted that during the 2006 soccer world cup, he was supporting Croatia when they played against Australia, well I just couldn't hack that. it's not like he even played well for Australia last time around. Matt Nielsen would have offered us more at the worlds.

Bogut doesn't give a damn about the green and gold? Just because he wants a break this year, which is his first real off-season for years he said, that means he doesn't care about playing for Australia?

Give the guy a break! He has played for Australia pretty much every year since Athens (maybe even 2003?), and spent last year playing for the Boomers over working with the Bucks. I believe he has said that he doesn't care what anyone thinks, he's going to play for Australia.

Anyway, my team would lok like this:

Bogut/Schenscher
Anderson/Neilson/Kickert
Mackinnon/Saville/Wortho
Newley/Ryan
Bruton/Bruce

Withs Mils, Maric, Ingles, Loughton and Barlow on the side.

Twenty four is close. I don't think Bruce has proven himself to be better then Mee, Mills and Gibson.

while Goorjian is coach, we'll never see what Bruce is truly capable of. Mee shouldn't play for Oz past this NZ series.

And I'm not talking about the amount of times Bogut has played for Australia. I'm talking about his clear lack of pride in being an AUSTRALIAN. Half of his interviews I've seen, he's been wearing a Croatian hat or t-shirt or soccer jersey.

i just find it ridiculous that he would admit to supporting Croatia when they were directly playing against Australia in the football, and then try and tell us that he wants to play for Australia!
before you shoot your mouth off again, just consider that

what, so you can't support any team other than Australia if you are Australian ?! that's ridiculous ! I'm as Aussie as hell, and proud as hell - doesn't mean I have to support every Aussie team that takes the court, field, gym, whatever. If, say, a person dislike the way an Aussie team plays, and likes the way another team approaches the game, why shouldn't that person show appreciation for that other team and support them ?

what the hell are you talking about!?!?! you can go for someone else if you like, but not when they're playing against Australia! maybe you like the way NZ plays more than the way Oz plays. Oh, so then even though you're australian you would support NZ?!?! what the hell are you talking about?

you wouldn't be croatian by any chance? have i hit a nreve or something?

this isn't club sport. this is your country

Im with Milky.
I was born in Oz as was my whole family for generations.
I lived in Scotland a for a few years ago a while back and it became my second home. Absolutley the the place and country. I follow Scotland in lots of events from football to rugby to particular individual athletes.

BUT

If at anytime they come up against Australia its Green and Gold all the way. No second thought about it.

I think Bogut is well within his right to have sometime off. The NBA season is a bloody long one. Compare the amount of games he has played in the last 12 months to the rest of the other team.
We will just have to wait and see how committed he is to Australia in Beijing.

So what? People can support whoever they like - whether they have ancestral ties or just like another team's style.

You don't have to support the Redlegs just because you live in Norwood. And you don't have to support an Australian team just because you live in Australia.

you can support any club team you like. international sport is somewhat different.

i don't mind bogut having a break either. maybe he can have one every year

Why is international sport that different? Another patch of dirt. Just bigger.

Some people are massively passionate about it, others might not be. I'm just saying that if someone has an allegiance to a couple of backgrounds, so be it.

i can accept your opinion. but bogut isn't just a fan.

Bogut represents Australia in sport. For him to then admit that he supports a nation playing against Australia in any sport, it is a disgrace, and shows what he truly feels for this country...NOTHING! no passion, no heart.

for him, playing for australia is just like pulling on any other jersey. dare i say that if he was pulling on a croatia jersey, well then he'd feel something more. that's how he is.

let me put it his way:

Australia got him where he is today. if he grew up in Croatia, he's be just another basketball player. but he doesn't fully appreciate what this country has done for him, as he roots against it and supports the nation that has realistically given him nothing. he is scum, and i would rather see guys like David Andersen, Matt Nielsen, Luke Schensher, and Alex Maric representing this country.

Correct Isaac - I am a very proud Australian but I f'n hate the Australian Cricket Team - they are my most hated team in the world of sports, I can't stand them.

I don't go for anyone specifically in the world of cricket but I do go for the team playing Australia.

That said I love the Redbacks and will readily support them.

I get booed and chastised by everyone I know for my stand on Ricky and his men.

I have said I will happily support the Aussies when the arrogant, classless, souless jerks are no longer in the team until that day I will root against them.

I don't think this makes me any less Aussie does it?

Well, to be honest, I don't feel a whole lot of passion for Australia either. I have more "feeling" for a country in which my grandparents were born and which I've visited just once, so maybe I can empathise with his situation a little. Australia is every day life. That other country just has a more romantic/ancestral association. He's likely also grown up around a family with strong ethnic roots and is proud of those.

You're jumping to a few conclusions - he's represented Australia before and played well. So he doesn't go on TV in his Boomers singlet. Who would (besides maybe Worthington)?

Calling him "scum" is pretty ridiculous.

SVD, no idea. Do you want to be "more Aussie"?

i wouldn't think so mate. i didn't say he has to wear a boomers singlet on tv mate. but it's not like he should be waltzing around in croatian attire - he's supposed to be the great hope for AUSTRALIAN basketball. now, most sportsmen, when they do an interview, will do so in their team attire. all the rugby league players do come on to television programs, like the Footy Show for instance, wearing their club gear. wallabies players will do so in Wallabies team polos. recently, kangaroos rugby league players wore their kangaroos polo shirts when interviewed. same with the state of origin players for both sides.

For instance, Anthony Minichiello of the Sydney Roosters is proud of his italian heritage, but he represents Australia and considers it his country. but he is also proud to be italian. But wait a minute, i've never seen him wear an italian soccer jersey on television when he is being interviewed! i guess that's just allowed for arrogant jerks like andrew bogut, who has yet to actually do anything in his career yet has already slagged off the legends of australian basketball.

he may one day go on to surpass those players, probably will actually, but he hasn't yet.

he is a very hard fella to like.

Nah Isaac - just a middle level aussie - somewhere between Peter Allen and Fitzy ... but without the gay!

Players appearing on the Footy Show tend to not wear their club gear? If, for other media events, they do, I'd say that's a club directive.

Back in Australia, he likely has no directive from the Bucks, and I can't imagine that BA or the Boomers are giving him instructions.

So, in the absence of that, he goes with whatever he feels like - he's a professional - I have no problem with him supporting Croatia as well as supporting and playing for Australia.

I'd say that Croatians, having fought some bitter wars on their home ground, are often very patriot.

In Australia, I think patriotism mostly manifests with regard to sport and xenophobia.

He's probably hard for an outsider to like, I reckon you're right there, but that doesn't make him scum.

I'm surprised you're not on Anstey's back - putting the Tigers before the Boomers!

but that's the thing. he can support both, but when they conflict, he supports the other. he plays for Australia for christ sake

oh, and i don't like anstey. don't think it's any great loss to be frank. maybe he'd help for depth right now, but i'm not a fan

we've really gone off topic though.

i don't care if a spectator doesn't want to support Australia. most of those spectators don't actually play for Australia in any sport, and that's where my beef is.

how about we actually get back onto the boomers

But how is Bogut not supporting the Boomers? He's recovering from injury - otherwise he'd play.

i never said he wasn't supporting the boomers.

mark nash has been averaging 18 and 11 in seabl. he def still has something to offer off the bench

that last comment was accidentally put in the wrong thread by me

Right, but so what if he supports Croatia in soccer while representing Australia in basketball? He has ties to both countries. He just supports another soccer team before that of his country - still don't see the drama.

well that's the difference between the two of us. ask most proud Australians what they think about it, and they would be disgusted. i'm not talking about one-eyed basketball fans who want to be able to say we have an nba player.

Appealing to the majority with your argument doesn't mean a whole lot to me - the majority of people are idiots. ;)

Perhaps it's a case of brand inheritance - maybe he's got his passion for the Croatian national side from his immigrant parents?

I'd hate to suggest that Bogut might play basketball for Croatia if he were eligible! (That wouldn't surprise me.) Still, if he is able to play for Australia, they should take the best they can get.

i can't see him playing that often in the future anyway

MILKY, sorry, but I have to ask....











Is that you Brian?

sorry?

Milky, are you on drugs??
Thats like saying someone playing basketball for sturt cant support any other SANFL team but sturt, they are completely different sports, just because he is one of the best in our country and will help our chances at succeeding at any tourament he plays in for us, he has to turn his back on his herritage completely?

And then to say you cant see him playing in the future that often, tell me the other Aussies we have that have gone number one in the NBA? and the guy is still in his 20's! You're just making one stupid comment after another....

that's crap

how can people keep comparing club sports to international sports. this is your country for christ's sake. do you support australia in one sport but then finland in another? you would support the same country in both sports. dam it.
he doesn't need to forget his heritage completely. but his nationality is Australian. he can have his heritage if he likes, but he would be absolutely nobody without Australia. maybe he should look at it that way, and so should you.

and yes, he will be a great player...comparatively to other Australia players. but he comes of as an arrogant jerk...he's cocky and extremely unlikeable.

you have misunderstood me anyway you fool. When i said i don't think he'll play much in the future, i don't mean he won't make the team. i mean that he'll stop giving a crap about the team and just choose to rest in the NBA off season and then get back to struggling his way to averaging a double double every year.

yes, he went number one that year. but try and tell me he's the number one player from that draft class. he isn't. that title goes to Deron Williams/Chris Paul. i'm sorry, but a number one overall pick that averages 12 points and 8 rebounds is nothing special. he's been better than some other number ones, but worse than a lot of them too.

so MILKY, what does your theory say in relation to an American playing basketball for Australia?????

the nba does weird things 2 international players..take sean marks 4 example ever since he made the nba he hasnt come back and represented his country...and nz is a country which lack big men and yet he doesnt care..this is similiar to bogut sitituation..

MILKY, you play for your country because you want to, not because you have to. My point was that Bogut chose to play for the Boomers on his own. He wouldn't do that if he wasn't a proud Aussie. He would just spend his off-seasons doing his own thing (which I know he's doing this year, but he needs a rest and is committed to playing every second year anyway).

Besides, who cares who he was going for in the World Cup. This a direct quote from that interview you were refering to:
"Although not unhappy with the result he admits to quietly supporting Croatia during the world cup but missed the match with Australia because he slept through his alarm."

IMO, that's not really anti-Australia. Plus, I remember reading him say that the perfect result would've been 0-0, take from that what you will...

And I think he wore an Australian jacket when he was on the footy show last week as well. Basically, you really haven't got a leg to stand on here.

To be honest, and call me un-Australian, but I agree with Bogut's stance. If he's injured why risk further injury in an irrelevant tournament. Ok, it would be nice to have him here for the Kiwi's, but sh*t happens.

This is his chosen profession, and why put unnecessary risk in place by playing for Australia. He's got 12-15 years to make it and missing a minor tournament is no big deal. If he skipped the Worlds or the Olympics then I'd question his motives.

Out of interests sake, how many tournaments did Longley represent Australia??? Could probably count it in two hands.

As for Bogut supporting Croatia, who gives a sh*t. I think you'd find that the majority of people that have family ties to other countries will support that country as it tugs at their heart strings. Half my family originated from England, and because of that I'm interested in how they do, so I guess that means I support them, but that doesn't take away from my support of Australian teams.

Storm in a tea cup syndrome I think...

that last point is different to bogut. i really doubt that you support england when they play AGAINST australia. if you do, well then maybe you and bogut would strike up quite a friendship

i don't mind americans playing for australia if they show that they truly WANT to be considered australian. it's always hard to know with them, and i fear that some of them just think it's an easy path for them to play international basketball.

i don't mind guys like Scott Fisher. i don't really like him as a person, but he got his citizenship, played for Oz, and now still lives in Oz and coaches in the Australian league - i.e. still contributes to Australian basketball.

with darnell, it's hard to know. i would rather have seen aaron bruce running the show along with guys like damian ryan, and of course patt mills - also steve black if he wasn't hurt. but darnell serves a purpose, and we'll have to wait and see about his attitude toward his adopted country. we just don't know yet what he's thinking.

the way i see it, Andrew Bogut is the number one representative for Australian basketball. people all around the world know him as our only NBA player, and they think of our country when they see him.

So when he says he went for Croatia when they played Oz, and when he is often seen in Croatian gear rather than Oz gear, that disappoints me, because people think of him as THE man of Australian basketball.

the AFL footy show doesn't come on till about 1.30 here in sydney, so i didn't see his interview. if he was wearing Aussie gear, then that's a good sign and i look forward to seeing more of it

Milky - you wouldn't be a Serb by any chance???

You seem to be fine with Stevie Boy and his antics (which he actually did do and Bogut has not done anything)... But Bogut gets up your nose... As someone said - Bogut CHOSE to play for the Boomers (that should say enough)... Your venom for Andrew suggests an ulterior motive for your argument...

Milky, your country just happens to be the patch of dirt where you were born. Saying that he'd be nothing without Australia is bullshit - he still would've grown to 7' in Croatia and he still would've played professional basketball.

I don't agree with an absolutist approach to patriotism at all.

So, the guy barracks for the same soccer team that his parents probably do - big deal.

i assure you that i'm australian mate. I have nothing against Croatia. my beef is with Bogut. if he was norweigan, i would feel exactly the same way.

the markovic situation is different. he is still elegible to play for australia. he hasn't turned his back as some have suggested. he has been injured recently, and has not been picked mainly due to this.

i have no problem with what he did however. this is a low-paying sport in australia, so when a euro club offers big money, guys need to take it. he may have left it very late to leave, but the offer came in late too so he was stranded.

i also think that the more guys playing in europe, the better it is for aussie basketball, as the leagues over there are far stronger. i think it is more beneficial for our national team to have him playing over there than for west sydney. i would like to see other guys playing there too...barlow, wortho, i was hoping mackinnon too, and definitely bruce, newley, and mills in the future if they don't crack the nba.

and that last bloke...if you think australia is nothing more than a patch of dirt, than i have very little respect for you, and will struggle to take any of your opinions seriously.

he would have grown tall in croatia, but would have also come through differently. maybe he would end up playing pro ball, but probably not in the nba. he would prob be playing for a croatian club or something.

he would never have has the chance to make a name for himself with the Australian junior team. would have come through a different system, where all the kids would have been working as hard as him, cos that's how those countries are...they have nothing but their soccer and basketball.

everyone knows how i feel. so get over it. you won't change me. this isn't a bogut thread, it's a boomers one, so can we please just talk about the boomers now

Milky you are the one that change it into a Bogut thread.

Really getting down on Isaac. You better make sure the hand of death does not come down on you and suddenly you cannot post on this site. Isaac is normally a protected species much like Andrew Gaze.

Anyway here is my team

G - Bruton/Gibson/Mills
SG - Newley/Smith
SF - MacKinnon/Ingles/Saville
PF - Anstey/Ogilvy/Nielson
C - Bogut/Anderson/Schensher

I'm really struggling to see how you can think the Markovic situation was OK, but you get your panties in a knot about Bogut.

Bogut never broke an agreement.

Anyway

G: Bruton/Mills/Bruce
SG: Newley/Ingles
SF: MacKinnon/Worthington
PF: Anderson/Nielson
C: Bogut/Schensher/Ogilvy

Thinking a bit about the future...

they're different situations mate. the bogut thing is nothing to do with contracts and money.

and i just simply said why i left bogut out of my line-up. i didn't want it to become a bogut thread. it only went further when like 25 people kept asking me about it

Milky, did you happen to work in a famous fish and chip shop in Ipswich ?