Good news :

I wonder who will miss the cut?

16 remaining, cut 4:

David ANDERSEN / 212cm / 30 / Centre / Toronto Raptors (NBA)

David BARLOW / 205cm / 26 / Forward / CAI Zaragoza (Spain)

Aron BAYNES / 207cm / 23 / Centre / EWE Baskets Oldenburg (Germany)

Matthew DELLAVEDOVA / 189cm / 19 / St Marys College (USA)

Adam GIBSON / 188cm / 23 / Guard / Gold Coast Blaze

Hugh GREENWOOD / 189CM / 18 / Australian Institute of Sport

Joe INGLES / 203cm / 22 / Forward / CB Granada (Spain)

Alex LOUGHTON / 206cm / 27 / Forward / Cairns Taipans

Steven MARKOVIC / 190cm / 25 / Guard / KK Crvena Zvezda Beograd (Serbia)

Aleks MARIC / 210cm / 25 / Centre / Panathinaikos (Greece)

Damian MARTIN / 188cm / 25 / Guard / Perth Wildcats

Patrick MILLS / 183cm / 21 / Guard / Portland Trail Blazers (NBA)

Brad NEWLEY / 198cm / 25 / Guard / Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania)

Matthew NIELSEN / 209cm / 32 / Forward / Olympiacos (Greece)

AJ OGILVY / 211cm / 22 / Centre / Besiktas (Turkey)

Mark WORTHINGTON / 202cm / 27 / Forward / Brose Baskets (Germany)

David ANDERSEN / Toronto Raptors (NBA)
David BARLOW / CAI Zaragoza (Spain)
Aron BAYNES / EWE Baskets Oldenburg (Germany)
Adam GIBSON / Gold Coast Blaze
Joe INGLES / CB Granada (Spain)
Alex LOUGHTON / Cairns Taipans
Aleks MARIC / Panathinaikos (Greece)
Damian MARTIN / Perth Wildcats
Patrick MILLS / Portland Trail Blazers (NBA)
Brad NEWLEY / Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania)
Matthew NIELSEN / Olympiacos (Greece)
Mark WORTHINGTON / Brose Baskets (Germany)

Those cut from my team:

Steven MARKOVIC / KK Crvena Zvezda Beograd (Serbia)
Matthew DELLAVEDOVA / St Marys College (USA)
Hugh GREENWOOD / Australian Institute of Sport
AJ OGILVY / Besiktas (Turkey)

Markovic and Ogilvy are the unlucky two from the Stankovic Cup to miss out IMO. Markovic did not do enough IMO to warrant selection in comparison to Gibson and Martin, whilst Maric & Loughton's inclusion to the squad pushes Ogilvy out. Ogilvy will stay in the team only if Loughton's injury is not fully recovered.

Baynes would also have to be on the fringe.

Andersen, Nielsen, Newley, Mills, Martin
Maric, Worthington, Barlow, Ingles, Gibson

Last two are still up in the air for mine.
Baynes - strong physical presence
Ogilvy - investment for the future
Loughton - perimeter shooting big man
Markovic - guard depth
Dellavedova and Greenwood - see Ogilvy

All fair calls...those last few spots will be tough to call.

Strong squad is strong.

Maric: "...I'd always had the ambition to play for Australia, especially in the World Championships."

Brown: "Al(eks), like many of our players, has put his country first with his acceptance of our invitation to play with us."

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

strong strong squad?

what would happen if we were fully fit?

world domination

Bogut, Nielsen, Mackinnon, Newley, Bruton
Anstey, Maric, Barlow, Ingles, Mills

OK so I am dreaming! But maybe:

Bogut, Nielsen, Barlow, Newley, Bruton
Maric, Andersen, Worthington, Ingles, Mills, Jawai, Martin

Man, that would be a medal contender in this year's WCs, without a doubt.

Good news for the Boomers. Good to hear the big fella is focussed on toughness too. We were pretty soft in the bigs department in the Stankovic Cup.

I agree with the teams Paul and LC put up earlier in the thread.

The only query I have is why Nevill is not in the mix? He's looked solid when I've seen him and has a nice solid frame that doesn't get pushed around, unlke Andersen and Ogilvy who both struggle against big centres. If he's fit, I reckon he'd be worth taking ahead of Baynes.

I'd be happy to see Loughton make it too. I think he performed really well against Argentina and gives us a nice reliable mid-range shooter to spread the floor a little more than Nielsen does. He also has that extra size that will help him matchup against 4's that Wortho would struggle with.

I'm really disappointed to see Ogilvy fall away so much, but he really hasn't earnt his spot from his performances. He just doesn't seem to know where he needs to be on the floor at times and just doesn't seem to have any fight or confidence in his game either. I hope he will get some good coaching in Turkey next season and start heading in the right direction again.

All in all I think we are looking pretty decent for the Worlds, considering we are missing one of the best centres in the game!

Hope Brown is working Maric into the offence and generally getting the guys to improve their offensive sets. If we can just get some more constency on the offensive end, I think we will do quite well.

Some nice points Beantown. Rumour has it Nevill wasnt cut but the Tigers wouldnt let him miss their tour of Ireland!! He had a big game against Pittsburgh last night apparently (as you would expect, he is very comfortable dominating college teams).

You are spot on with Ogilvy, he clearly has talent but lacks aggression and confidence in his game. I hope things go well in Turkey, but life as an import in Europe can be pretty cutthroat. I honestly think a year or two in the NBL without any pressure and in a comfortable environment is what AJ needs to kick start his career.

AJ was a victim of the coaching direction at Vanderbilt in his last 2 seasons. In hindsight (isn;t it a wonderful thing!), he should have nominated for the NBA draft after his Freshman season!

It just goes to show that the right player with the right coach and right style of play can make all the difference in making or breaking a player.

Re. paul's team, the maybe one, not the dreaming one. If asked to pick a Boomers team six to twelve months ago, that is precisely the team I would have chosen except it was a bit up in the air whether the third PG would be Gibbo, Marto or Delly. To think that we are on the cusp of the WC's with a likely team only three players different to the ideal scenario is a credit to Brown and the Boomers programme, the players own desire and sheer dumb luck. When you consider a few other factors though, you can see that the team we likely field at the WC's is the best we could have hoped for this year.

In my opinion, Bogut was never going to suit up for this tournament. In the weeks leading up to the horrific arm injuries, he and the Bucks made statements which suggested this possibility. I'm not questioning his desire, I'm just saying that I think that with question marks over the condition of his back, that this time around the Buck's management would have won out.

Bruton's availability was also an iffy proposition. He is clearly still a class player but also unquestionably in the twilight of his career. In hindsight, the writing was on the wall when CJ prioritised maximising his earning capacity by agreeing to play in Puerto Rico in the NBL off season rather than resting up before the WC's. But he has contributed so much to the Boomers, who can blame him?

So this really leaves us with only one player down from what we may have expected: Jawai. The dude is chasing a contract and having a child so you can't blame his absence either. However, in his current condition his absence IMHO will be noticeable, but not critical. I really hope he can find some condition and form because he could really be a force to be reckoned with, and both Neilsen and Andersen will retire sooner rather than later.