Roofman
Years ago
Boomers preparation
In the lead up to the WC, there are obvious reasons why people have focused on other issues, but most analysis has focused on Ben Simmons (will he play/won't he play?) and the usual coach bad/players good debate. What has not been discussed, really anywhere AFAIK, is Australia's general lack of preparation games in the build up to the WC, in addition to the quality of these.
As we know, Australia play Canada twice in Perth, then whatever the USA can muster in Melbourne. To begin with, playing a team from your group is never a good idea (in football/soccer teams avoid that like the plague in the lead up to big tournaments) because you are trying to show as little of your hand as possible from a scouting perspective, something Brett Brown has openly stated he learned as an assistant to Barry Barnes in the 1990s. For those about to ridicule me, I am sure that teams WILL play as hard as possible in these games, but you can guarantee that both teams and coaching staffs will have sleepless nights after these games thinking did they lose the element of surprise for the real tournament. Lithuania, France and Greece (likely further round opponents if they reach that far), will no doubt be glued looking for clues to assist their preparation.
In comparison with Australia's four lead up games, consider the schedules for key opponents, who are much better prepared. Granted all of Australia's opponents are high quality, but playing a lesser team like perhaps NZ, Japan or China may be a good way to grease the wheels for bench players, while building form and confidence, especially if early in preparations. For example:
Lithuania: 9 games
02 August vs. Spain in Pamplona, Spain
10 August vs. Serbia in Belgrade
12 August vs. Serbia in Kaunas
14 August vs. Finland in Klaipeda
Friendly Tournament-Finland
16 August vs. Finland
17 August vs. Russia
KBA 4-Nations Tournament -South Korea- 24- 27 August
(SOUTH KOREA, LITHUANIA, CZECH REPUBLIC, ANGOLA)
Canada: 7 games
Aug 9: Canada vs Nigeria @ Winnipeg
Aug 11: Canada vs Nigeria @ Hamilton*
Aug 16: Australia vs CAN@ Perth
Aug 17: Australia vs CAN @ Perth
Aug 20: CAN vs NZ @ Sydney
Aug 21: CAN vs NZ @ Sydney
Aug 26: CAN vs USA @ Sydney
France (probably crossover opponent) 8 games:
5 August: v Turkey @ Pau
7 August: v Tunisia @ Pau
15 August: v Montenegro @ Lyon
16 August: v Brazil @ Lyon
17 August: v Argentina @ Lyon
24 August: v NZ @ Shenyang
25 August: v Italy @ Shenyang
27 August: v Serbia @ Shenyang
Even NZ: 7 games
August 5-14: Japan camp, inc games v Japan national team Aug 12 & 14.
August 15-21: Australian camp and games v Canada Aug 20 & 21 (both Sydney).
August 22-26: China tournament, v France (Shenyang, Aug 24), Serbia (Anshan, Aug 25) & Italy (Anshan, Aug 26).
I hate to say this, but I find it difficult for Australia to get out of the group, and if they do, the second round because of this lack of preparations. Also, international bookmakers have Australia fairly far down the list of favourites, as seen by these odds...
USA -400
Serbia +600
Spain +1600
Greece +2000
Canada +3300
France +3300
Australia +5000
Lithuania +5000
Argentina +8000
On Lemanis, I don't think he is the optimum coach for Australia (would have preferred Beveridge in 2013 or a very senior international coach with experience in this part of the world- eg Baldwin or Vucinic). Speaking seriously, I give him a report card of a solid B internationally for Rio, where neutral experts had Australia 5-8, the 2013 World Uni games silver medal, which is overlooked by all but resulted in Australia eliminating the US with NBA bound players at the group stage and a so-so performance first up in 2014. Yes, there were rough edges, can nit pick for many other coaches too. However, we are talking international coaching here, so I have discarded his club coaching and minor intl tournament results, and I am happy for him to continue (unlike some here) but people here will harp on about the coaches (decent on a world scale), players (decent to good on a world scale), but ignore the abysmal lack of preparation games, leaving very little room for incorporation of new concepts after returning with mostly the same players, three years older.
