"We were very fortunate to get to the 16. I know a lot of people back home don't think much of it, but it was a huge accomplishment for this group. "

He seems to have deflected any blame from himself effectively doesnt he.

Noted that the point guard was a key weakness.
"To be competitive, somebody needs to step up in that position and in this tournament that didn't happen."
Maybe he should have taken D-mac.

Can someone shed some more light on BA saying no to D-Mac? Thats the first Ive heard of it.

Brett Maher anyone?

Maher retired due to the boot camps that boy goorj runs...I think he runs these to be in control...must be because he ain't in control on the sidelines !
way to blame the team and not you brian...

'Boomers in crisis'

Master of understatement is good ol' Goorj.

But if you make your own bed...

Without using any form of swearing, i think that's probably the best/safest way of describing the current scenario XY :)

That must be a misprint, david barlow a certainty for beijing. Out of the three games i saw he did NOTHING. Wait, i stand corrected he turned the ball over twice at vital times in the greece game, and got a foul here and there.

Brad Davidson?

So in 5 years at the helm what has BG accomplished:

* He finished 9th at the 2004 Athens Olympics, which was our worst result since 1972.

* In the next major international tournament, the world championships he managed to secure us a lower than 9th place finish.

We are progressively getting worse and what is he doing to develop talent. Bogut will be great, hopefully Newley is going to keep improving but where are our ball handlers of the future. In 5 years he has realised that CJ is getting older and Kendall & Bruce (who should be able to play the 2) don't cut it as point guards. Where is our next general coming from?

I might start working on my crossover and stutter step instead of dunking. I'll focus on my passing and dribbling.

I'll move to Sydney. I will go out to the Sydney Comets tryouts (treeouts) and say John Lawrence sent me.

Then I'll just sit back and wait for BG to notice me. I'd be a shoe in for the Boomers PG position........

"Look at NBL coaches like Smyth. Who don't care if players improve, they only consider having them play a role in their team so that they can win a championship".

Of course they want them to improve. We don't see it as much on game night obviously, i mean who is going to put a junior point guard on infront of Farley & Maher?

Training is where smyth would help develop the youngsters obviously.

"they only consider having them play a role in their team so that they can win a championship"

Why would smyth need to worry about anything more then winning a championship? That's his ultimate goal like all other coaches, coaching the Australian team is a bonus that might not mean as much to him being BG is first preference everyear anyway?

I dont know if it's just me, but dont coaches agree to coach a team with the intentions of winning the championship?

#94049
Oscar and Jacob have done pretty well since they left the AIS...
how about Boomer camps, playing for Australia, and being heavily recruited to interstate/overseas teams...Surely an increased role in the team and in playing time assists in developement?

Anyway if Phil concentrates on winning championships, he may get to coach the Boomers again.....
well that's the argument i hear about boy goorj coaching us anyway !

*retch* More Goorjian blame distribution...

Shane got us through in Athens? I thought he was the biggest reason for our poor performance. Shane and CJ were the worst defensive backcourt imaginable.

CJ was wildly inconsistant at the WCs. CJ is already 30 years old, I dont know how you can say he is our future. He is an undersized, inconsistant, not fast, shoot first PG. Heal all over again.

Although Bruce had alot of turnovers, I thought he showed enough to atleast hold onto the backup PG spot.

Anon that is the problem, why didn't BG identify anyone when he was appointed coach in 2002. He knew Heal, Maher & CJ wouldn't be around forever, who did he take to Athens to learn the ropes & become our new PG? No-one. He has done nothing to improve our national team. The only player that has been seen as a project by BG is Bogut (blind freddy could see that). He is the reason we performed so poorly at the world championships. He earmarked Kendall as the future PG for this team, threw him in at the deep end and he has admitted he was wrong. For the sake of the future of the Boomers program lets hope he picks right next time because Beijing is in two years and we will have the best big man combo in our nation's history. Bogut, Andersen, Neilsen, Schenscher & Newley should be a powerful combination in China if someone can get them the ball.

Anon, that is what my point is. Don't you think the coach should have some idea of Australia's talent and have someone in the system earmarked for the point guard role.

Markovic any one? hell take a naturalised Darnell Mee.

The teams that won in the past usually held a spot for a naturalised player and all beenfited from it.

Davis, Fisher, Grace, Loggins all played for Australia any others i have missed?

KB - Cal Bruton in 1986.

I think most agree that D-Mac would have benefited this side. I also think most agree that when you're playing at a WC's or Olympics, you should field your best side, and try to achieve the best possible result.

The fact our best side available would likely include quite a few younger guys (Newley, Bruce, Barlow, Worthington, Kickert) sacrificing one of them (or another non-influential player - Kendall, Helliwell, Hinder) for the sake of taking a clearly superior option seems logical.

As for BG's claims we're in a crisis, it's probably one of the more honest statements he's made in regards to the Boomers.

Talent-wise, I don't necessarily agree that we're in a crisis. I think we have plenty of guys in their early-20's who have the potential to blossom into fine senior level international players. These include : Newley, Barlow, Bruce, Bogut (already there), Kickert, Schenscher and even the Jacob Holmes & Oscar Formans of the NBL.

Along with that, I also think we've got guys who were unavailable to play that are already solid international level players, who will still be around in 2-4 years time : Anstey, Nielsen, Andersen etc.

So I don't think our talent-level is in a crisis, even if this core group isn't likely to reach the heights of the Gaze, Heal, Bradtke, Vlahov era.

Our bigger problem, IMO, is the structure of the squad & the lack of match play we have leading up to, and in-between, major tournaments.

I think BA needs to put more resources into sourcing other nations (or even strong Euro club teams) to have more quality hit-outs in "off" years. Simply put - I don't think that 1) our squad spends enough time together and 2) that they play enough quality games in preparation for major tournaments.

Due to us being in the Oceania region, our qualifying process is far less gruelling than for countries in any other region. To compensate for that, I think we need to basically find ourselves tough games elsewhere. As it is, playing at the WC's or Olympics is a huge jump in competition level for us, whereas for countries in other regions, they've already played (and defeated) quality opposition just to get there.

Obviously, for this to happen, BA need to spend some money & actually organise these things, but you only get out what you put in.

So while this teams selections weren't perfect, and the coaching sub-par at times, I think the problem runs deeper than just saying "we don't have the talent to compete".

Kent..
One that you missed..
D mac played for us in 2001.
Quite well from memory as well at the Goodwill Games.

Australia has always had good BIG players over the years and as such a number of the imports have been at the guard position's.

Overseas there are a huge number of exceptional PG's going around that don't make the NBA and European level and as such when they come to Australia it tends (I believe) to put off the younger guards as it had been more difficult for them to crack the NBL. Therefore they go off and play rugby league in the northern states at about the 15-16 age group and aussie rules here in Melbourne.

The up shot of this there is a gap of 5 or so years were there is a real problem.

We just have to ride it out. Our saving grace will be that there are a LOT of GOOD young kids going through the US College system now wereas 10 years or more ago there was only a fraction of what there is today.

hey Sturty6ers, you are so full of bullshit! (and i don't apologize for the wording, either.)

You couldn't even make a Div 5 social team at Alexandria (Sydney City Comets home stadium), let alone ABA level with the Comets... and who says's i'd recommend a loser like you for a tryout with a proud, talented club like Sydney City anyway? You wouldn't last the warm-up sessions, let alone training.

If you want to talk smack, bring it on... cause it doesn't worry me one little bit... especially when you don't know anything about what you're talking about. You playing with the Comets??? Isaac, give him a lot of balls, cause he needs every one of them for even thinking such a thought. Sturty6ers, you are now tool of the year.

John have you got big floppy shoes, a red wig and a red nose in your closet. Go in there and put them on you CLOWN!

FU2, SADCLOWN!

John have you eaten penuts today cause you know what they say: You are what you eat arseclown. I would like you to speak so tuff to my face you internet rambo.

Brad will you stop posting under John Lawrence's name please ;)

and John,

you have a go at Sturty for talking about things he doesnt know....
How, pray tell do you know he wouldnt walk onto a Comets team...or any team for that matter?
You have no idea who he (or she) is or isnt so I think you need to take a chill pill and heed a bit of your own advice!

Keep it on topic.

I agree with Hoop Addict BA needs to put more money back into quality tours.

European teams do have a tougher draw they often have to beat a country that would finish higher than Australia anyway for a position at the WC or Olympics.

Greece for example may have had to elimiate France, Turkey, Italy to make the worlds. They are constantly exposed to quality teams, and competitions.

Our NBL over the years has become a bit of a joke, it certainly isn't the league it was 10 years ago.

Back in late 80s early 90s when the NBL was at its the top of its game, we had many touring teams.

OZ 94, OZ97 and the Olympics all created the opportunity for other countries wanting to tour Australia.

These world championship events also brought money into the support in the way of govt sponsorship.

Unfortunately BA is not in a healthy financial situation. Neither is the NBL.

We need a visionary to take over the sport, maybe Mike Daws for BA and revamp the sport and make it popular again.

I hear John O'Neil is free after March maybe he can save BA.

Anonymous, are you happy to stand by that as factual information?

I don't know the workings of the new BSA arrangement, but your version of the Pasadena decision seems twisted. When legal and insurance advice tells you to shut down a stadium immediately, contingency plans are probably something to worry about afterwards. I seem to recall FH having a hand in that decision.

(#94211)
this isn't on topic but I believe you are wrong about Daws.

He alone can not appoint Spangler - like wise the Pasadena decision wouldn't have been his alone.

back it up with facts

however, this topic is about the boomers not about BASA or BSA

94211, Mike is pretty easy to talk to if you want to give him a call or drop him an email.

You might have concerns about change in basketball in this state, but there's not a lot that's factual about your post from what I can see.

e.g., with regard to Pasadena, the association took advice from a risk management specialist and Bruce Carter pulled the trigger - yes, missing Pasadena costs them $4k/wk but that's nothing compared to the damage that could be done to the association and individual if someone suffered a serious injury - legal issues and so on. He is not the "person responsible" for BASA losing "$10,000 per week".

And Spangler would've been a recommendation of Daws' and has his support, but the decision was not made by Daws alone.

I have been informed that BSA in its future incarnation will have closer to 10 employees than 2 as well.

I can appreciate that losing Pasadena for the rest of the year is a massive blow for Sturt especially and that any change may find its critics, but I don't think its fair to lump this level of blame on Daws. Do you seriously think that things were better off under predecessors?

Anonymous, you are a peanut. You have absolutely no factual background to support your claims which makes you look even more like a dick than you already do. And what's worse you hide behind a website and post as an anonymous writer and blatantly tear shreds off someone you know nothing about. It's people like you who use this forum as a way to give your life some importance, when in truth, it probably amounts to the shit you write. It's also people like you who do not have the game of basketball at heart, and will restrict this sport from ever reaching it's full potential. If you had any balls, call up Mike Daws personally and arrange a meeting. But judging by your post, you are a simple person and this might be too difficult a task.

It would be interesting to chart the lack of results from our senior mens team with the introduction of the 24sec. shot clock. Definitely favours teams with more talent and we can no longer 'shuffle' opposition teams to death.

(#94279) Apart from Bruce that has the three, four and five positions locked down (I can think of another 10 players at those positions). If we could only turn Ingles into a PG we would be huge.

I think Barkow being a definite for 2008 is a fair call, Not from his world games overall form but from the glimpses. My personal opinion is that barlow was way to tentative, every time dave went to the rim off the dribble good things happened. A number of times we were at a loss and J.Smith was looking at another to step up, CJ was under some real tough guards after his first 2 games, Bogut was somehow injured and it was THE moment for Barlow to step up. These opportunities only open up a few kwy times as a player is coming up... surrounded by vets, He let that chance ride. Nerwley went at it but he is not as effective off the dribble, Barlow can change direction off a ten cent piece and when you 6'9" that is hard to guard even at international level. I do think he will be a better player from the tournament and this NBL season will be a big eye opener for alot of critics of his. Im sure Goorj or Brendan or anyone who has a clue about hoops (and the mind needed in the game) who is close to Dave will inform him of the importance of taking his opportunities. The kid is very exciting, he is yet to be confident and thus, yet to really be unleashed... and remember he's only 22.

barlow fan, see yall in 2008. D