Hoops

2012 London Olympics - Men's Squads

Duncan is turning just 16, and has plenty of time to grow...

Totally agree Vart on the current batch of youngsters coming through - the cream of them are certainlt elite - especially Exum, Simmons and Duncan. But a few others in that group are not far behind.

I think Vart was referencing Patty Mills and not Heal...

Simmons, Exum and Duncan are the youngster who Have extremely high ceilings IMO

Thanks for that Vart. good to read about these 2nd generation stars coming through. Tad Jnr are you meaning shane heal. fiesty scoring PG.

Penney is out at the moment with a torn calf muscle that he re-injured. If the Tallblacks made the Olympics I would expect him to be healthy by then but they have an uphill battle ahead of themselves.

Historically the home team has faired reasonably well at the WC's so I will not be surprised if GB do a lot better than their ranking suggests.

Greenwood shot about 40 points in a quarter , one time ago. Bruce - the better player , here , in their Sixers scrimmages , I saw.
Delly looked pretty good .. guarded out Penny.

Jack Purchase - Nigel's son is another...

LC i absolutely agree. a player like penney is exactly what we miss.

Did anyone listen to the ABC Grandstand interview with BB last week. from that he wants experienced guys that have played in previous olympics, however he said Delly is a pivotal player for london. he mentioned that he is excited about the next crop of youngsters who are between 16 and 18. sons of previous american imports who are coming through. Cecil Exum's son, dave simmons son. Does anyone know any other former players who's kids are coming through.

I've said it before in numerous other threads, Penney is the shhoting guard we lack badly - if only he was born on this side of the ditch...

Yeh i agree, i dont think BB will take one of the youngsters but i wish he would as the 11th and 12th players arent going to get much court time if any, anyways. Yeh 94, 96. too long ago to remember. was it 94 or 96 heal and barkley went toe to toe just before the main tourny. i got that game on tape somewhere. Bradtke was a pretty decent rebounder though, something i dont think our bigs are that great at.

Why is Penney out. is this just for the qual games. is he available for NZ if they make olympics. Wish that dude was Australian.

The Brits may have some real talent but who's to say they won't implode under the expectations like so many of their other sporting teams have. All it will take is a hiccup in their first game and their media will make their lives hell.

While it would be sad to see them fail at home, I'll happily take any advantage we can get in order to make it to the last 8.

Lithuanian squad for the upcoming Olympic Qualifying tournament:

Sarunas Jasikevicius Panathinaikos
Mantas Kalnietis Zalgiris
Adas Juskevicius Rudupis
Tomas Delininkaitis Zalgiris
Rimantas Kaukenas Montepaschi Siena
Martynas Pocius Real Madrid
Renaldas Seibutis Lietuvos Rytas
Deividas Dulkys Free agent
Simas Jasaitis Turk Telekom
Jonas Maciulis Montepaschi Siena
Linas Kleiza Toronto Raptors
Mindaugas Kuzminskas Zalgiris
Paulius Jankunas Zalgiris
Darius Songaila Valaldolid
Tadas Klimavicius Zalgiris
Donatas Motiejunas Asseco Prokom
Antanas Kavaliauskas VEF Riga
Jonas Valanciunas Lietuvos Rytas
Robertas Javtokas Zalgiris

I commented in a previous thread that Great Britain will be far from easy beats as people were assuming the Boomers would walk over them.
Full strength squad + home court (may) = upsets

I also agree that NZ will struggle without Penney to Qualify

As Vart mentions, I think NZ will struggle to make top 2 now that Penney is out.

Vart would love to see those players playing in the YouYi Games. alot wont go to the olympics but great to see some of the future guys. really want to see Broekhoff, Drmic and also Motum play. I think Jawai will play and make the olympic team. Although he didnt play big minutes he had a high field goal % and like tiago splitter he sets a good pick. which i think will help patty and the style the spurs play.

Vart also i remember Barry Barnes taking a young Brett Maher to the 94 world champs and think he played 2 minutes in the whole tourny, also i think he took a young sam mackinnon to the 96 olympics. I hope BB does take one of these youngsters and if he does i would take drmic.

Brits could surprise a few people, plenty of talent on that list! I imagine that it may not be at full strength for various reasons, but the nba talent might show seeing that it's on home court so to speak. Bothers me to think they could beat us, I really dislike losing to the poms.

Boomers are going to have to shoot high % from deep to get wins. Brazil, Brits and Spain could really do us over otherwise. Our offense just isn't high powered enough for mine... We will get found out, Newley/ Ingles/ Barlow have been exposed against opposing big name teams 2-3 men in previous tournaments. We can look forward to some wins against China though, they look average.

Jawai needs to play YouYi to prove to all he can get it done in boomers colors. I will never forget how much he sucked against NZ a few years back, him and AJ got outplayed by Alex Pledger, embarrassing. Pledger just wanted it more, doesn't have half the talent of Jawai or AJ

Navarro is listed on the London 2012 website as being in the Spanish team, but as I mentioned I'm not sure how accurate that is (but they did not have Rubio listed...)

One would think Nielsen needs some decent minutes as does Jawai given they were both lucky to get 15 minutes a game this past season.

Why is that every one picks gibbo over martin????

My Boomers team based on the squad:

Andersen
Jawai
Maric
Nielsen
Barlow
Worthington
Ingles
Crawford
Newley
Mills
Dellavedova
Gibson

Our biggest weakness is perimeter scoring. We are open to teams filling up the lanes and daring us to shoot. Andersen is arguably our best perimter threat, and possibly even Daniel Kickert who is not likely to make the team! when Delly hits the court, I would think he would take over the ball handling duties on offence to free up Mills as a shooter, and then take the opposition's shooting guard at the defensive end.

Mills, Delly, Ingles, Andersen, Jawai: Newley, Barlow, Maric, Baynes, crawford, Nielson, Dmric.

Thats my 12. dont know if thats what BB will go with. Dmric looks really good to me, he could be anything and i would take him to an olympics and just learn. Maybe lacking depth in the PG position but patty has to play big minutes if we are to go far in this campaign. Delly has just impressed me so much with his BBall IQ. Crawford simply outside shooting, we sucked bad at the world champs so im taking him. I think ingles is ready to step up now, well we need him to. Newley well i thought he would be so much better then he is at this stage of his career, hope he proves me wrong. Concerned about our rebounding and interior defence, hopefully jawai can add some strength there. Would be good to see a healthy bogut there.

Tickets for the Claire Kerr Cabaret need to be finalized now. The cabaret is this saturday night!

Let me know how many tickets or tables you would like to hold in your name!

Brett Maher and Rachael Sporn are special guest.

Enjoy the sounds of Hot Mustard plus Brass section.

The following items will be auctioned on the night.

.Framed Brett Maher 2000 Olympic Singlet signed by the Aust Team.
.Framed Rachael Sporn 2004 Olympic Bodysuit signed by the Silver Medalist Team.
.Framed Darren Lehman signed Test Jersey.
.Framed signed Brad Newley 2006 Commonwealth Games Singlet.
.Cricket Bat signed by the Australian Test Team 1 day series 2006.
.36ers Family Season Pass 2007/08.
.Adelaide United signed Soccer Ball 2005/6 team.
.Lleyton Hewit Signed Tennis Ball
...Plus more items

If you can't make it on the night, contact me if you are interested in any of the auction items.

Contact
Giulia
gu_gu23@hotmail.com

So let's discuss Group B for now, and then next week I'll post the Group A squads...

And the Group B favourites...this is all I could find on their preliminary squad from the London 2012 site but given there is only 11 players listed, I'm not sure it is correct?

Spain
FIBA Ranking: 2

José CALDERON / 192cm / Guard / Toronto Raptors (USA)
Víctor CLAVER / 207cm / Forward / Valencia (Spain)
Rudy FERNANDEZ / 198cm / Forward / Denver Nuggets (USA)
Marc GASOL / 216cm / Centre / Memphis Grizzlies (USA)
Pau GASOL / 214cm / Centre / Los Angeles Lakers (USA)
Serge IBAKA / 208cm / Forward / Oklahoma City Thunder (USA)
Sergio LLULL / 192cm / Guard / Real Madrid (Spain)
Juan Carlos NAVARRO / 192cm / Guard / FC Barcelona (Spain)
Felipe REYES / 206cm / Forward / Real Madrid (Spain)
Victor SADA / 192cm / Guard / FC Barcelona (Spain)
Fernando SAN EMETERIO / 197cm / Guard / Caja Laboral (Spain)

The benchmark in Group B, and possibly the only team that has the capability to push the USA for gold even with Rubio on the sidelines.

And still with Group B, China...

China
FIBA Ranking: 10

Jianghua CHEN / 188cm / Guard / Guangdong Southern Tigers (China)
Jinhui DING / 204cm / Forward / Zhejiang Wanma Cyclones (China)
Jianpeng DUAN / 197cm / Guard / Shanxi Zhongyu (China)
Dejun HAN / 215cm / Centre / Liaoning Panpan Hunters (China)
Xiaoxu LI / 210cm / Forward / Liaoning Panpan Hunters (China)
Wei LIU / 190cm / Guard / Shanghai Sharks (China)
Wei SU / 213cm / Centre / Guangdong Southern Tigers (China)
Yue SUN / 206cm / Forward / Beijing Aoshen Olympian (USA)
Shipeng WANG / 198cm / Guard / Guangdong Southern Tigers (China)
Zhelin WANG / 213cm / Centre / Fujian (China)
Zhizhi WANG / 215cm / Centre / Bayi Rockets (China)
Mugedaer XIRELIJIANG / 191cm / Guard / Xinjiang Flying Tigers (China)
Ming YANG / 193cm / Guard / Liaoning Panpan Hunters (China)
Jianlian YI / 212cm / Forward / Dallas Mavericks (USA)
Li YI / 203cm / Forward / Jiangsu Dragons (China)
Xiaochuan ZHAI / 205cm / Forward / Beijing Ducks (China)
Bo ZHANG / 199cm / Forward / Bayi Rockets (China)
Zhaoxu ZHANG / 221cm / Centre / Shanghai Sharks (China)
Peng ZHOU / 210cm / Forward / Guangdong Southern Tigers (China)
Fangyu ZHU / 201cm / Forward / Guangdong Southern Tigers (China)
Yanxi ZHU / 210cm / Centre / Beijing Ducks (China)

Despite a relatively high ranking of 10, China is arguably the weakest team in Group B and is likely to struggle to earn a win in my opinion.

And also here is Brazil's preliminary s quad...

Brazil
FIBA Ranking: 13

Leandro BARBOSA / 191cm / Guard / Indiana Pacers (USA)
Ricardo FISCHER / 185cm / Guard / Sao Jose (Brazil)
Alex GARCIA / 191cm / Guard / Brasilia (Brazil)
Guilherme GIOVANNONI / 204cm / Forward / Brasilia (Brazil)
Rafael HETTSHEIMER / 209cm / Forward / CAI Zaragoza (Spain)
Nene HILARIO / 211cm / Centre / Washington Wizards (USA)
Marcelo HUERTAS / 190cm / Guard / Regal FC Barcelona (Spain)
Marcelo MACHADO / 201cm / Guard / Flamengo (Brazil)
Raul NETO / 186cm / Guard / Minas Tenis Clube (Brazil)
Ronald REIS / 211cm / Centre / Brasilia (Brazil)
Tiago SPLITTER / 211cm / Forward / San Antonio Spurs (USA)
Larry TAYLOR / 185cm / Guard / Itabom/Bauru (Brazil)
Caio TORRES / 211cm / Centre / Flamengo (Brazil)
Anderson VAREJAO / 211cm / Centre / Clevland Cavaliers (USA)
Marcus VIEIRA / 207cm / Forward / Pinheiros (Brazil)

Brazil will be the ones the Aussies may well have to beat to make the Group B top 3. They boast 4 NBA players and 2 guys playing in the Spanish ACB. They will be unable to start all 4 NBA players due to on court balance issues, their front court a clear strength, but no team should underestimate their outside shooting capabilities. On their day could push Spain all the way. Will be tough in Group B.

And sticking with Group B, here is Great Britain's preliminary squad...

Great Britain
FIBA Ranking: 43

Ogo ADEGBOYE / 183cm / Guard / St. Bonaventure, NCAA (USA)
Robert ARCHIBALD / 209cm / Forward / Unicaja Malaga (Spain)
Eric BOATENG / 208cm / Centre / Denver Nuggets (USA)
Matt BRYAN-AMANING / 206cm / Forward / Washington, NCAA (USA)
Daniel CLARK / 208cm / Forward / Estudientes Madrid (Spain)
Luol DENG / 206cm / Forward / Chicago Bulls (USA)
Laurence EKPERIGIN / 201cm / Forward / Gran Canaria (Spain)
Joel FREELAND / 208cm / Forward / Unicaja Malaga (Spain)
Ben GORDON / 191cm / Guard / Detroit Pistons (USA)
Kyle JOHNSON / 193cm / Guard / Long Island University (NCAA) (USA)
Andrew LAWRENCE / 185cm / Guard / College of Charleston (NCAA) (USA)
Mike LENZLY / 185cm / Guard / Cez Nymburk (Czech Republic)
Pops MENSAH BONSU /206cm / Centre / Be?ikta? (Turkey)
Byron MULLENS / 213cm / Centre / Charlotte Bobcats (USA)
Nate REINKING / 183cm / Guard / Mons - Hainaut (Belgium)
Ryan RICHARDS / 211cm / Forward / San Antonio Spurs (USA)
Andrew SULLIVAN / 203cm / Forward / Mersey Tigers (Great Britain)
Devon VAN OOSTRUM / 191cm / Guard / Caja Laboral (Spain)

Squad currently boasts 5 current NBA players headlined by Gordon and Deng. Also includes 5 players that are plying their trade in arguably the best European national league in the Spanish ACB. I believe their potential defies their ranking. If they gel, they could be a real handful in front of a home crowd...

Lets get things under way with Australia's preliminary squad...

Australia
FIBA Ranking: 9

David ANDERSEN / 211cm / Centre / Montepaschi Siena (Italy)
David BARLOW / 205cm / Guard-Forward / UCAM Murcia (Spain)
Aron BAYNES / 207cm / Centre / Ikaros Kallitheas (Greece)
Anatoly BOSE / 200cm / Guard / Sydney Kings (Australia)
Ryan BROEKHOFF / 201cm / Guard-Forward / Valparaiso (NCAA) (USA)
Peter CRAWFORD / 193cm / Guard / Townsville Crocodiles (Australia)
Mitch CREEK / 197cm / Forward / Adelaide 36ers (Australia)
Matt DELLAVEDOVA / 190cm / Guard / St Mary’s College (NCAA) (USA)
Anthony DRMIC / 196cm / Guard / Boise State (NCAA) (USA)
Adam GIBSON / 188cm / Guard / Gold Coast Blaze (Australia)
Hugh GREENWOOD 189cm / Guard / New Mexico (NCAA) (USA)
Joe INGLES / 203cm / Forward / Regal FC Barcelona (Spain)
Nathan JAWAI / 208cm / Forward / UNCIS Kazan (Russia)
Daniel JOHNSON / 212cm / Centre / Adelaide 36ers (Australia)
Julian KHAZZOUH / 209cm / Centre / Sydney Kings (Australia)
Daniel KICKERT / 208cm / Forward / PGE Turow (Poland)
Matt KNIGHT / 204cm / Forward-Centre / Perth Wildcats (Australia)
Aleks MARIC / 211cm / Centre / Panathinaikos (Greece)
Damian MARTIN / 188cm / Guard / Perth Wildcats (Australia)
Patrick MILLS / 183cm / Guard / San Antonio Spurs (USA)
Brock MOTUM / 206cm / Forward / Washington State (NCAA) (USA)
Brad NEWLEY / 199cm / Guard-Forward / Valencia (Spain)
Matthew NIELSEN / 209cm / Forward / BC Khimki (Russia)
AJ OGILVY / 211cm / Forward-Centre / Valencia (Spain)
Jesse WAGSTAFF / 203cm / Forward / Perth Wildcats (Australia)
Mark WORTHINGTON / 202cm / Forward / Gold Coast Blaze (Australia)

Daniel Johnson came into the squad for an injured Matt Knight. Andrew Bogut made himself unavailable due to his recovery from injury.

Top 4 in the group is achievable, but will most likely result in a game against the USA. Should be aiming for top 3 in the group, and will need to probably beat Brazil alongside Great Britain and China to make that happen. No easy games in this group which is likely to get a tough Euro team added from the Olympic Qualification tournament. Top 8 should be the goal.

So who will make the final 12 for London?