Boomers should aim for silver[gold?] at the 2016 Olympics
Lol .. USA v Australia Olympics 2016 should be interesting. With Thon Maker, Ben Simmons and present NBA players aiming for silver, or even .. even .. even .. gold?
Ryan O'Connell Columnist
By Ryan O'Connell, 6 Aug 2014 Ryan O'Connell is a Roar Expert
The Boomers have a promising future ahead of them. (AFP PHOTO / MARK) RALSTON
The Australian men’s basketball team should have their sights set on a silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
The Boomers have the talent to not just win their first medal at a senior men’s basketball tournament, but should aspire to finish in second place behind the mighty United States.
Heck, anything can happen in a game of basketball – they should even be thinking about knocking off Team USA for the gold.
Ok, I should probably settle down a touch and get back on my medication. I’m getting a little too excited. Defeating the Yanks at basketball is not the absolute pipe dream it was 20 years ago, but it would still be a major upset for any nation to beat them at the Olympics.
Yet the reason for my exuberance is somewhat justified. Barring injury or some other form of unavailability, the Boomers squad in 2016 could consist of a starting five of:
Patty Mills Dante Exum Joe Ingles Thon Maker Andrew Bogut
Along with a seven-man bench selected from the following players:
Matthew Dellavedova Chris Goulding Brad Newley Ben Simmons Cameron Bairstow Aron Baynes Nathan Jawai Brock Motum
That’s without even taking into account that some other talented young Aussie may burst onto the scene in the next two years. Nor does that squad include David Andersen, a fine servant for the Australian team over the years, who will be 37 when the Games roll around.
In any case, that is an extremely talented line-up, with the ability to compete with any team in the world.
Apart from the US, the other strong basketball nations include Spain, Argentina, France, Greece and Brazil. However, the core of most of those teams is starting to get on in age, and the 2016 Olympics may provide the opportunity for a new nation to emerge.
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