MELBOURNE (Paulo Kennedy’s View from Downunder) - There has been lots of chatter about Australia's squad of 17 for the Rio Olympics that was announced this week, ready for training camp in July.

Much of the talk revolved around why certain players were selected over others, particularly when their form this club past season may have been quite contrasting.

Well I'll let you in on a little secret: this Boomers squad features all 15 players who pulled on the green and gold at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup and the 2015 FIBA Oceania Championship. Everyone who has contributed to the team getting this far is getting a shot at an Olympic berth.

 

Australia 17-player preliminary squad for Rio 2016 Olympic Games
David Andersen	Cameron Bairstow	Aron Baynes	Andrew Bogut
Ryan Broekhoff	Matthew Dellavedova	Dante Exum	Adam Gibson
Cameron Gliddon	Chris Goulding	Joe Ingles	Nathan Jawaii
Kevin Lisch	Damian Martin	Patrick Mills	Brock Motum
Brad Newley

Then the final two spots are taken by Kevin Lisch, who has only just received his Australian citizenship, and Damian Martin, who would have played in last year's Oceania champs had he not suffered an injury late in the piece.

So there's no rocket surgery about this squad. If you've earned faith from the coaching staff previously, you get a chance to press your case for Rio.

For lovers of useless trivia, there is also no one in the squad with a surname starting with a letter that comes after 'N'. AJ Ogilvy, Anthony Petrie, Lucas Walker, Mark Worthington and Zane Zwitkowski never stood a chance!

Seriously though, it is a sound strategy from coach Andrej Lemanis, whose tenure has been about keeping Australia's best players together and building on the team synergy and culture that began when Brian Goorjian fast-tracked young players and Brett Brown continued his work.

Andrew Bogut, David Andersen, Aron Baynes, Joe Ingles, Brad Newley, Patty Mills, Matty Dellavedova, Adam Gibson and Martin all debuted for the Boomers last decade, most of them in their teens or early 20s.

That sort of visionary selection from Goorjian and Brown has created a situation where this country's best have been in the system a long time, know each other and the game style well and are ready to challenge for a medal in less than three months' time.

Lemanis continued that tradition with the inclusion of Dante Exum and Ben Simmons in 2013, and has wisely extended what was meant to be a squad of 16 by one additional place to keep Exum in the tent this year as he recovers from his knee injury.

Probably the only player with a real claim to be in this squad - apart from Ogilvy, who I suspect is as keen on regime change in the national program as George W Bush was in Iraq - is Melbourne United small forward Todd Blanchfield.

The man known as Vinnie had an excellent series against China recently, and I think he did enough to get an opportunity to show his wears in a full-blown national team camp.

I would have favoured extending the squad to 18 so the coaching staff could assess Blanchfield for the back-up shooting guard spot currently occupied by Chris 'Bubbles' Goulding.

The reason those two Melbourne United teammates are in the same basket is they can provide a genuine scoring impact off the bench, a skillset the Boomers lacked at Spain 2014. Goulding was on that roster but was still raw, too raw for Lemanis to trust him in big games.

Bubbles is probably favoured to be the sparkplug for Lemanis in Rio after two more years of developing his craft at both ends of the floor, but even with his exquisite offensive skills, is he the best man for that job? He has an incredible feel for the rhythm of the game. He knows when to zig, zag, herk, jerk, stick a dagger in his opponent’s heart or throw a no-look pass to a teammate.

The downside is international basketball doesn't have the same flow as the NBL game, where Goulding excels as a major piece in the offensive puzzle. Can he be effective for the Boomers as a complementary piece? He has struggled for consistency in that role in European club basketball.

Blanchfield enters the equation because he played exactly that role for Melbourne United this past NBL season, feeding off the attention Goulding and Co would attract, while making his biggest contribution with rebounding and discipline away from the ball.

After struggling in that role early on - he was an offensive focal point in Townsville the year before - Vinnie played some quality basketball in the second half of the season, punishing defences who didn't give him due respect.

Blanchfield with a big three to win it in OT for Melbourne United #HardBall @PerthWildcats @MelbUnitedHQ   https://t.co/WdRZyaCi0v

— NBL (@NBL) January 29, 2016

With his compact action he is probably a better half-court catch-and-shoot marksman than Goulding, who is better when pulling something out of his large bag of tricks or flowing in transition.

Of course, Blanchfield isn't in the squad, meaning the curious question of Vinnie or Bubbles - a player used to the role required or the player with the most talent - has been answered before it was even posed.

Blanchfield's strong showing in China wasn't enough, probably his limited involvement in the Boomers program counting against him as Lemanis went for stability and experience. Watch for the 24-year-old to feature in next year’s FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifiers.

If Ingles, Dellavedova, Mills, Newley, Lisch and Ryan Broekhoff take six of the seven perimeter spots for Rio as many expect, that leaves one position remaining for Goulding, Martin, Gibson and Cam Gliddon to fight for.

If Lemanis chooses offence then Goulding will take that spot, and get the chance to prove he is versatile enough to be a contributor at the highest level.

Bubbles was very under control for the Boomers last year against New Zealand and he knows the system well, so if he makes the final cut let’s hope he finds the better side of his streaky shooting game when the big moment arises.

.@ChrisGoulding43 from Chemist Warehouse territory to beat the buzzer for @MelbUnitedHQ #HardBall https://t.co/YHwux5NY7g

— NBL (@NBL) November 1, 2015

Paulo Kennedy

FIBA

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