Goorjian unveils Boomers squad for Paris 2024 Olympics

Basketball Australia announced on Thursday the first intake of a 22-player squad that will be up for selection for the Boomers at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

This initial squad - which will be coached by newly appointed Sydney coach Brian Goorjian and feature two-time NBL championship-winning captain with the Kings, Xavier Cooks - will be refined before training camp in July with a final 12 selected to meet the world’s best at the Olympics from July 26 to August 11.

Ten players from the Tokyo 2020 bronze medal breakthrough have been named including Joe Ingles, Patty Mills, Josh Green, Matisse Thybulle, Dante Exum, Jock Landale, Chris Goulding, Matthew Dellavedova, Duop Reath and Nick Kay.

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Among the next wave – a pack of young guns will also be in contention for a spot at the
Olympics.

This features international talents Josh Giddey, Dyson Daniels, Jack White and Cooks as well as US college enigma Johnny Furphy who starred for the Kansas Jayhawks in the Big 12 this season.

Rounding out the 22-man squad are Keanu Pinder, Dejan Vasiljevic, Jack McVeigh, Sam Froling, Rocco Zikarsky, Will Magnay and Will McDowell-White.

Goorjian will lead the Boomers - who will also have Kings' David Hillard as the lead physio - to a fourth Olympics as head coach and is determined to use learnings from recent performances as a catalyst of evolution.

“The FIBA World Championships in 2023 marked a new beginning for the Boomers,” Goorjian said.

“We were able to introduce some new faces and identify areas that we needed to advance and improve.

“We’ve been actively monitoring the Aussie players across international leagues in the US, Europe and Asia as well as domestically in the NBL and we’re confident in the potential chemistry of this list.

Watch the full Brian Goorjian 'The Huddle' chat with Peter Hooley via the Sydney Kings' YouTube channel above. While you're there, be sure to hit subscribe, to ensure you never miss out on any of our great videos. 

“The complexity of international tournaments like the Olympics is that you have a relatively short window to train and prepare – so you have to identify and implement a style that works fast and amplifies the collective skill set.

“There’s always a correlation made of our offensive play with European styles, which is interesting considering there isn’t a whole lot of exposure to the Euro system with our players.

“What we have experienced, is the emergence of Australians at the top level overseas and the evolution of the NBL as a world-class league with high-powered scoring offences, so we want to drive a game that is familiar but unique to our group.”

Notably, two areas addressed in the squad selection have focussed on adding versatility and strength of size as well as a depth of shooting talent.

“When Jock Landale went down (at the FIBA World Championships) we had to adjust to small ball. It was challenging but ultimately rewarding as we got to try different packages and get prime minutes into Duop Reath which fast-tracked his development,” six-time NBL champion Goorjian said.

“Looking to the Olympics, we will have Jock Landale available for selection and the added the versatility of Kay, Xavier Cooks as well as guys like Will Magnay and Rocco Zikarsky.

“We’ve also introduced more depth across shooters in the squad with veteran Chris Goulding joined by Dyson Daniels, Jack McVeigh and DJ Vasilijevic.”

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The road to Olympic glory for the Boomers became clearer in March with Australia drawn
into Group A for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The Boomers will face Canada and the winners from the Greece Qualifying Tournament (one of Greece, Slovenia, New Zealand, Croatia, Egypt and the Dominican Republic) and Spain Qualifying Tournament (one of Spain, Lebanon, Angola, Finland, Poland and Bahamas).

Despite being referenced externally as the ‘Group of Death’ the level of opposition adds to
the motivation for Goorjian.

“We’re really excited at this opportunity,” Goorjian said.

“The consensus is that the tournament will be at an unseen level with the talent and international NBA star-power across the teams.

“I will emphasise and instil with the group that we’re not aiming to match or replicate the style
of games heading our way from other nations. Our goal is to beat them.”

“We’re going to play Aussie ball. And we’re going to go at them with all we’ve got.”