Basketball On The Internet.

WOULD love to see the 10-man Boomers team – OK, Basketball Australia is calling it a “squad” – announced today playing a game or two.

Yes, I know it is a group selected as part of the “Road to Rio” series – the estates of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby apparently have given BA permission to use that title – and it has precious little to do directly with the next squad from which the team to play New Zealand in the Oceania Series will be selected.

But what’s not to like about the “returnees” – Olympians such as Joe Ingles, Brad Newley, Matty Dellavedova, David Andersen, Adam Gibson and David Barlow?

Or Nate Jawai having another shot?

Or young guns such as Dante Exum, Ben Simmons, Ryan Broekhoff?

Reckon you could pick a few good 5-on-5 scrimmage combinations?

I agree that maybe in a group such as this, AJ Ogilvy might have been worth a look but I can’t say whether there were extenuating circumstances.

In today’s online story for NewsLtd ( http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/the-boomers-squad-announced-for-the-oceania-series-in-auckland-has-a-good-mix-of-young-guns-and-established-stars/story-fnii09gt-1226684366962 ) I touched on the fact the NBL still is playing a key role in the development of our players for international basketball.

Don’t buy the BS that the NBL is less relevant because so many of our Boomers now play overseas.

You recall the fact only Gibbo, Mark Worthington and Peter Crawford – three of the 12 Olympians in London – were directly from the NBL caught a lot of (negative) airplay from BA at the time.

While that was true, it is also no less relevant that Boomers captain Matt Nielsen, centre Dave Andersen,  David Barlow, Brad Newley and Joe Ingles all cut their teeth in the NBL before ever catching a plane to Europe.

That’s five ex-NBLers and three current, making eight of the 12 having used the league as their stepping-stone to bigger and better things.

Nielsen, Newley, Worthington and Ingles were all league Rookies of the Year. As, for that matter, so is Nathan Jawai of the 10-man group going under the microscope.

Knocking the NBL is knocking the Boomers’ bread-and-butter.

The “squad” training in Canberra this week from Friday.

Name / Height / Position / DOB / Club
David Andersen / 212cm / Centre-Forward / 23 June 1980 / Free agent
David Barlow / 205cm / Forward / 22 October 1983 / Free agent
Ryan Broekhoff / 201cm / Guard-Forward / 23 August 1990 / Valparaiso University (USA)
Matthew Dellavedova / 191cm / Guard / 8 September 1990 / Free agent
Dante Exum / 198cm / Guard / 13 July 1995 / AIS
Adam Gibson / 188cm / Guard / 30 Oct 1986 / Adelaide 36ers (NBL)
Joe Ingles / 204cm / Guard-Forward / 2 October 1987 / Maccabi tel Aviv, Israel
Nathan Jawai / 208cm / Centre-Forward / 10 October 1986 / Galatasaray Liv Hospital (Turkey)
Brad Newley / 199cm / Guard-Forward / 18 February 1985 / CB Gran Canaria (Spain)
Ben Simmons / 203cm / Forward / 20 July 1996 / Montverde Academy High School (USA)

Ingles, by the way, has committed today to Maccabi Tel Aviv. Earlier this week, he was still mulling it over at: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/australian-joe-ingles-has-not-yet-made-up-his-mind-who-he-will-play-basketball-for-this-season/story-fnii09gt-1226683699623 but he has decided to take his talents to West Bank.

THE Breakers are still some distance from finalising Dean Vickerman’s first roster with league MVP Cedric Jackson turning heads at the NBA’s Summer Leagues.

New Zealand has signed former Sydney Kings power forward Darnell Lazare to one import spot and are understandably anxious to retain Action Jackson.

But Jacko earnt solid minutes with Miami Heat at Orlando’s summer league, then also with Portland Trail Blazers in Las Vegas.

He even caught the eye of European talent scouts.

“But his goal was to make the NBA. I think he'll hold out to try and get an invite to a camp. After that, then he'll assess Europe versus us,'' Vickerman said on Radio Live.

“It's going to be difficult to get him back to be a Breaker, but there's still some possibility.”

Jackson, who last played in the NBA three years ago, spent 2011 playing in Italy before joining New Zealand and was afforded far greater summer league opportunities than his Breakers small forward teammate Tom Abercrombie.

The athletic Tall Blacks swingman saw very little on-court daylight in Las Vegas with Phoenix Suns  and had a blocked shot in less than two minutes of their 77-91 loss to Golden State Warriors in the final.

Abercrombie had almost 16 minutes court time in the first of the Suns’ six games but, after shooting 0-of-3, had less than four minutes per game the rest of the way.

“Well that chapter is over, summer league was a great experience just wish I would have got more of a chance,'' Abercrombie tweeted.

Jackson tweeted today that he was: “Back in the gym! Time to get this work while others are sleep!!” Yeah. You should always read them back before hitting the "tweet" button.

GORDON “Ginger” Pearce was a character who, reportedly, drank a bottle of Vodka a day.

It served the West Adelaide Bearcats inaugural Hall of Fame inductee well, living to the ripe age of 89 before passing away last week.

An icon at Westies, he was the 1954 Woollacott Medallist and a dual-State League championship winner with the Bearcats in 1951-52.

He also was a regular state player for South Australia and typical of the working class men who epitomised the Bearcats in the club’s early years as Kingston.

Inducted into West Adelaide’s Hall of Fame in December, he will be sorely missed.

DANDENONG’s London Olympic guard Kathleen MacLeod is pregnant, according to the club website and is expecting in January.

Knee issues were going to keep MacLeod out of WNBL action this season as it was.

THIS just in. Baron Davis is having his house repainted in a fire-retardant, fearing his chances of spontaneously combusting have greatly increased since his recent extra-terrestrial experience.