The future of Australian Basketball feat. Thon Maker

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didaksrightfoot

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Any comparisons with Giannis at that age?

If he's entering the draft any agent worth his salt has extracted a promise from somewhere that he'll be picked in the first round
'cept I dont believed he's signed with an agent yet. You'd hope though that his gaurdian has had feelers out having these discussions for Thon to come out and nominate.

I'm not up to date with the current NCAA rules though. I know they had loosened, and they pushed back the deadline when players could pull put of the draft and still remain NCAA eligible, but not sure if there's any change to the ruling around agents?
 

stewie griffen

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'cept I dont believed he's signed with an agent yet. You'd hope though that his gaurdian has had feelers out having these discussions for Thon to come out and nominate.

I'm not up to date with the current NCAA rules though. I know they had loosened, and they pushed back the deadline when players could pull put of the draft and still remain NCAA eligible, but not sure if there's any change to the ruling around agents?
Ah fair enough. You'd think there would have been a few unofficial conversations off the books
 

Goodo73

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Not surprisingly, Ben Simmons has decided to forego the Rio Olympics.

http://espn.go.com/olympics/basketb.../ben-simmons-play-australia-2016-rio-olympics

It's disappointing sure, but I don't think you can blame the guy. He still hasn't begun a pro career, so I think he's got the right, and duty to himself, to lock up that situation first. Guy's got multiple Olympic campaigns ahead of him once he establishes himself as a pro baller.
 
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Not surprisingly, Ben Simmons has decided to forego the Rio Olympics.

http://espn.go.com/olympics/basketb.../ben-simmons-play-australia-2016-rio-olympics

It's disappointing sure, but I don't think you can blame the guy. He still hasn't begun a pro career, so I think he's got the right, and duty to himself, to lock up that situation first. Guy's got multiple Olympic campaigns ahead of him once he establishes himself as a pro baller.
I can not see either Thon Maker or Ben Simmons ever playing for Australia at a big time competition - Olympics or world champs.
 

Happy Mastenator

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I can not see either Thon Maker or Ben Simmons ever playing for Australia at a big time competition - Olympics or world champs.
That's a big call. I don't blame them for not playing now given they are trying to get contracts, and play in the NBA, in 2020, 2024 and 2028, they will want to play if things work out. I think you discount how big the Olympics are for NBA players, they are an amazing experience and there aren't to many international and even American players who make themselves unavailable for them.
 
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That's a big call. I don't blame them for not playing now given they are trying to get contracts, and play in the NBA, in 2020, 2024 and 2028, they will want to play if things work out. I think you discount how big the Olympics are for NBA players, they are an amazing experience and there aren't to many international and even American players who make themselves unavailable for them.
Ben Simmions is Mr Dream Team. He wants to play for the USA but can not as he's represented Australia already.

Maker doesn't gives 2 shits about Australia.
 

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Shiv

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Ben Simmions is Mr Dream Team. He wants to play for the USA but can not as he's represented Australia already.

Maker doesn't gives 2 shits about Australia.
What evidence do you have to back this up? If its only simmons bypassing the olympics this year then YOU HAVE NFI about basketball! what a shit attempt to troll hahahaha.
 

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Ben Simmions is Mr Dream Team. He wants to play for the USA but can not as he's represented Australia already.

Maker doesn't gives 2 shits about Australia.
He was very disappointed when he was the last player cut the last time he tried out for the boomers. I would think it would be a dream of his to rep Aust along side his child hood buddy, Dante. If anything, watching him choose LSU over bigger programs so that he could create his own legacy would lead me to believe he'd be more than happy to play for the boomers. He pretty much lets people know he's an Aussie at every opportunity that comes up so why wouldn't he want to sometime in the future.
 

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Anyway, different question. What chance Ben's shooting struggles have come down to him actually growing? He grew 2 inches in a year basically. His WS measured 1 inch longer at the LSU combine as compared to the previous time he was measured. Many put that down to LSU pumping up his measurements. However, I recall reading somewhere that WS will often continue to grow for sometime even after an individual has maxed their body length. If Bens arms are still growing or he he is still growing in height, I imagine that would take some adjusting with shooting. He has also gained a lot of mass over the last year.



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Happy Mastenator

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Anyway, different question. What chance Ben's shooting struggles have come down to him actually growing? He grew 2 inches in a year basically. His WS measured 1 inch longer at the LSU combine as compared to the previous time he was measured. Many put that down to LSU pumping up his measurements. However, I recall reading somewhere that WS will often continue to grow for sometime even after an individual has maxed their body length. If Bens arms are still growing or he he is still growing in height, I imagine that would take some adjusting with shooting. He has also gained a lot of mass over the last year.
I would say that any perceived and real "issues" that Ben had this year are difficult to grasp just how real they really are purely because of the LSU situation, and specifically the coach, being so bad. Wouldn't surprise me if those "issues" turn out to be nowhere near as bad as people thought once he's in a different environment.
 

didaksrightfoot

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Does anyone else get the sense that there's a few ppl going around that may have played against/lost to guys like Simmons and Maker as juniors and have ridiculous chips on their shoulders... Just an inkling I've had.

Ive just never seen two aussie juniors get shat on so much.
 

calyam

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Does anyone else get the sense that there's a few ppl going around that may have played against/lost to guys like Simmons and Maker as juniors and have ridiculous chips on their shoulders... Just an inkling I've had.

Ive just never seen two aussie juniors get shat on so much.
It's mostly tall poppy syndrome. Australia is famous for it. Both have been hugely hyped.

But speaking from experience, I can say that playing with and against these guys can colour your view of them. For me it was playing with and against Bogut before he made any state / national teams when he was a big man that preferred to hover on the three point line rather than bang down low. It's always made me wonder how many talented basketballers in Australia could have become anything had, they too, been lucky enough to hit seven feet.
 

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Does anyone else get the sense that there's a few ppl going around that may have played against/lost to guys like Simmons and Maker as juniors and have ridiculous chips on their shoulders... Just an inkling I've had.

Ive just never seen two aussie juniors get shat on so much.
Yeah I've seen a few post on various boards saying they had played against him back in the day and that while he was good, according to them he didn't look special
 

Happy Mastenator

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Yeah I've seen a few post on various boards saying they had played against him back in the day and that while he was good, according to them he didn't look special
In news just in, a kid that's on his way to 6"10+ might not have the greatest co-ordination as a young teen while growing into his body.
 

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It's mostly tall poppy syndrome. Australia is famous for it. Both have been hugely hyped.

But speaking from experience, I can say that playing with and against these guys can colour your view of them. For me it was playing with and against Bogut before he made any state / national teams when he was a big man that preferred to hover on the three point line rather than bang down low. It's always made me wonder how many talented basketballers in Australia could have become anything had, they too, been lucky enough to hit seven feet.
Same here. Would love to have seen a few of the guys I played and trained with along with Simmons in juniors if they had headed over to the US for high school or had received much better coaching.

Simmons' old man was smart in constantly moving him around Victorian rep ball to find him good coaches.
 

PP34

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Yeah I've seen a few post on various boards saying they had played against him back in the day and that while he was good, according to them he didn't look special
He wasn't. He was at the same club I was at early in his teens and then saw him various times around the traps up until he went over to the US. He was good for his age and was amongst the best in Vic by 15-16 but nobody can honestly sit here and say they saw him as a future number one pick.
 

calyam

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He wasn't. He was at the same club I was at early in his teens and then saw him various times around the traps up until he went over to the US. He was good for his age and was amongst the best in Vic by 15-16 but nobody can honestly sit here and say they saw him as a future number one pick.
It's certainly interesting.

Bogut, for example, only made the second rep team at the Sandringham Sabres in his first year of U18 availability. He was probably around 6'3 at the time. I was a 6'1 point guard back then running around in the first team and I played down low a few times against him and never saw him as a threat. I head to Queensland with family for 12 months, come back and he's a 7'0 monster dominating everyone.

There's obviously a lot of hard work involved but a fair degree of luck as well. Particularly for a game such as basketball where size is such a huge advantage. Having a fair bit of money also doesn't help given the importance of finding great coaches and affording private tuition.
 

PP34

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It's certainly interesting.

Bogut, for example, only made the second rep team at the Sandringham Sabres in his first year of U18 availability. He was probably around 6'3 at the time. I was a 6'1 point guard back then running around in the first team and I played down low a few times against him and never saw him as a threat. I head to Queensland with family for 12 months, come back and he's a 7'0 monster dominating everyone.

There's obviously a lot of hard work involved but a fair degree of luck as well. Particularly for a game such as basketball where size is such a huge advantage. Having a fair bit of money also doesn't help given the importance of finding great coaches and affording private tuition.
Reminds me of Anthony Davis' growth.

I was thinking about someone like Petracca who was a jet throughout his juniors and was in the same circles as Simmons and Exum. You just wonder what would've happened if he was a bit taller.
 
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