Basketball Australia has named a youthful Boomers squad with five teenagers and an average player age of twenty-three years for its 2009 program.

In a non-Olympic, non-World Championship year, Basketball Australia is utilising the opportunity to blood new recruits and to provide its athletes with invaluable international experience.

2008 Boomers squad member James Harvey is the ‘old man’ of the squad at just 30 years of age, while 2008 Junior Male Player of the Year Hugh Greenwood is the youngest athlete at 17 years and two months and is one of four AIS athletes named.

“With many of our 2008 Olympians unavailable for the 2009 program due to injury or the need for rest after two years without a break from competition, we are taking this opportunity to give new players a chance to stake their claim for a spot on the Boomers team,” Basketball Australia Chief Executive Larry Sengstock said.

“They’re a young squad, they’re talented and they’ll get a chance to play an exciting brand of basketball under new Head Coach Brett Brown.”

The Boomers squad will come together for the first time at a training camp at the Australian Institute of Sport on June 19 before tours to China, Argentina and Brazil in advance of the FIBA Oceania Championship against New Zealand in August.

2009 Boomers Squad

Name / Most recent club / Age

Adam BALLINGER* / Adelaide 36ers / 29
David BARLOW / Melbourne Tigers / 25
Aron BAYNES / Washington State University (USA) / 22
Aaron BRUCE / Adelaide 36ers / 24
Jason CADEE / Australian Institute of Sport / 18
Rhys CARTER / South Dragons / 25
Cody ELLIS / Australian Institute of Sport / 19
Oscar FORMAN / New Zealand Breakers (NZ) / 27
Adam GIBSON / South Dragons / 22
Chris GOULDING / Perth Wildcats / 20
Hugh GREENWOOD / Australian Institute of Sport / 17
Tom GREER / Melbourne Tigers / 25
Igor HADZIOMEROVIC / Melbourne Tigers Juniors / 17
James HARVEY / Gold Coast Blaze / 30
Brad HILL / Adelaide 36ers / 22
Nathan HERBERT / South Dragons / 24
Jacob HOLMES / Adelaide 36ers / 25
Joe INGLES / South Dragons / 21
Nathan JAWAI / Toronto Raptors (USA) / 22
Luke KENDALL / Melbourne Tigers / 28
Julian KHAZZOUH / Hanzevast Capitals Groningen (Holland) / 23
Daniel KICKERT / Kalise Gran Canaria (Spain) / 25
Matthew KNIGHT / Sydney Spirit / 24
Alex LOUGHTON / Perth Wildcats / 26
Aleks MARIC / CB Granada (Spain) / 24
Damian MARTIN / Sydney Spirit / 24
Steven MARKOVIC / Red Star Belgrade (Serbia) / 25
Patrick MILLS / St. Mary’s College (USA) / 20
Brock MOTUM / Australian Institute of Sport / 18
Luke NEVILL / University of Utah (USA) / 23
Liam RUSH / Sundsvall Dragons (Sweden) / 27
Damien RYAN / Aurora Basket Jesi (Italy) / 29
Luke SCHENSCHER / Adelaide 36ers / 27
Greg VANDERJAGT / Townsville Crocodiles / 24
Stephen WEIGH / Perth Wildcats / 22
Kerry WILLIAMS / Cairns Taipans / 21

Head Coach: Brett Brown
Assistant Coach: Andrej Lemanis
Assistant Coach: Shane Heal
Assistant Coach: Marty Clarke
Network Coach: Bill Tomlinson
Manager: Nic Mercer

* American-born Ballinger is married to an Australian and will be naturalised on July 12.

KEY DATES AT A GLANCE

June 19-23 - Camp 1 – Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra ACT (Combined with Australian Men’s University Games Team)
June 26- Jul 1 - Tour to China (AUS v CHN: 2 games)
July 21-27 - Camp 2 – Sydney, NSW
July 30–Aug 4 - Tournament in Argentina (AUS v Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina: 3 games)
Aug 6-10 - Tournament in Brazil (AUS v Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina: 3 games)
Aug 18-22 - Camp 3 – Sydney, NSW
Aug 22 - Basketball Australia Hall of Fame Dinner, Sydney
Aug 23 - FIBA Oceania Championship Game 1, AUS v NZ, Sydney
Aug 25 - FIBA Oceania Championship Game 2, AUS v NZ, Wellington
Aug 28-31 - Stankovic Cup, Kunshan, China (AUS v Turkey, Angola, China: 4 games)