Ultimate Crocs guide for junior Asia Cup quest

• Australia has won every FIBA U16 Asia Cup since moving to the Asian conference
• The Crocs are coming off a unique tour to China in preparation for the tournament
• Coach Greg Vanderjagt played for both the Townsville Crocodiles and Gold Coast Blaze and is the current assistant coach for the Brisbane Bullets

A unique lead up, headlined by a whirlwind trip to China has the Australian Crocs more prepared than ever for success at the FIBA Under-16 Asia Cup in Mongolia.

Crocs head coach Greg Vanderjagt spoke to basketball.com.au, and shared the unique opportunity the team had to gain valuable international experience ahead of the event, which will be a major milestone for the group of 12 athletes selected.

In Vanderjagt’s experience as part of the Crocs coaching staff, which dates back to 2018, it’s the first time such an opportunity has presented itself.

“I don’t think an Australian junior team has been to China outside of major competition in about 10 years — it was super unique to get the opportunity,” Vanderjagt said.

Under usual circumstances, team preparation usually involves a four to five day camp, but participation in the series of friendlies allowed the team to expedite growth and chemistry.

“There’s things you learn about your group in a practice environment, but there’s things you don’t learn about them in that environment. On tour we had eight games and 10 practices in 12 days, so you can’t compare how that impacts relationships with and amongst the players, how they play with each other, and the experience of different styles of play and officiating they get exposed to. It really accelerated the learning curves of the athletes exponentially.”

For some of the athletes, this is their first experience representing Australia, and by extension, their first time playing teams from overseas. The variance in styles of play and athletes involved is a pivotal learning curve for the team, and one they’ve been able to acclimatise to in advance of the next month's event.

“On our tour, we played New Zealand, China, and the Slovenian under-18 club champions, which exposed us to three very different styles of play. In the Asia Cup you play against different styles of play every day, and that’s what we got on that tour.

"We got the European style with the Slovenian team, we had the traditional style of play from China with a lot of size and shooting, and on day three we had the physicality and pace of New Zealand. For the group to have to adapt and understand how to do that before we go to the Asia Cup where wins and losses really matter is enormous for the boys that haven’t been exposed to those styles of play yet.”

Having won every FIBA U16 Asia Cup since Australia’s move to the Asia conference, the value in the event lies not only in results but in development, and as such, selections were made with a long term lens in mind.

“Our role as a junior program is to identify and foster the development of future Boomers, so that’s what some of these selections are based around; we’ve selected athletes that project to play for our senior national team at some point in time, so while they may not necessarily be the most talented player right now, their athletic profile, IQ or skillset projects out really well," Vanderjagt said.

"There are some win now players that have the requisite qualities of an Australian athlete, and there are others where you project out as an athlete that helps us at the World Cup in Turkey next year should we qualify, or represent Australia at the Emus in two or three years time, so sometimes there’s a longer lens in terms of what’s best for our federation into the future.”

The final twelve selected for Mongolia strikes a healthy equilibrium of deft facilitators, lethal scorers and hard working forwards. Starring at under-18 nationals, Antonio Browne, Will Hamilton, Luke Paul and Isaiah Jorgensen project to lead from the front, but the group is deep top to bottom with talented contributors.

One player the group will be without is John Aryang, who broke his tibia after returning from China. The bright West Australian prospect started all eight games for Australia during their tour, making his absence a significant one for the group.

For the uninitiated, here’s Head Coach Greg Vanderjagt’s crash course on the U16 Crocs roster.

Andrew Watene: Guard, Queensland

If a Tasmanian Devil could be represented on the basketball court, it’s Watene. Relentless energy, no off-switch, a great communicator and the life of the room.

Antonio Browne: Guard, New South Wales

An enigma. Super high upside. Ultimate competitor who leads by example and understands how to impact winning at a high level.

Will Hamilton: Forward, Victoria

If he was a Marvel character, he’d be our Captain America. Tough as nails, intelligent, great with relationships and willing to do whatever needs to be done.

Luke Paul: Guard, Western Australia

Passing genius. He sees things in the game that are well beyond his years. His feel for the game is something I haven’t seen for a long time.

Lucas Byrne: Forward, Victoria

If you think of how people describe the meat and potatoes guy, that’s him. He’s versatile, tough. I’ve never seen a player of his age represent what it means to wear the green and gold like him before.

Isaiah Jorgenson: Forward, Queensland

He’s the Mister Fixit for us. He can get you a bucket, can defend the best player on the other team with his athletic tools. We can solve a lot of problems with him.

Josh McCann: Guard, Victoria

He’s got a flamethrower for an arm. His floor spacing and IQ is a huge asset to the group.

Alex Mabbott: Big, Victoria

He’s like Jonas Valancuinas. Sets screens, rolls hard, I love his physicality. His upside as a young developing big is really exciting.

Max Pavey: Guard, Victoria

One of the hardest working kids in the country. Never misses a moment to get better. A hungry learner, great feel for the game and a high IQ. Brings a lot of intangibles to the group we know we’re going to need.

Tom Dammers: Guard, Victoria

High IQ. Leader. Super intelligent. Diligent. His impact on the game goes far beyond the box score.

Alex Edwards: Forward, Victoria

He impacts the game in ways beyond the stats. Great nose for the ball, excellent rebounder, versatile defender and someone the team loves being around.

Yahya Basaran: Big, Victoria

High IQ, fundamentally sound big man. Great feel for the game and an enormous upside. His multi-skilled ability playing inside and out is what an international big looks like.

The Crocs will compete in the FIBA U16 Asia Cup starting on August 31 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. You can follow the games on FIBA’s website.

About the Author

Michael Houben is an Australian basketball writer and scout based in Melbourne, Victoria. As well as covering the game as a journalist, Michael supports US colleges to identify and recruit Australian talent as the owner of Airtime Scouting, and supports grassroots athletes through Airtime Basketball.