The Emus will take to the floor later tonight (1am tomorrow morning AEST) in their first match of the tournament against South American juggernaut Argentina, before facing Latvia on Friday (3am Saturday AEST) and then Chinese Taipei on Saturday night (11pm AEST), before the crossover matches begin.
Headlining the team is NBL rising star Mitch Creek from the Adelaide 36ers, as well as fellow young gun Hugh Greenwood, who was a member of the 2010 Boomers squad that prepared for the FIBA Men’s World Championship.
Although a reasonably favourable draw, with The Emus avoiding potential match-ups with some other powerhouse nations like the United States, Lithuania, Canada, Serbia and Croatia until later in the tournament, head coach Damien Cotter isn’t taking anything for granted.
"The Latvians will be good; it'll be on their home court and it'll be a great challenge for our kids," said Cotter. "The Argentinians are always tough and having been involved in games against the Argentinians before, our team can expect a very physical affair."
Success in the preliminary rounds will see The Emus face the best three teams from the very tough Group A, made up of Brazil, Poland, Russia and Tunisia.
Current gold medallists in this age group, the USA, have been drawn in Group D, which assures that a meeting with the perennial powerhouse of world basketball will not occur until deep in the Championship.
“We have to play together for us to be successful and that means taking care of the little things such as blocking out and making the extra pass,” said Cotter. “We have a chance to have a good tournament if we stick together and play smart.”
“Everybody understands that there is a need to step up and is looking forward to the first game against Argentina,” he said.
Previous members of The Emus team include Andrew Bogut, Patty Mills and David Andersen.
EMUS AUSTRALIAN U19 MEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BASKETBALL TEAM
Name / Position / Height / D.O.B.
Jackson ALDRIDGE / Guard / 184cm / 14.5.1992
Mitch CREEK / Guard/Forward / 198cm / 27.4.1992
Anthony DRMIC / Guard/Forward / 196cm / 25.2.1992
Andrija DUMOVIC / Centre / 207cm / 18.4.1993
Hugh GREENWOOD / Guard / 190cm / 6.3.1992
Igor HADZIOMEROVIC / Guard / 195cm / 1.1.1992
Jackson HUSSEY / Guard / 188cm / 24.1.1992
Mitchell MCCARRON / Guard / 190cm / 30.6.1992
Will SINCLAIR / Centre / 206cm / 20.9.1992
Lewis THOMAS / Forward / 202cm / 15.2.1992
Daniel TRIST / Centre / 204cm / 29.8.1992
Owen ODIGIE / Forward / 196cm / 18.1.1993
Emus Staff
Head Coach: Damian Cotter
Assistant Coach: Paul Gorriss
Technical Assistant: Markus Klusemann
Manager: Bob McGugan
Doctor: Dr Graham Lee
Physiotherapist: Peter Suffolk
