Boomers drop Olympics bombshell with Matisse Thybulle and Xavier Cooks left out in the cold
NBA gun Matisse Thybulle heads the list of shock axings from the Australian Boomers squad for the Paris Olympics.
According to leaked reports, among the other big names overlooked are Xavier Cooks, Chris Goulding, Dejan Vasiljevic, and Jack White.
Those players all featured in the Boomers’ recent warm-up matches against China.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Thybulle, the shooting guard who plays for NBA side Portland, was part of the Australian team that won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Cooks plays under Boomers coach Brian Goorjian with Sydney Kings and just agreed to a whopping three-year contract — the biggest in NBL history. He was also one of Boomers’ star performers at last year’s World Cup.
“I’m shocked that Thybulle was cut ... I thought he was a critical piece to their defensive needs,” former Boomer star Shane Heal said on social media.
Former Boomers and NBA championship winner Andrew Bogut agreed with Heal. “He’s arguably the best defender on that squad, one of the best defenders in the NBA,” Bogut said. “I think the ups and downs of his shooting was a concern, and how in the last campaign (the World Cup) I think he struggled a little bit with that, when his shot wasn’t falling.”
Named in the 12-man team are NBA players Josh Giddey, Josh Green, Danté Exum, Jock Landale, Duop Reath, Dyson Daniels, Patty Mills, and Joe Ingles. Tasmania JackJumpers Jack McVeigh and Will Magnay have also been included in the squad, and so have veterans Matthew Dellavedova and Nick Kay.
Bogut thought Cooks would be selected over Kay.
“I thought he (Cooks) outplayed Nick Kay a little bit, but Kay’s got the shooting arm over X,” Bogut said.
“I think X did a great job at the five spot, grabbing the rebound, pushing it up as a five-man, creating a lot of cross-matches, going straight into that hand-off action.”
He backed the selection of Dellavedova for a fourth Games.
“People will look at that and say how did Delly make it, but his squad didn’t lose a practice,” he said.
The team, which will be officially announced on Sunday, will play exhibition games Abu Dhabi next week.
Speaking on NBL Media’s The Gold Standard podcast, Bogut said it was going to be tough for the Boomers to get a medal.
“I think they need a really good run and some lucky bounces,” Bogut said.
