Andrew Bogut is hoping to help lead the Boomers to their first-ever medal in the Olympic Games. (Getty)

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July 25, 2008

MILWAUKEE -- Five years ago, Andrew Bogut presented his trainer, Sinisa Markovic, with what became one of his most prized possessions.

It was a yellow vest that Bogut wore as the world’s most valuable junior player after leading Australia to the championship of the FIBA Junior World Championships in Greece.

A few weeks from now, Bogut and his Australian National Team -- “The Boomers” -- will set out for another corner of the world to represent their country in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. This time, Bogut will be wearing green and gold, and he would like nothing better than to reward his mentor with another meaningful memento afterward.

Bogut, who signed a multi-year contract extension with the Milwaukee Bucks on July 11, had little time to celebrate his continued good fortune. He had to be back on the Gold Coast of Australia to take part in training camp from July 15 to 23.

He and the Boomers will then jet to China on July 27 for the FIBA Pre-Olympic Diamond Ball Tournament and an exhibition battle against the United States in Shanghai on Aug. 5, just three days ahead of the Olympics.

Bogut is coming off a career year in the National Basketball Association. In his third professional campaign, he averaged 14.3 points, 9.8 rebounds (tied for 11th in NBA), and 1.7 blocks (ninth in NBA). His 38 double-doubles in 78 games paced the Bucks and ranked 12th in the NBA, and his 135 blocked shots more than tripled his output from his second pro season.

Though Bogut is just 23 years old, this will be his second Olympic appearance. He started for Australia’s ninth-place team in the 2004 Games in Athens, Greece, but he has since admitted that he was in over his head both mentally and physically back then.

After all, he was a teenager following in the footsteps of his childhood heroes. And he was thrust underneath a glaring spotlight against the best players in the world.

Bogut remembers watching Olympic basketball on television as a youngster. He admired such Australian heroes as Andrew Gaze, Shane Heal, Mark Bradtke and Luc Longley for their individual skills, but even moreso for their team-first approach to the game.

Bogut has embraced the same philosophy as his own career has taken off.

He became the first non-U.S. player to win both the Naismith and Wooden awards as college basketball player of the year at the University of Utah.

He became the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, and has made substantial progress in each of his first three years as a pro.

And now he finds himself as one of the linchpins of a promising Aussie team.

“I just hope we get a good team on the court for Australia,” Bogut said while discussing his Olympic prospects during his third NBA season. “We’ve missed a lot of guys the last couple of years, either because they couldn’t afford the insurance, or had injuries or so on.

“If we can get our full team, it’ll be enjoyable to go there and battle it out with the other teams.”

Australia is no newbie to Olympic basketball success.

The Australian men made their Olympic debut in their homeland in Melbourne in 1956 and have qualified for every Olympics since with the exception of Rome in 1960 and Mexico City in 1968.

The highest finishes for the Boomers were fourths in Seoul (1988), Barcelona (1992) and Sydney (2000).

Gaze, who starred collegiately at Seton Hall University before putting in brief stints with the Washington Bullets and San Antonio Spurs of the NBA, is the second-highest scorer in the history of men's Olympic basketball competition with 789 points.

The Aussies prepped for the Beijing Games by competing in the Acropolis Tournament in Athens, Greece earlier this month. They peaked in the last of their three games, defeating Brazil, 89-84, behind 24 points from 7-foot center Chris Anstey, who played three seasons in the NBA before moving back “Down Under.”

Anstey was the most valuable player of Australia’s National Basketball League this past season. He and fellow “centre” Bogut, listed at 213 centimetres and 118 kilograms in his Australian Olympic Team bio, ought to give the Boomers an imposing post duo.

Their teammates include several of their country’s most promising young post prospects in David Andersen, Matt Nielsen, Brad Newley and Nathan Jawai, who was selected by the Indiana Pacers in the 2008 NBA Draft and subsequently dealt to the Toronto Raptors in the Jermaine O’Neal/T.J. Ford trade.

The Boomers are well-stocked on the frontline, but their roster also includes some prolific backcourt talent.

Shooting guard C.J. Bruton, a native of Wichita, Kan., was named a National Junior College Athletic Association All-American after leading Indian Hills Junior College of Iowa to a national championship.

Point guard Patty Mills scored 37 points in his fourth collegiate game at Saint Mary’s College of Moraga, Calif. to help the Gaels upset nationally-ranked Oregon. Later in the season, St. Mary’s earned its first national ranking in 29 years.

Bogut looks forward to having a solid supporting cast around him. He has always been a team player, first and foremost.

He developed this mentality during his previous international experience, and has honed it during his first three seasons in the NBA.

“Being the centerpiece of our offense and our defense, teams tried not to let me get the ball in the post,” Bogut said as he turned back a few pages of his career. “I love getting double-teamed because if I can’t score, I’m going to find the open man.

“A lot of teams tried to get me in foul trouble. They would go at me a lot, try to draw cheap early fouls. They’d flop a lot to try to take charges.”

Australia’s Olympic road will be a rugged one. The Boomers will be in Pool A, featuring Argentina, Lithuania, Russia, Iran and Croatia. Lurking in Pool B will be the United States, Greece, Germany, Spain, Angola and the host team from China.

The Olympic men’s basketball competition will run Aug. 10-24 at China's new 18,000-seat Wukesong Indoor Stadium. Preliminary round games will pit Australia against Croatia at 7 a.m. CDT, followed by the United States against China at 9:15 a.m.