Derby basketball star Keanu Pinder selected for Olympics Boomers squad

Derby’s basketball sensation Keanu Pinder has made the extended 22-man Boomers squad for the upcoming Paris Olympics, announced by Basketball Australia on April 10. Pinder, who shone last season with the Perth Wildcats averaging 13.6 points and 6.6 rebounds, joins other standout performers including Patty Mills and Will McDowell-White in a robust selection poised for further trimming before the pre-Games training camp in July. This initial line-up includes 10 veterans from the Tokyo 2020 team that clinched a historic bronze, among them notable figures like Mills, Joe Ingles and Josh Green. The final team, to be decided at the training camp, will represent Australia in the Olympics scheduled from late July to August 2024. Pinder alongside Will McDowell-White, who contributed significantly to the New Zealand Breakers last season, exemplifies the fresh talent stepping on to the international stage under the guidance of veteran coach Brian Goorjian. “The FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2023 marked a new beginning for the Boomers,” Goorjian told the National Indigenous Times earlier this week. “We were able to introduce some new faces and identify areas that we needed to advance and improve. “We’ve been actively monitoring the Aussie players across international leagues in USA, Europe and Asia as well as domestically in the NBL and we’re confident in the potential chemistry of this list.” The Boomers are set to compete in what has been dubbed the “group of death” at the Olympics, facing stiff competition against teams such as Canada and the winners of the Greece and Spain qualifying tournaments. However, Ben Simmons’ absence due to a back injury marks a setback for the team, delaying his much-anticipated Olympic debut. It comes after the Boomers secured automatic qualification for Paris as the highest-finishing team from Oceania in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, despite coming 10th overall.