I Agree With Bogut

CJ and the Boomers will be all smiles if he has a good Olympic Games.

Andrew Bogut has come out and said that it is the play of the guards that holds the key to the Australian Boomers success at the Olympics Games.

I could not agree with him more.

All the talk right now has been centred around the wealth of talent we have in the big man department. There is no doubting that Bogut, David Andersen, Chris Anstey and Matt Nielsen have proved themselves on the international stage.

That has yet to be done by our guards and the point guard position may be the most crucial spot of them all.

I'm even going to narrow it down ever further than Bogut. CJ Bruton is the guy that will control the Boomers destiny.

On his day Bruton can hold his own against anyone in the world, and this includes the likes of Jason Kidd and Chris Paul.

He has a skill set that allows him to get it done against such opposition. Firstly, he can stroke it from "downtown". This skill alone gains you respect the minute you step on the court at the international level. (Drain a couple of threes and the game can be over.)

Throw in his ballhandling ability and Bruton can play with any of the top flight PG's in the world.

The question is whether CJ wants to be a "player" at the Games or does he just want to attend his second Olympics? If CJ comes to play I can see him getting the Boomers into the medal round and possibly that European contract he has been talking about the last few years.

I do believe that Bruton is the key, but both David Barlow and Brad Newley need to become consistent perimeter threats to allow Bogut, Andersen, Nielsen and Chris Anstey the room to operate down low.

Yes, Barlow has been playing well in the lead up games, but now we are playing for all the marbles. Funny things happen sometimes and the margin for error is minimal now. We need Barlow's perimeter shooting to remain hot through the Games for the Boomers to be able to compete with the top European teams.

Newley had a solid year in Greece so he will be well prepared for the tough European teams. His ability to slash and finish at the basket along with his transition game will be required.

These ways of scoring by Newley allow the Boomers the luxury of some easy baskets. Something that is needed when you are in a low scoring game and no one else on the team possesses this skill. He also needs to be able to knock down the perimeter shot regularly so his game can be complete.

While all the talk will continue to centre around the "Aussie Wall", the play of the guards will be important if we are to see the best out of Bogut, Nielsen, Anstey and Andersen.

Ultimately, their play will dictate if this team can go down in history as the first Australian Men's team to win a Olympic Medal.

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