Boomers coach Brian Goorjian defends Joe Ingles selection after veteran played just two minutes all tournament
PARIS: Boomers coach Brian Goorjian has backed the decision to select veteran Joe Ingles for the Olympics despite the veteran seeing just 2 minutes and 28 seconds of playing time.
Goorjian was full of praise for Ingles after the Boomers were dumped from the Olympics in an overtime thriller by Serbia.
The beloved NBA forward, 36, was among the final few selected over the younger and more athletic Matisse Thybulle for Paris, a decision that raised eyebrows.
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Brian Goorjian has praised the impact of Joe Ingles despite the veteran barely seeing any playing time. Getty
The beloved veteran only stepped on the court for those meagre minutes in the first pool match against Spain but was an energetic presence on the bench throughout the Boomers' four matches.
The 71-year-old coach compared Ingles to Opals great Lauren Jackson, who returned to the national team for Paris aged 43 as an experienced voice.
"I'm in camp and I hear a lot about what went on after their first loss," Goorjian told reporters, including Wide World of Sports, at Bercy Arena after his team's campaign came to a bitter end.
"The worst teams I've seen in this, in my time in the four Olympics, (are) when you have three guys sit in on your bench and maybe they're NBA players and they're number 10, number 11, and number 12.
"And people say well, why don't you have this guy? He's a better player.
"Yeah, he's a better player and he's gonna play seven minutes. Okay, how's that?
"(Ingles) was coaching. He was talking to the two guards. He was working guys out and working with guys that didn't get a lot of minutes. He was tremendous.
"And I needed him after the World Cup (where the Boomers made a disappointing second-round exit) on the bench."
Joe Ingles played just two minutes and 28 seconds during these Olympics. Getty
A shattered Goorjian said he was proud of the way his squad had stuck together despite the noise on selection and back-to-back losses in the group stage.
"You know, everybody has an opinion and everybody has a thought on everything that you do," he said.
"I just feel like every decision that was made was for the betterment of the team, and for the best that we could possibly do for the Boomers and Basketball Australia and the country.
"I just feel very proud of where it is and I feel very proud of how we played in the tournament."
Watch every moment, every medal of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 live and free on Channel 9 and 9Now. Plus, every event streaming ad free, live and on demand with 4K on Stan Sport.
Joe Ingles and Patty Mills embrace after winning bronze at Tokyo 2020. Getty
The Boomers will go through a changing of the guard after Paris with the veteran core of Ingles, Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova handing the keys to the next generation.
Josh Giddey, at just 21, in particular, has shone in Paris and with Mills was Australia's best in the Serbia loss.
"I think you can see with Josh Giddey, I think you can see with Dyson Daniels, Josh Green, we've got four or five young guys," Goorjian said.
"We introduced six new players to this.
"They're exciting for the future and some of these guys like a (Jack) McVeigh, (Will) Magnay, they're in that mid-ground and they've never played in the world (championships) or in the Olympics.
"So playing in this is how you and playing in games like this is how you move forward.
"There'd have to be something wrong with you if you didn't see that.
"A group of four that are moving on, a group of four that move forward, a group of young ones coming in and then we've got that select squad underneath.
"And I just think we're going to be throwing punches for a long time."
