Australia on the West Coast
In recent years St. Mary’s has been known for their recruiting success in Australia. Australian flags hang on the wall and are donned by much of crowd. The Australians have certainly had a positive impact on the basketball program that has made two NCAA Tournament appearances in the last four years and, arguably, should have made four.
But the payout works both ways. A couple of the players Coach Randy Bennett has tutored have recently led the Australian National squad through the qualification process for the 2012 Olympics. Former Gael superstar Patrick Mills and current player Matthew Dellavedova led the Aussie’s over New Zeeland to win the FIBA Oceania Championship and qualify for the Olympics. The Australian team has a few other familiar names to college basketball fans, most notably Andrew Ogilvy and Aleks Maric.
Australia will join the United States, Tunisia, Argentina, Brazil, China, Spain, France, host Great Britain and three yet to be determined teams in the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London. The Aussies have finished 4th a few times in the Olympics, but have never medaled. It will not be easy this time around either, but Mills and Dellavedova will be ready next summer to try and make history.
Read the in-depth men’s basketball preview for this team
