The Australian Spinners U23 Junior Men’s wheelchair basketball squad is ready to take part in the Training Camp in Shellharbour and SLAM Down Under Festival, to be held in Wollongong, October 11-13.
Spinners Head Coach Brad Ness selected 20 athletes to take part in the events this weekend, with a view to select a team to attend the Kitakyushu Champions Cup for U23 Men, being hosted in Japan from November 22-24.
Coach Ness had this to say;
“The Spinners are in camp at Shellharbour pushing for a big finish to 2019. An extended squad of 20 has been named for a midweek training camp, and from there we will then split into two Green & Gold teams for the Slam Down Under Festival tournament this weekend.”
“From this camp and weekend tournament a final team of 12 will be selected to tour Japan this November, competing in the Kitakyushu Champions Cup, an international tournament of 4 teams from around world attending.”
Many of the junior Spinners men attending this camp have experience playing in the men’s national NWBL, with Thomas McHugh, Taitum Brown, Frank Pinder, Lachlin Dalton, Keltan Williams and Hayden Siebuhr having been a part of the national leagues for several years.
While two of the youngest squad members in Jaylen Brown (VIC) and Brayden Foxley-Conolly (QLD) are proving age is no barrier for this young squad.
The final selection of the 20 invited athletes was a difficult task, as 40 athletes were training hard across the network in the lead-up.
The coaching staff took some time to work through the group and wanted to ensure they were rewarding the athletes that were doing the work in the DTE, and reporting daily as per the squad requirements.
“So far the intensity of camp has been high with all squad members coming into camp ready to put their hand up for selection,” Ness said.
Coach Ness added that he has been extremely impressed with the level of physical condition and improved skill set each of the players have brought to the camp since they were last together back in March.
| First Name | Surname | Classification | State |
| Bailey | Jankovic | 2.5 | Victoria |
| Benjamin | Moncrieff | 4.5 | Western Australia |
| Benjamin | Sainsbury | 1.0 | Western Australia |
| Brayden | Foxley-Conolly | 1.0 | Queensland |
| Cooper | Whitestyles | 2.5 | Queensland |
| Dylan | Robinson | 3.5 | Queensland |
| Fernando | Grez Montiel | 1.0 | South Australia |
| Frank | Pinder | 1.0 | Western Australia |
| Hayden | Siebuhr | 1.0 | Queensland |
| James | Weinert | 4.5 | Victoria |
| Jarrod | Emeny | 1.0 | New South Wales |
| Jashar | Keetley | 3.5 | Queensland |
| Jaylen | Brown | 4.5 | Victoria |
| Keltan | Williams | 2.0 | New South Wales |
| Lachlin | Dalton | 2.5 | Queensland |
| Mitchell | Bond | 3.0 | Victoria |
| Nathan | Simpson | 2.5 | South Australia |
| Taitum | Brown | 4.5 | New South Wales |
| Thomas | McHugh | 4.5 | Western Australia |
| Zach | Binns | 4.5 | Queensland |
Head Coach: Brad Ness, Western Australia
Assistant Coach: Nick Such, Queensland
Assistant Coach: Joshua Allison, Victoria
Physiotherapist: Rhiarna Hill, Victoria
Team Manager: Tom Kyle, Queensland
Team Manager: Palo Jimenez, New South Wales
S&C Coach: Benjamin Sortino, Victoria
In the spirit of reconciliation Basketball Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.